An editorial management system is software that helps academic journals organize and manage the work performed by editors and editorial teams. It provides a centralized environment for handling manuscript screening, editor assignment, peer review coordination, editorial decisions, revisions, communications, and submission records.
Editorial teams often have to manage large numbers of manuscripts at different stages of the publishing process. Without a dedicated system, this work can become dependent on email, spreadsheets, shared documents, and separate reviewer databases. An editorial management system brings these activities into a structured workflow so editors can see what requires attention and track each manuscript from submission through decision.
Editorial management systems are commonly used by academic journals, scholarly publishers, university presses, research organizations, and academic societies.
What Does an Editorial Management System Do?
An editorial management system organizes the workflow that takes place after a manuscript is submitted to a journal.
A typical editorial workflow may include:
- A manuscript is submitted by an author.
- The editorial team checks the submission for completeness and suitability.
- The manuscript is assigned to an appropriate editor.
- The editor evaluates the manuscript and determines whether it should proceed to peer review.
- Reviewers are selected and invited.
- The editor monitors the review process and follows up on overdue reviews.
- Reviewer feedback is collected and evaluated.
- The editor makes a decision or requests a revision.
- Revised manuscripts are reviewed through subsequent rounds when necessary.
- The editor makes a final publication decision.
The exact workflow depends on the journal’s policies, but the system’s purpose is to make these activities organized, trackable, and easier to manage.
Key Features of an Editorial Management System
Editorial management platforms can provide different features depending on the needs of a journal. The most important capabilities typically support the day-to-day work of editors.
Editorial Dashboard
An editorial dashboard gives editors a centralized view of manuscripts and their current status.
Instead of searching through email conversations to determine which submissions need attention, editors can view manuscripts awaiting screening, reviewer assignment, review completion, revision, or decision.
A dashboard can also provide information such as pending tasks, approaching deadlines, and recently updated submissions.
Manuscript Assignment
Editorial teams may have multiple editors with different responsibilities.
An editorial management system can allow a manuscript to be assigned to an editor-in-chief, managing editor, associate editor, or section editor based on the journal’s workflow.
Assignment rules may consider subject area, workload, editorial roles, or other criteria defined by the journal.
Editorial Screening
Before sending a manuscript for peer review, an editor may need to determine whether it fits the journal’s scope and meets basic submission requirements.
An editorial management system can support this initial screening by giving editors access to the manuscript, submission information, and relevant checks from one location.
Some modern platforms also provide AI-assisted screening to help identify potential issues that editors may want to investigate.
AI can support the process, but the final editorial judgment remains with the responsible editor.
Reviewer Management
Coordinating peer reviewers is a major part of editorial work.
An editorial management system can help editors identify potential reviewers, send invitations, monitor responses, assign reviewers, and track the progress of reviews.
Reviewer information can also be stored in a centralized database, reducing the need to maintain separate spreadsheets or email lists.
Review Deadline Tracking
Peer review can slow down when reviewers miss deadlines.
Editorial management systems can track review deadlines and provide reminders when a review is approaching or overdue.
This gives editors greater visibility into the review process and makes it easier to follow up when necessary.
Conflict of Interest Management
Editors need to identify potential conflicts of interest when assigning manuscripts and reviewers.
An editorial management system can provide a place to record conflicts and maintain relevant information as part of the manuscript’s editorial history.
This helps create a more consistent process for managing potential conflicts throughout peer review.
Editorial Decisions
Once an editor has evaluated reviewer feedback, the system can support the editorial decision.
Common decisions include:
- Accept
- Reject
- Major revision
- Minor revision
- Resubmit for review
The editor can communicate the decision to the author and maintain a record of the decision within the manuscript’s history.
Revision Management
Many manuscripts require one or more revisions before publication.
An editorial management system can connect revised submissions to the original manuscript and preserve the history of previous review rounds and editorial decisions.
This prevents revisions from becoming disconnected from the original submission and gives editors a complete view of the manuscript’s progress.
Audit Trail
An audit trail records important activity associated with a manuscript.
Depending on the system, this can include submission events, reviewer assignments, review activity, editorial decisions, revisions, and other workflow changes.
A reliable history helps editorial teams understand what happened at each stage and provides a useful administrative record.
Who Uses an Editorial Management System?
Different members of a journal’s editorial organization may use the system for different purposes.
Editors-in-chief can use it to oversee submissions, make high-level editorial decisions, and monitor journal activity.
