Submission templates

Seismica does not require that authors use a specific template to submit a manuscript. However, upon acceptance, papers must be formatted using one of the Seismica templates. Templates for odt, docx, and LaTeX can be downloaded below. Authors can also find our LaTeX template on Overleaf, but note that Seismica cannot interface directly with Overleaf and prepared files must still be submitted through this website. For more information on submission formatting requirements, see the Author Guidelines.

LaTeX template on Overleaf
Download Seismica LaTeX template
Download Seismica docx template
Download Seismica odt template

Citations should be formatted following the APA 7th edition standard. If you use a citation manager like Zotero or Mendeley, make sure to set the style for your article file to the APA 7th edition.

How to make your copy/layout Editor happy

Seismica's copy and layout editors are all volunteers, and they greatly appreciate authors who provide clean source files for their accepted manuscripts. Here are a few ways that authors can help make copy-editing and article production go smoothly:

  • Use the LaTeX template if possible instead of the docx/odt templates. We are happy to accept articles in our docx and odt templates, but be aware that converting file formats requires extra work and may delay article production.

  • Do not modify the LaTeX class file as this may make your article incompatible with our publication template, even if it works fine with the submission template that you are using.

  • Do not add custom macros to your LaTeX file. If you do this, for example to be able to type a commonly used word or phrase more quickly, please do a find/replace and remove the \newcommand statements before you send us your TeX file for production.

  • Do not add packages to the LaTeX template. Packages that are not included in the submission template may be incompatible with our publication template and/or may not be transferrable to XML, which we use to display the full text of your article on a webpage alongside the PDF version.

  • Follow the TeX formatting conventions used in the template example for things like citations (\citet, \citep) and references (\ref). We know there are many other options for using TeX that you may prefer for your personal use, but since we publish our articles in JATS XML (the "Full text" version) as well as PDF, we need to adhere to certain conventions in order to generate XML files from TeX files.

  • Include only the references you actually cite in your article files for production. Please try your best to give us a clean reference list that does not have extra entries for things that you do not actually cite. Do not export your entire Mendeley or Zotero library to a single bib file and send it to us, as this causes problems in article production.

  • Strictly follow the formatting of the docx/odt templates by using the styles provided in the templates: use header styles for headers, text styles for text, etc. Do not let your word processor turn numbered sections into numbered list items. Do not add headers or footers, and do not add macros. Place captions below tables and figures, with the tags on the captions ("Figure 1", "Table 1") in bold.
    Much of the conversion from docx/odt to tex is done with software developed by the Seismica team, and that conversion process relies on consistent structure and formatting of the docx/odt files.

  • Follow Seismica's guidelines on citation formats. List all authors for each reference in the bibliography (the style for AGU journals truncates author lists and should not be used). Include DOIs for references where available. Try to standardize how journal names are included: for example, consistently use "Journal of Geophysical Research" or "J. Geophys. Res." throughout your bibliography, rather than switching between the two.

  • Adhere to Seismica's style guide as much as possible. The intent of the style guide is to provide clear guidelines to authors and to enhance the clarity and readibility of articles.

  • Place tables in Supplementary Material if possible.

  • Proofread your article before you submit it!