How it works

Transparent, community led and built for experimental pragmatics.

The Journal of Experimental Pragmatics uses a transparent, community owned editorial model designed to support rigorous and constructive research. Our process combines early visibility through preprints with a clearly structured and accountable peer review system led by researchers in the field.

Central to this process is the Voluntary Action Editor (VAE) model, where active researchers take responsibility for managing peer review, supported by the Editorial Board to ensure fairness, rigour and consistency.

Submit your manuscript

Step-by-step publishing process

1. Submission and initial checks

Submit your manuscript through our online system. Submissions undergo technical checks by UCL Press before being assessed by the Editors in Chief to confirm suitability for the journal.

2. Editorial assessment and preprint publication

If your manuscript is suitable:

Your submission is approved for preprint publication.
A DOI is assigned and the paper is made publicly available.
The work is clearly marked as not yet peer reviewed.

At this stage, the manuscript is shared with the journal’s community of Voluntary Action Editors.

3. Voluntary Action Editor selection

Members of the Voluntary Action Editor (VAE) pool review newly posted preprints and may volunteer to act as Action Editor for your submission.

The selected VAE must be approved by a relevant member of the Editorial Board or the Editors in Chief. This ensures:

No conflicts of interest.
Appropriate subject expertise.
Consistency with the journal’s editorial standards.

The VAE then takes responsibility for coordinating the peer review process.

Read more about the peer review process here:

Peer review policy

4. Peer review and evaluation

The VAE manages peer review by inviting appropriate reviewers and overseeing the evaluation process.

Reviewers may be drawn from the VAE community or the wider research field.
Reviews and decision letters are made publicly available.
Reviewers may choose whether to remain anonymous.

This approach ensures transparency while supporting constructive, expert feedback.

5. Editorial decision and oversight

The VAE makes a draft editorial decision based on the reviews.

This decision is then reviewed by a member of the Editorial Board or the Editors-in-Chief, who:

Provide oversight and ensure consistency.
Confirm that standards of rigour are met.
Help mediate fairness where needed.
Ensure compliance with ethical and editorial policies.

Following this review, the VAE communicates the decision to the author. Decisions may include acceptance, revision, or rejection.

6. Revision and resubmission

If revisions are requested, authors submit a revised version of the manuscript.

The same VAE typically continues to manage the process, ensuring continuity and informed evaluation across versions.

7. Acceptance and final publication

Once accepted:

The manuscript is sent to UCL Press for production.
It is professionally copyedited, typeset and proofread.
The final Version of Record is published and indexed.

The full review history remains openly available, supporting transparency and accountability in the publication process.

The Voluntary Action Editor model

The Voluntary Action Editor (VAE) model places active researchers at the centre of editorial decision making. VAEs take responsibility for handling submissions, selecting reviewers, and guiding manuscripts through peer review. Their work is visible and accountable as part of the scholarly process.

They are supported by the Editorial Board, who provide oversight, ensure fairness and uphold the journal’s quality standards and ethical policies. Together, this model creates a publishing environment that is:

Community governed rather than commercially driven
Transparent in its decision making
Rigorous in its evaluation of both theory and methods

Why this process matters

Clear editorial responsibility with visible decision making
Constructive peer review designed to strengthen research
Balanced evaluation across theory and experimental methods
Open and accountable publishing aligned with community values

Stay supported throughout

Our editorial team are here to help: from formatting and submission, through to revisions and final publication. We aim to make publishing equitable, collaborative and impactful for all contributors.