Pre-Submission Preflight (jf-submission)

When to trigger

• "We're submitting tomorrow" — the last check before the submit button
• Unsure which files and statements the AFA portal expects
• Unsure about the submission fee tier or whether a cover letter is needed

ACCURACY NOTE: fees, limits, and editor lists change. Verify current specifics on afajof.org/submissions before submitting. Fee tiers and the editor masthead were re-verified 2026-06-22 against the live AFA pages (amounts unchanged; current Co-Editors confirmed below); the JF Submission Guidelines PDF is Rev. March 12, 2024.

Submission logistics (JF-specific)

• JF submissions go through the AFA's online submission system (afajof.org/submissions); the fee is paid by credit card (Visa / MasterCard / Amex) as part of the submission.
• Tiered submission fee by author economy and AFA membership (high-income: AFA member $400, non-member $525; middle-income: $100 / $150; low-income: no fee). All authors must reside in a low/middle-income country to qualify for the reduced/zero tier.
• Refund policy: a flat $200 is returned on a desk rejection (high-income; not for resubmissions of previously rejected papers); the entire fee is refunded if the first decision takes more than 100 days. Applies to the first submission only.
• Editor: Antoinette Schoar (MIT), with Co-Editors Kogan, Lewellen, Philippon, and Sunderam (Adi Sunderam replaced Urban Jermann on 1 July 2025) and 50+ Associate Editors, plus a Data Editor (Hong Ru) — masthead confirmed on afajof.org/editorial-board 2026-06-22; re-verify before submission.

Cover letter (JF norm — usually skip it)

• JF explicitly states a cover letter is usually NOT necessary. Include one only for specific information: a request for exemption from the code-sharing policy, or a conflict of interest among editors/AEs/referees. If you have nothing specific, do not attach one.

Formatting (confirm against current guidelines)

• Manuscript no more than 60 pages, at least 1.5 line spacing, 12-point font
• Title page with abstract and JEL codes; keywords as requested
• References in the journal's style; every in-text citation appears in the list and vice versa
• Tables/figures numbered with the journal's running scheme; each self-contained
• Standard-error/clustering conventions stated in every table note

Internet Appendix (JF-specific placement)

• Internet Appendix placed at the END of the same PDF (not a separate upload), with "Internet Appendix" on its first page
• It does not count toward the 60-page limit
• Every IA item is referenced from the main text; main text is self-contained

Code, disclosures & statements

• Disclosure statement prepared (AFA disclosure policy: relevant financial interests)
• Replication code ready — the Data and Code Sharing Policy (in force since Sept 2016; current rev. 1 April 2024) requires code with the final accepted version, published in Supplementary Information and checked by the Data Editor
• Funding/acknowledgments drafted; suggested/opposed reviewers if asked (see jf-referee-strategy)

Worked vignette — the night-before preflight

Illustrative. A team submits tomorrow and the preflight surfaces three issues. The body is 63 pages — over the limit — so two robustness tables move to the Internet Appendix, bringing it to 57 pp. All authors reside in a high-income country and one is an AFA member, so the fee is the high-income member tier (confirm the figure on the AFA page). They drafted a generic cover letter — which JF says to skip; they delete it, having nothing specific to flag. With the IA bundled and code staged for the Data Editor, the submission is clean.

Desk-reject-adjacent preflight traps

Anti-patterns

• Attaching a cover letter with no specific purpose (JF says skip it)
• Submitting a paper over 60 pages and counting the Internet Appendix against the limit
• Uploading the Internet Appendix as a separate file instead of bundling it in the same PDF
• Treating code sharing as optional — JF's Data Editor verifies it at acceptance
• Quoting an old fee tier without checking afajof.org/submissions

Output format

【Portal】AFA online submission system — account ready: yes/no
【Fee tier (member/economy) confirmed?】yes / no — $amount
【≤60 pp, 1.5 spacing, 12pt?】yes / no
【Internet Appendix bundled in same PDF + all items cited?】yes / no
【Cover letter only if needed (exemption/COI)?】yes / no
【Disclosure + replication code ready?】yes / no
【Next step】jf-referee-strategy → (after decision) jf-rebuttal

Related resources

• templates/manuscript_template.md — JF-oriented manuscript skeleton (title page, abstract, body, Internet Appendix pointers, references)
• templates/checklist.md — Eight-section pre-submission self-check
• ../../resources/external_tools.md — Finance data sources (CRSP / Compustat / TAQ / WRDS / Refinitiv) and Stata / R / Python packages