jfqa-submission

JFQA Submission Preflight (jfqa-submission)

Run this before pressing submit on Editorial Manager (editorialmanager.com/jfqa/). JFQA requires an account separate from a Cambridge Core account.

Process facts (verify on the official page)

• Published by Cambridge University Press for the University of Washington Foster School of Business.
• $350 fee (re-verified 2026-06-22, unchanged), credit card only; $275 refunded if the paper is not sent to a reviewer (a desk reject keeps $75). Double-anonymous review; the text-searchable PDF goes blind to reviewer(s). No fixed length limit, but over-long papers are likely desk-rejected.
• Editor structure (re-verified 2026-09-14): JFQA has no single Editor-in-Chief — seven Managing Editors handle papers by assignment. Current slate: Bessembinder, Duchin, Foucault, Harford, Li, Giannetti, Siegel. Mariassunta Giannetti (Stockholm School of Economics) joined 1 Sep 2026, replacing George Pennacchi who stepped down on that date. Re-verify the live slate before submission.

Preflight checklist

Manuscript & formatting

• [ ] Single text-searchable PDF (no image-only pages, no separate figure files).
• [ ] 8.5 × 11 paper, 1-inch margins, 12-pt Times New Roman, double-spaced body and appendices.
• [ ] Abstract: one paragraph, ≤ 100 words (see jfqa-contribution-framing).
• [ ] Tables/figures embedded, numbered, with self-contained notes (see jfqa-tables-figures).

Anonymization (double-anonymous — required)

• [ ] No author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments in the PDF.
• [ ] Self-citations phrased neutrally; PDF metadata scrubbed of author identity.

Disclosures & resubmission rule

• [ ] If this paper was previously rejected by JFQA and substantially modified, the cover letter explicitly discloses the prior rejection — failing to do so triggers desk rejection and a one-year submission ban for the corresponding author.
• [ ] Confirmed not under review elsewhere.

Code-sharing timing

• [ ] If you need a code-sharing exception (e.g., delayed release for confidential data), it is requested on this initial submission — not later (see jfqa-replication-and-data-policy).

Anti-patterns

• Image-only PDF; abstract over 100 words; wrong font/margins/spacing; author identity left in text or metadata.
• Resubmitting a previously rejected paper without disclosing it (one-year ban); requesting a code-sharing exception only after submission.

Desk-reject patterns at the JFQA screen

| Pattern | Why it fails here | Preflight fix |

|---|---|---|

| Abstract at 130 words | violates a stated hard cap before content is judged | compress with jfqa-contribution-framing |

| Scanned or image-only exhibits | breaks the text-searchable-PDF requirement | regenerate exhibits as embedded vector/text |

| Manuscript far longer than the contribution | JFQA explicitly discourages over-long papers | move robustness to an Internet Appendix |

| Author name in PDF Properties | de-anonymizes a double-anonymous process | scrub metadata, rebuild from a clean profile |

| Undisclosed prior JFQA rejection | triggers desk rejection plus the one-year ban | disclose in the cover letter with the change summary |

| Descriptive essay without quantitative analysis | misses the journal's quantitative identity | retest fit via jfqa-topic-selection first |

| Exception request sent after submission | the policy requires it at initial submission | fold the request into today's cover letter |

Submission-day run sheet

1. Rebuild the PDF from the final source on a clean user profile; verify searchability by text-searching a phrase from a table note.
2. Open the PDF properties and confirm Author/Creator fields carry no names; re-export if they do.
3. Re-count the abstract one final time — edits during revision quietly push it past 100 words.
4. Log in to the Editorial Manager JFQA account (it is separate from any Cambridge Core login); enter all co-authors with current affiliations in the metadata, which stays hidden from reviewers.
5. Paste the cover letter: prior-rejection disclosure if applicable, code-sharing exception request if needed, and a one-line fit statement naming the subfield.
6. Pay the $350 by credit card; download and archive the submission confirmation and the exact PDF submitted, since the R&R must diff against it months later.

Specific upload fields and fee mechanics evolve — confirm against the journal's current author guidelines on the day you submit.

Output format

【PDF】single, text-searchable, exhibits embedded? [Y/N]
【Formatting】8.5x11 / 1-in / 12-pt TNR / double-spaced? [Y/N]
【Abstract】≤100 words, one paragraph? [Y/N]
【Anonymized】body + metadata clean? [Y/N]
【Prior-rejection disclosure】included if applicable? [Y/N/NA]
【Code exception】requested now if needed? [Y/N/NA]
【Fee】$350 ready ($275 refundable)? [Y/N]
【Next step】await desk decision → jfqa-rebuttal on R&R

Supplementary resources

• [templates/manuscript_template.md](templates/manuscript_template.md) — JFQA manuscript skeleton (≤100-word abstract, intro arc, design, exhibits)
• [templates/checklist.md](templates/checklist.md) — pre-submission self-check
• [../../resources/external_tools.md](../../resources/external_tools.md) — finance data sources and Stata/R/Python packages
• [../../resources/official-source-map.md](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — official JFQA URLs behind every fact