Loop
Submit → Inbox → review → publish.
That is the core product. The rest is optional.
Rule of thumb
The editor's daily page should be Inbox.
Advanced tools do not help if nobody knows where tomorrow's papers live.
The path
- Journal. Import the demo or make one blank journal. Editor and reviewer roles appear on activate.
- Author submit. Public page. Example: a student uploads "Sleep and shift work in ICU nurses.pdf."
- Inbox. Claim it. Invite a reviewer. Accept, revise, or desk-reject with a letter.
- Publish. Status → published. Readers see it on the journal site. Add galleys or an issue TOC if you want.
Instead of email chaos
- Before: "Which PDF is final?" in a 40-message thread.
- After: one paper row in Inbox with status, claim, and decision.
- Before: reviewer forgot the attachment.
- After: invite link opens the review form.
Based on research
WJM started as a research paper about how a journal system can run on WordPress. The plugin you install follows that design.
Read the paper: SSRN or ResearchGate