Publishing in the eLife Model: An author’s perspective

The eLife Model is designed to make research sharing faster, fairer and more transparent than traditional publishing approaches.

Since we opened the model for submissions researchers have published with us for many reasons including:

• Authors retain control of their work, deciding what revisions to make after publication of their Reviewed Preprint or declaring their research the final Version of Record (VOR)
• Publishing through the eLife Model is fast, with research typically published online within 96 days (median in 2025)
• Our eLife Assessments provide an alternative to journal-level metrics, moving evaluation to the article itself

And by publishing with eLife, authors are supporting reform in research communication, review and assessment.

But what’s their experience of publishing with us?

In this collection, authors share their thoughts on the eLife Model, tell us about their research and offer advice to researchers who are thinking about publishing with eLife.

Collection

1. 1. Neuroscience

   Publishing with eLife: “the future of science lies in greater transparency”

   Neuroscientist Magdalena Solyga shares her latest study and her experience publishing with eLife.
2. 1. Developmental Biology

   Publishing with eLife: “more a process of a collaboration than an exam you need to pass”

   An author team shares their experience of eLife’s collaborative publishing process.
3. 1. Immunology and Inflammation

   Publishing with eLife: “We chose eLife for an important philosophical reason…”

   We spoke with Mark Boothby, Professor of Immunology at Vanderbilt University, about his experience publishing with eLife.
4. 1. Evolutionary Biology

   Publishing with eLife: “make positive impacts by contributing to such nourishing culture”

   Why do authors choose the eLife Model? We spoke to Hironori Funabiki at the Rockefeller University to learn his reasons.
5. 1. Neuroscience

   Publishing with eLife: “authors have a lot of control in the publication process”

   What do authors think about publishing in eLife’s model? We spoke with Meike van der Heijden to find out about her experience.
6. 1. Developmental Biology
   2. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine

   Publishing with eLife: “an open ‘conversation’… without the threat of rejection”

   What do authors think about publishing in eLife’s model? We spoke with Patrick Allard to find out about his experience.
7. 1. Ecology

   Publishing with eLife: "smooth, fair, and transparent"

   Ushio Masayuki tells us about his experience publishing with eLife’s new model.
8. 1. Evolutionary Biology

   Publishing with eLife: “innovative and intriguing”

   Chunxiao Li, postdoctoral researcher in vertebrate paleontology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, shares her experience of publishing a Reviewed Preprint with eLife.
9. 1. Developmental Biology
   2. Neuroscience

   Publishing with eLife: "exactly what our study needed"

   A recent Reviewed Preprint author tells us about their experience of eLife's publishing model.
10. 1. Neuroscience

    Publishing with eLife: "I fully recommend the new model"

    An author from the first revised Reviewed Preprint shares her experience of the new model and publishing with eLife.