Submittable Reviews

Submittable has made our publishing experience enjoyable, rather than laborious.

Pros:

Its ease of use makes it a joy to work with: it's a clearinghouse, a reply tool, and an organizational tool all in one.

Cons:

As it has in the past two years, I'm sure it will continue to improve it's functionality in a few of its features. For example, I'd like our readers/editors to be able to receive submissions immediately instead of me having to assign everything, but remain on a blind level, and also not be able to decline the work, just leave notes as they currently can.

It Changes The Way I Do Things

Comments: Awesome. Very helpful, easy to use. Simple and straight forward interface. It saves a lot of my time and really help me organize my submissions, and the best of all, which I didn't expect to find, is the plethora of contests I didn't find anywhere else (or it will take me a lot of time to find).

Pros:

I wish I found Submittable earlier. I used to look for writing competitions through google and other search engines. The problem is they are sometimes outdated, inaccurate and very limited search result. I also have tons of bookmarks to help me remember which competitions I sent them too. When I submit a lot, I lost count and all I did was just wait for emails that inform me about the results. I found Submittable when some of the contests required me to use Submittable. It became a delight because the interface is very use friendly and I started to explore more, and I was in for pleasant surprises. I like the way it organizes my contests, I no longer forget which and where I submit them to, and the great thing is I'm also able to track the feedbacks for those contests instead of rummaging through my emails about forgotten or non-existent results. But the best thing is I can find way more contests through Submittable, and filter them the way I want to, from entry fees to genres. It saves a lot of time and effort and there are tons of contests.

Cons:

None so far. I haven't had chance to explore other functions like creating my forms, but from what I use Submittable for, everything is satisfactory. It's an apps that does what it promises and more.

Submittable is user-friendly, but only for applicants.

Pros:

The product is easy for applicants to use, with simple forms and clear application guidelines. Generally, we have had many applicants have no issues while applying, which is definitely a positive about the platform.

Cons:

For administrative staff who work grant programs on the back-end, features such as advanced reporting are sorely lacking. It's difficult to build these reports and pull through the data you need. Additionally, there are many small issues that Submittable merely provides "work-arounds" for, rather than solving problems. For example - tables that are put directly into an application form export as a separate file, and then would need to be merged in order to package applications. While the platform might make the process of applying smooth for applicants, there seem to always be headaches for our staff when processing applications afterwards.

Grant management

Comments: Generally a good experience with Submittable.

Pros:

Ease of use for applicants, volunteer reviewers, and administrators.

Cons:

Not being able to talk live with support when needed. I really don't like that.

Why Use Submittable

Pros:

1. Submittable is user-friendly. 2. Preparing to receive new documents for new projects is not time-consuming. 3. Submittable makes it easy to reach a broader audience by making projects searchable within the platform. 4. Readable for users. 5. Ability to generate reports.

Cons:

1. Window to reply to submitters is too small. 2. Difficult to deactivate payment feature if a submitter has paid.

Love the Ease of Sumittable

Comments: We've loved our experience with the Submittable team. They system and the team continue to impress us.

Pros:

Great Customer Service - and ease of the system for both applicant and reviewer are fantastic

Cons:

wish they had a more comprehensive CRM - which this is in the beta stage, it doesn't work for us because we do not require our applicants to have a UEI or be a non-profit.

Submittable saves us time

Comments: Our Institute is small and is not endowed. Thus the cost is a big issue. I believe we have a discount, but I don't know how much and that question on your survey didn't allow for the "I don't know" response. I am on the front-line and the applicants seem satisfied with the process.

Pros:

I like the way Submittable allows for use of multiple programs.

Cons:

The restriction on the number of reviewers we can have as 'active' at one time is a royal pain! I would prefer to use 3 reviewers per applicant on one project, but I cannot because the time overlaps with another project and we have separate reviewers for each.

Good experience

Comments: Very good overall, I can manage the platform by myself mostly

Pros:

Easy to manage, specially submissions and reviews

Cons:

Costumer service is not that fast and effective

Great platform, highly customizable

Comments: Smooth, positive, pricey but ultimately worth it.