Managing editors can use it to coordinate day-to-day workflows, monitor deadlines, assign manuscripts, and support editorial operations.
Associate and section editors can manage manuscripts within their assigned subject areas and coordinate peer review.
Editorial assistants can use the platform for administrative tasks such as submission checks, reviewer invitations, correspondence, and record management.
Reviewers may also interact with the system to receive manuscript assignments, access review materials, complete review forms, and submit reports.
Editorial Management System vs. Journal Management System
An editorial management system is closely related to a journal management system, but the terms can describe different scopes.
An editorial management system focuses primarily on the editorial workflow. This includes manuscript screening, editor assignment, reviewer coordination, peer review, revisions, and editorial decisions.
A journal management system can cover a broader set of journal operations, including editorial management as well as author submissions, publishing websites, volumes and issues, billing, APC management, and other administrative functions.
In simple terms:
Editorial Management System:
Manuscript → Editor → Reviewer → Review → Decision → Revision
Journal Management System:
Submission → Editorial Workflow → Peer Review → Decision → Publishing → Billing → Journal Website
Some modern platforms combine both capabilities so that editorial teams do not have to move manuscripts between separate systems.
Editorial Management System vs. Manuscript Submission System
A manuscript submission system is primarily designed to receive manuscripts from authors and collect the information required for a submission.
An editorial management system manages what happens after submission.
For example, a submission system may allow an author to upload a manuscript and submit it to a journal. The editorial management system then allows editors to screen the manuscript, assign reviewers, monitor peer review, request revisions, and make decisions.
A complete journal platform can provide both functions within one workflow.
Why Use an Editorial Management System?
Managing editorial workflows manually can become increasingly difficult as a journal receives more submissions.
A dedicated system can help journals achieve:
- Centralized manuscript management: Editors can manage submissions from one dashboard.
- Greater workflow visibility: The status of each manuscript is easier to identify.
- Better reviewer coordination: Reviewer invitations, responses, assignments, and deadlines can be tracked.
- Faster communication: Editorial correspondence can remain connected to the relevant submission.
- Consistent processes: Journals can establish standardized editorial workflows.
- Reduced administrative work: Repetitive tasks and reminders can be streamlined.
- Better record keeping: Decisions, revisions, reviews, and workflow events can remain associated with the manuscript.
- Scalability: Editorial teams can manage increasing submission volumes more efficiently.
AI in Editorial Management Systems
AI is becoming an additional capability in modern editorial systems.
For example, AI can assist with submission screening by identifying potential scope mismatches, plagiarism risks, methodological concerns, unclear contributions, or ethical concerns.
AI can also support duplicate detection and, as these capabilities develop, reviewer matching and decision letter drafting.
However, AI should generally be treated as an editorial support tool rather than an autonomous decision-maker. Editors remain responsible for evaluating manuscripts, interpreting reviewer feedback, and making publication decisions.
For journals using AI-assisted editorial tools, transparency, human oversight, and appropriate handling of manuscript data are important considerations.
Alkademy Press as an Editorial Management System
Alkademy Press provides editorial management capabilities as part of its broader journal management platform.
Editors can manage submissions through a centralized dashboard, assign reviewers, track review deadlines, manage multiple review rounds, record conflicts of interest, and maintain a history of editorial activity.
The platform also provides AI-assisted submission screening. Each submission can receive a quality score and recommendation based on information such as its title, abstract, and keywords, alongside specific concern flags for editors to consider.
The AI is designed to assist the editorial workflow rather than replace the editor’s judgment.
Because Alkademy Press combines editorial workflows with manuscript submission, peer review, publishing websites, and billing, editorial teams can manage the journal through a connected platform rather than transferring information between multiple systems.
What Should You Look for in an Editorial Management System?
When evaluating an editorial management system, consider whether it supports the complete workflow your editorial team follows.
Important capabilities may include:
- Editorial dashboard
- Manuscript assignment
- Editorial screening
- Editor roles and permissions
- Reviewer assignment
- Reviewer database
- Reviewer invitations
- Review deadline tracking
- Automated reminders
- Conflict-of-interest management
- Multiple peer-review rounds
- Revision management
- Editorial decisions
- Decision letters
- Submission history
- Audit trails
- Editorial reporting
- AI-assisted screening
- Integration with manuscript submission
- Integration with journal publishing
The best system depends on the journal’s submission volume, editorial structure, peer-review model, number of editors, and publishing requirements.