Invite authors to submit to Editorial Manager

From 1 April 2023 groups should not create invitations to submit with a deadline later than 31 August 2023. If you have authors who need to submit drafts after this date, please contact Cochrane Support to ensure the authors are invited to submit their draft directly to the Central Editorial Service. 

Invite authors to Editorial Manager

There are three stages to invite authors:

1. Initiate a proposal


  • In Editorial Manager, go to Main Menu
  • Select the Proposal Menu tab > New Proposals > Initiate Proposal


  • Select Article Type (protocol, review). Select Cochrane Review for both reviews and updates 
  • Proceed with No Schedule Group

  • On the Initiate Proposal form, pre-select Article Type to match the stage of the next expected draft in Archie (e.g. Protocol: Intervention Review)
  • Copy and paste title from Review Properties in Archie
  • Add the number of days before the Author Submission is due
  • Proceed and Build PDF - this step is essential as it will allow you to select your CRG (Section/Category) on the next screen. This ensures that the proposal is correctly attributed to your group.  

  • On the New Submission screen, confirm Article Type shows correctly
  • Choose your Review Group in Select Section/Category > Next

  • You do not need to attach files > Next > Build PDF for my Approval
  • Go to Proposals Needing Approval

  • When the PDF is ready View Proposal from the Actions menu
  • This will download a copy of the PDF for you to review - if you wish you can open the PDF to confirm the title shows correctly
  • Approve Proposal > OK

2. Assign Editor

  • Click to Return to Manage Proposals Menu 
  • Go to New Proposals Requiring Assignment
  • In the Actions menu Assign Editor
  • Select the editorial team member overseeing this review - you can assign to yourself if you wish
  • Send Default Letter to send email confirmation
  • The selected editor will receive an email notification letting them know they have been assigned to this review

3. Assign authors

  • From the Editor Assignment Confirmation screen, choose Return to Manage Proposals Menu 
  • Go to View all Assigned Proposals or, if you have assigned this to yourself, New Assignments - Proposals
  • From the Actions menu Invite Authors
  • Search for Authors > Go 
  • Find the Corresponding Author, searching by Last Name or another filter of your choice

  • Select author as Asn. (Assign) > Proceed

  • On the Confirm Selection and Customize Letters screen, select the correct letter for the article type that you are inviting - e.g. Author Assignment for Protocol
  • Copy and paste the title from Review Properties in Archie onto the Authors to Assign table (this ensures that the title will be pulled into the template email)
  • Click to Customize the letter and make any edits 



  • In the body of the email, any text showing as %TEXT% is an automatic merge field. This will convert to text when the message is sent. Click Preview Letter at the top of the screen to see the full text
  • Add the emails of the remaining authors in cc. to the email > Save

  • Confirm the title and submission due date show correctly
  • Tick to Lock title(s) for Author
  • Submit to send the email to the Corresponding Author (cc. the rest of the author team)
  • Return to Main Menu to initiate another proposal