Pros:

Our team loves the ability to make each form and application its own. This platform has allowed us to expand greatly the number of applications we can process and it has made the review process much smoother.

Cons:

Despite it being a great platform, we find it difficult to keep up with the expense. For what it provides and the way in which we use it, it's a very costly platform.

Submittable Review

Pros:

Easy to use software, lots of functions to choose from.

Cons:

The price is high compared to other call for speakers' software.

Great flexibility for building a workflow for grant management

Pros:

I like the transparency and the ease with which we were able to implement the software into our grant management procedure. The forms are easy to build, I can create a lot of them to cover the gaps for subsequent applicant communication. We were also able to do blind review to eliminate biases and separate groups of reviewers with different sets of questions.

Cons:

1) The number of seats comes expensive. As a charity, we have a pool of scientific volunteers who give back to the community by reviewing grants with us. But with the limited number of seats, we had to narrow down the pool to the bare minimum and restructure the whole review process in order to fit in our tight budgets. 2) There isn't an open API available for us to integrate into our mobile app. There is only a read-only API that we were able to connect to but it gives limited connectivity and doesn't allow us to sync the internal grant management process with external-facing community commitments.

Grant Management is a breeze!

Pros:

We were nervous about starting this grant program because of the intensity of the management process. Submittable makes gathering, reviewing, and managing applicants and grantees easy!

Cons:

I do wish there was a way to organize all of the information in Submittable (as is, I have many spreadsheets going simultaneously).

Satisfied user - some improvements could be made

Pros:

I'm a pretty basic user of Submittable, and like how easily customizable the grant application and communication with applicants is. This allows me to create/edit grant applications as needed.

Cons:

Sometimes the interface gets glitchy. Also, when I need help with specific questions, I've found their online Q&A helpful but kind of limited, and it has required me trying to get help from our client rep directly for what seems like simple questions.

Submittable Found a Need and Filled It

Pros:

I like that they function as a gatekeeper for our contests, add to our authenticity, and help us maintain a level playing field.

Cons:

Sometimes I struggle with posting contests, but when I ask questions I've gotten help. I wish you could help us put the word out. Loved being listed in your newsletter.

Good Platform that's not Super Intuitive

Pros:

I like that it's a fairly easy platform to collect contest entries (which we have a lot of!). I like that I can set up an automated response (even though it's not always easy to figure out how to do that). I like that the personalized responses can add applicant's name.

Cons:

I don't find Submittable to be very intuitive. I find myself having to google answers to my question- I'm usually able to successfully find the answer but it isn't user intuitive. Particularly, I think that setting up automated responses should be easier to find. Also, I often make the mistake where I click on a project and it takes me to the description of the form rather than what I'm looking for, the entries. I find myself scared to use the back button because it re-directs me to pages I'm not trying to go to. It's more of an issue on our end but people put so much weight on the "in progress" status etc which we just don't use so I wish there was a way to turn that off.

Ease of Use

Comments: Overall, very pleased with the product.

Pros:

The product is easy to use, and adaptable to organizational needs.

Cons:

I wish that e-signature can be incorporated into the initial forms. I also wish that there was an option to build your own bundle of features, since sometimes you may have to end up purchasing features within a bundle that you will not use because it has no impact on your specific organizational needs.

Practical and User friendly submission platform

Comments: Submittable streamlines our application process and the program works without interruption.

Pros:

Ease of use. Great way to receive and evaluate grant applications.Friendly support from Submittable.

Cons:

Not sure at this juncture. Pricing could be a challenge in the future as we're a small foundation. So far that has been manageable.

Reliable and Effecient

Comments: I enjoy my work, and Submittable gives me confidence to stay organized and productive. I will learn to do more with it as I proceed and learn how to utilize what's available that I haven't tried yet (e.g. blind readings, running contests, etc.) The experience has been a very good, and as we grow our journal's submission rate which correlates to our growing readership, Submittable, I believe, will be an excellent tool for me as managing editor and the people who assist me.

