Submission Preflight (jole-submission)

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow" — last check before pressing submit on Editorial Manager
• Unsure which files Editorial Manager expects at the initial-submission stage
• Confirming single-blind (non-anonymized) format, the 100-word abstract, and Chicago author-date style are JOLE-compliant
• Checking the submission fee and declarations before paying

Process facts (official source map; live-check the portal before upload)

• JOLE is published by the University of Chicago Press for the Society of Labor Economists (SOLE); manuscripts are in English and submitted online via the current Editorial Manager route linked from the official instructions page.
• Submission fee (since July 1, 2018): $100 for SOLE members, $175 for non-members. It is non-refundable even if the paper is desk-rejected, and the decision is not released until the fee is paid. Budget for it; SOLE membership lowers it.
• The manuscript must begin with a title page giving all co-authors' names, institutions, and email addresses, followed by a 100-word abstract.
• Review is single-blind (single-anonymized): referees are anonymous but know the author's identity, so do NOT anonymize the manuscript and do NOT anonymize references. This is the opposite of double-blind journals.
• JOLE does not normally publish articles exceeding 20,000 words, counting a full-page table or figure as 500 words toward that total.
• References use University of Chicago Press author-date (Chicago) style; in-text citations are ordered chronologically, then alphabetically within the same year (a, b disambiguation), with "et al." for three or more authors. LaTeX is accepted (.bib/.bst rules; Biblatex/Biber supported with a required directive line).
• Text and figures are preferred as separate files (or a single combined file). Operates under UChicago Press / COPE ethics guidelines.
• The direct Editorial Manager shell can display portal-status banners; enter through the live official instructions route and follow the prompts shown in that session.

Preflight checklist

Format & style

• Title page first with all co-authors' names, institutions, and emails (single-blind — NOT anonymized)
• 100-word abstract immediately after the title page
• Manuscript ≤ ~20,000 words, counting each full-page table/figure as 500 words
• References in Chicago author-date; in-text chronological then alphabetical within a year; "et al." for 3+ authors
• Text and figures prepared as separate files (or one combined file) per current guidance
• Tables and figures numbered, called out in order, with self-contained notes
• If LaTeX, .bib/.bst and the Biber directive line are correct

NOT anonymized (single-blind — required)

• Author names, affiliations, emails present on the title page
• Self-citations written normally; references not blinded
• (No double-blind scrubbing — that would be wrong for JOLE)

Files for Editorial Manager

• Main manuscript (title page + 100-word abstract + body + exhibits)
• Cover letter (concise: labor question, design, headline result, fit with SOLE's audience)
• Portal path opened from the current UChicago Press instructions page, not an old bookmark
• Data/proprietary-data notice prepared if applicable (see Declarations)
• Replication materials staged for the accepted stage (see jole-replication-and-data-policy)

Declarations & fee

• Submission fee ready ($100 SOLE / $175 non-member) — decision is withheld until paid
• Conflict-of-interest / disclosure consistent with AEA Disclosure Policy
• Editor notified at submission if data are proprietary or replication cannot be met
• Confirmed the paper is not under review elsewhere; human-subjects/confidential-data handling noted

Final content sanity

• 100-word abstract states the finding with a number (see jole-writing-style)
• Identification diagnostics complete (see jole-identification-strategy, jole-data-analysis)
• No over-claiming beyond what the labor design supports

Anti-patterns

• Anonymizing the manuscript — JOLE is single-blind; the title page must name all authors
• An abstract that runs past 100 words
• A manuscript well over 20,000 words, or exhibit-heavy without counting each full page as 500 words
• Purely alphabetical in-text citations instead of chronological-then-alphabetical author-date
• Forgetting the non-refundable fee — the decision will not be released until it is paid
• Submitting from a stale portal bookmark without checking the current instructions route
• Failing to flag proprietary data to the editor at submission

Output format

【Title page】all co-authors named (single-blind, NOT anonymized)? [Y/N]
【Abstract】≤ 100 words, states finding? [Y/N]
【Length】≤ ~20,000 words incl. 500/full-page exhibit? [Y/N]
【Reference style】Chicago author-date, chronological-then-alpha in-text? [Y/N]
【Fee】$100 SOLE / $175 non-member ready to pay? [Y/N]
【Declarations】disclosure + proprietary-data notice prepared? [Y/N]
【Next step】await decision → jole-rebuttal on R&R

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — labor data sources and Stata/R/Python packages
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official JOLE URLs and verification status behind every fact