Submission Policy

1. Scope and general submission rules

·         The Homoeopathic Quill is a peer‑reviewed, open‑access e‑journal with a fully multidisciplinary scope.

·         Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere at the time of submission, including print and electronic journals or books.

·         The primary audience of the journal is researchers, clinicians, educators, and professionals across disciplines, and the journal aims to publish a minimum of ten-twelve research articles per year.

 

2. Article types and ethical standards

·         The journal accepts: original research, review articles, case reports/series, brief communications, viewpoints, and educational innovations relevant to the journal’s multidisciplinary scope.

·         Authors must follow international standards for research and publication ethics, including proper ethical approval, informed consent where applicable, trial registration (for clinical trials), and management of conflicts of interest, in line with indexing requirements.

·         All submissions are subject to plagiarism screening with a similarity threshold appropriate for academic publishing (less than 15%); manuscripts with significant overlap may be rejected or returned for clarification.

3. Peer review policy and 4-6 weeks’ timeline

·         The Homoeopathic Quill follows a double‑blind peer‑review process, ensuring that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review.

·         Each eligible manuscript is typically evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with subject expertise, in accordance indexing agencies expectations for transparent and rigorous quality control.

Indicative 4-6 weeks review workflow

·         Days 0–3: Initial editorial screening

o    Checks for scope fit, completeness, ethical compliance, plagiarism, and basic formatting.

o    Manuscripts may be rejected at this stage or returned to authors for technical corrections before peer review.

·         Days 3–7: Reviewer invitation and assignment

o    Suitable reviewers are selected based on subject area, qualifications, and absence of conflicts of interest, with clear documentation of the review assignment.

·         Days 14: Peer‑review phase

o    Reviewers are requested to submit detailed reports and a recommendation (accept, minor revision, major revision, reject) within approximately 14 days.

o    In case of delayed response, alternate reviewers may be invited to maintain the overall 4-6 weeks decision target.

·         Days 3–7: Editorial decision

o    The handling editor synthesises reviewer feedback and makes an editorial decision within the 3-7 days window from submission (accept, revise, or reject).

·         Days 7–14: Author communication and Revision and Final publication

o    Revised versions may undergo further review, with timelines communicated to authors; accepted articles then proceed to copyediting, layout, and online publication.

4. Transparency, open access, and indexing‑oriented practices

·         The journal provides free immediate open access to all articles, without paywalls for readers, and clearly states copyright, licensing, and reuse conditions on the website.

·         Editorial board members, along with their affiliations, are publicly listed, and the journal monitors endogeny to ensure that no more than 20% of research articles in recent issues are authored by editors, board members, or reviewers.

·         Detailed instructions for authors, peer‑review description, and all author charges (including waivers or exemptions where applicable) are displayed in a single, easily accessible section to meet indexing agency transparency requirements.

5. Article Processing Charges (APC)

·         The Homoeopathic Quill charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) to support peer review, production,  editing and online hosting.

·         APCs are payable only after a manuscript is formally accepted; there are no submission fees, and all applicable taxes are clearly itemized.

 

Article Type	Total (INR)
Case Report	950
Review Article	1200
Research Paper	1850

·         Fees exclude submission and exclude waivers for authors from low-income countries per HINARI eligibility.

6. Ethical Policies

·         Authors must declare conflicts of interest, obtain ethics approvals (e.g., IEC for human studies), and confirm originality with plagiarism checks below 15%. We follow COPE guidelines for misconduct, appeals, and data sharing; violations lead to rejection or retraction.

Optional add‑on services (if you wish to include them)

·         Language editing support (optional, third‑party or in‑house): charged separately at a transparent rate per word or per manuscript, with GST itemised.

·         Print‑on‑demand (if offered): charged per copy plus GST, separate from APC.

·         Waiver and discount requests (for students, or authors from low‑ and middle‑income countries) may be considered on a case‑by‑case basis, and any waiver policy will be described clearly on the journal website.