Your paper was rejected and you've picked a new journal. Now the part nobody loves: "let me also reformat it for this journal." Good news: it's easier than it looks and most of it can be automated. You adapt only the presentation, not the content. Here's how, step by step.
First: read the new journal's author guidelines
Before touching anything, read the target journal's author guidelines end to end. Every journal differs in font, margins, heading format, abstract structure, reference style and figure rules. Starting to adapt without knowing what to change wastes time.
What to change (checklist)
| Element | Typical change |
|---|---|
| Reference style | APA ↔ Vancouver ↔ journal template; citations + bibliography |
| Headings & section layout | Section order, numbering, heading case (title/sentence) |
| Abstract structure | Structured (headed) ↔ unstructured; word limit |
| Figures & tables | Resolution, numbering, placement, caption format |
| Word/page limit | Trim/expand to the new limit |
| Cover letter | Rewrite entirely — journal-specific |
| Statements | Ethics, conflict of interest, funding format |
You're not changing the content; you're recasting the presentation. Use any previous reviewer comments at this stage to strengthen the text.
Change the reference style easily
The scariest part is usually references — but it's also the easiest to automate. If you use a reference manager (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote), select the new journal's style and reformat all citations and the bibliography in one click. If you use LaTeX, swapping the journal template/.bst file does the same. Changing references by hand is slow and error-prone — always use a tool.
Rewrite the cover letter
A cover letter should never be copy-paste. Write it specific to the new journal: clearly state why the paper fits that journal's scope and its contribution. Sending the same template letter to multiple journals signals to the editor "this paper wasn't chosen specifically for you" — which raises the risk of an out-of-scope rejection.
How to reduce this effort
Two ways:
- Pick a format-free journal. More and more journals (Wiley, Taylor & Francis, PLOS and others) accept "Your Paper Your Way" initial submissions with no formatting requirements; they only ask for formatting after acceptance. Choosing one for the initial submission largely skips the reformatting work.
- Use a pre-submission checklist — scan formatting and guideline fit in one pass with the pre-submission checklist.
Choosing the right journal (the journal-selection guide) is half the process; the other half is adapting the presentation with discipline. Peerfect's free pre-review engine shows formatting and guideline mismatches through an editor's eyes before you submit — so you base reformatting on a checklist, not guesswork.