Pros:

I am able to manage my submissions quite easily with Submittable. It has many sorting options, and several tools to make reading a large amount of work manageable. Working collaboratively with other editors is possible and efficient because of the filtering functions (such as the use of labels, storing submissions, ordering them by date, alphabetically, etc.) and team management tools (such as the assigning of certain tasks to certain individuals, easy messaging, dissemination of work, etc.) I like the basic look/visuals of Submittable, as it is relatively intuitive to use. Furthermore, when I encountered troubles or had questions, I was given friendly and quick help over the telephone, as well as through their chatlines. Editing our site is also very easy.

Cons:

I don't like that some services are offered to certain levels of subscriptions and not to others. I'd rather have a good, fair price for the use of Submittable's full functions. It's not always clear to me what I have in my subscription, even though not too hard to check, I suppose. Also, to "test" how forms will look to submitters seems a little complicated, but not too bad once going through it. I feel a little "blind" when sending out ACCEPT/DECLINE. Not sure what the solution is, however, and really does not present any real trouble for me.

Jentel Residency

Comments: Instead of handling applications by hand, we are able to focus on accuracy and applications increase annually. Makes life so easy!

Pros:

The product covers all the bases, ease of use for staff, review panel, and applicants. They are always listening and improving their product

Cons:

Any questions we have are always addressed. Support is amazing and we cannot praise them enough

Every publication should use this software

Comments: Submittable made life so much easier. We drastically improved collaboration and communication. We were able to cut down our response times to submitters. We also received more submissions.

Pros:

Pretty much every feature is a lifesaver. The workflows, templates, ratings, comments, etc. It's all very well thought out and makes collection and responding to submissions of any kind super easy. The ability to collect payment for contests or other submissions is also invaluable.

Cons:

Honestly, there's nothing I dislike about this software other than maybe the cost. It's one of the few tools that I think is pretty much perfect as it is.

Submittable use for literature contest

Comments: Great software for large number of entries (>1500 entries for one contest for one year). Could use some work on reports, as above.

Pros:

Sorting entries, keeping track of judges' progress, contest progress

Cons:

Unable to provide summaries of entries per judge (reviewer) in an Excel form, have images but primary data was disorganized, had to download it and do many sorts in Excel on my computer

Overall, we are very pleased with the software. It is well worth the expense.

Pros:

Their customer service department is outstanding. Their innovation team seems to be open to feedback from those of us who use the software. I will say, Submittable gives us virtual space to complete our work from all over the world. This keeps our organization and our entire field growing, and our talented team together.

Submittable

Comments: I've used Submittable as a business owner, a submitter, and as someone with access to read submissions. Overall, it's a pretty easy interface that allows you to collaborate and keep submissions organized.

Pros:

I'm pretty sure Submittable is the only well-known service of its type, at least at the moment, but with that said, it is easy to keep track of submissions and their status as they come in, they notify you, and you can have an account with multiple people to split up tasks.

Cons:

There are some things that could be a bit more intuitive, like tagging people and seeing what others have been assigned. It could be nice to have a reminder for older submissions that haven't been voted on or received a response yet, as well.

Easy to use submission management system

Pros:

Easy to build custom submission pages and link them on main sites or landing pages. Assignment is also very simple, as is setting up new users.

Cons:

I'd love it if there were the option to pay per added user over the minimum. We're on a grandfathered plan, which is AWESOME, and I very much appreciate the kindness offered to online literary magazines, but to get up to the 10 user plan we would more than double what we're paying.

This is everything we could have hoped to help keep our submissions on track and organized.

Comments: The only glitch I've had was when the "status" column was not working, but after contacting your service representatives, the problem was fixed within 24 hours. But that's not really a con, more a pro I guess.

Pros:

As an editor, it keeps the entire process of submissions very organized. The ability to archive and track all the submissions that come through here, along with all the automatic data in graph form that Submittable contributes in regards to either our regular day to day submissions or our annual competition, is everything we want it to be. Not to mention that there are numerous places which one can tuck notes about this or that author whose work is on track to be published by us. In addition, allowing the person whose work we're considering to leave notes for us about their submission should parts of it be accepted elsewhere, is a huge bonus for any editor.