jfi-submission - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: jfi-submission description: Use when running the final pre-submission preflight for the Journal of Financial Intermediation (JFI) via Editorial Manager — the US$500 non-refundable new-submission fee, the system-built review PDF, a <=250-word abstract, 1-7 English keywords, optional Highlights and SSRN preprint, Option C data links/statements, and the mandatory generative-AI disclosure. Final checks; it does not draft content.

Submission Preflight (jfi-submission)

When to trigger

"Submitting tomorrow" — last check before pressing submit in Editorial Manager
Confirming what Editorial Manager expects at initial submission
Checking the fee, abstract/keyword metadata, data links/statements, and required declarations

Process facts (verified 2026-06-22; re-confirm on the official Guide for Authors)

JFI is published by Elsevier (ISSN 1042-9573); submission is via Editorial Manager, which converts uploaded files into a single PDF for peer review. Editable files (Word/LaTeX) are needed only for typesetting after acceptance.
A US$500 submission fee applies to all new submissions, paid in Editorial Manager before the paper is considered; desk-rejected papers are not refunded. Transferred manuscripts do not pay another submission fee.
Requires a concise factual abstract not exceeding 250 words and 1-7 English keywords.
"Your-paper-your-way": no strict reference style at submission as long as it is internally consistent; the author–date Elsevier style is applied at proof.
A Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process must appear before the References if such tools were used; AI cannot be an author.
Optional but encouraged: Highlights (3–5 bullets, max 85 characters each) and free SSRN preprint posting during submission (not prior publication).

Preflight checklist

Manuscript merges cleanly to one review PDF; numbered sections (1, 1.1, 1.1.1)
References in any internally consistent style with clean author–year fields
Concise, stand-alone abstract, <=250 words, no avoidable references
US$500 fee ready in Editorial Manager (non-refundable on desk-reject)
1-7 English keywords chosen for indexing
Generative-AI declaration placed before References (or omitted if not used)
Decided on optional SSRN preprint and optional Highlights
Option C data plan ready: deposit/cite/link research data, or explain why data cannot be shared
Data Statement prepared; datasets linked in EM where applicable; [dataset] tags in references
Conflict-of-interest / funding statements ready; not under review elsewhere

Fee-gated go/no-go before pressing submit

Because the fee is non-refundable on desk-reject, treat submission as a gated decision, not a formality:

Gate 1 — fit: the jfi-topic-selection verdict is "strong," not "borderline"; a borderline intermediation fit means you are likely paying for a desk rejection.
Gate 2 — frame: the abstract names the intermediary, friction, mechanism, and consequence (jfi-contribution-framing) — the desk screen reads no further.
Gate 3 — design: the first objection a banking referee will raise (usually a demand-side confound) is already pre-empted in the introduction, not saved for Section 6.

Cover-letter calibration for this desk screen

Three short paragraphs: what the paper shows about intermediation (one identified or proved claim, with the headline magnitude or proposition); why this journal (name the sub-literature — relationship lending, capital regulation, deposit competition — not "fits the aims and scope"); and any editor-expertise match if you request a Managing Editor. Do not paste the abstract.

Last-mile glitches that cost real money here

The EM-built review PDF scrambles landscape tables — proof the system's PDF, not your local compile.
Keywords are generic ("banking," "finance") rather than naming the intermediation mechanism and data.
Highlights written as full sentences exceeding the 85-character limit, truncated badly by the system.
Fee paid but Data Statement or declarations missing, triggering an administrative return that delays triage. Confirm the current declaration list against the journal's live author guidelines before final filing.

Anti-patterns

Submitting without paying the fee, or expecting a refund after desk-reject
Submitting an abstract over 250 words or fewer than 1 / more than 7 English keywords
Omitting the generative-AI declaration when such tools were used
Anonymizing the manuscript as if it were double-blind — JFI is single-blind

Output format

【Review PDF】one clean file? [Y/N]
【Fee】US$500 ready in Editorial Manager? [Y/N]
【Abstract / Keywords】<=250 words and 1-7 English keywords? [Y/N]
【AI declaration】present-if-used, before References? [Y/N]
【Option C data plan / Data Statement / [dataset] tags】[Y/N]
【Next step】single-blind review → jfi-rebuttal on R&R