An oncology publication in a Scopus Q2 journal for a grant: a complex topic, tight deadlines, and a limited budget

Since Aidos Kanatovich is a regular client of ours, we skipped the introductory phase and got straight down to business. But before we could start working, we had to go through a lengthy approval process: negotiations with the clinic’s management via Zoom, preparing a detailed proposal, and finalizing the contract. When dealing with government agencies, the prepayment process is not a quick one.

The main challenge was selecting a journal. Oncology is a narrow niche. There aren’t many journals in this field with a percentile of 65 or higher, and most of them have a lengthy peer-review process (4–6 months) and high APCs. We needed to strike a balance: a specialized journal, reasonable turnaround times, and the client’s budget.

• January 2025 — Finalization and Launch
  We negotiated with the client’s management, prepared a commercial proposal, and managed the prepayment process. At the same time, we conducted a journal selection process: we analyzed 12 oncology journals in Q1–Q2, filtering them by percentile, review times, and APC costs.
• February 2025 — Writing an article
  Work began in early February. Our team helped prepare and format the manuscript in 5 weeks. The client already had the research results—we needed to structure the material and format it to meet the requirements of the target journal. After the client reviewed it and we made revisions, the article was ready for submission.
• They helped negotiate the contract and supported the prepayment process, which usually takes longer in government agencies.
• March 2025 — submission to the journal
  The article was submitted in early March to a specialized oncology journal indexed in Scopus (Q2, 68th percentile) with a request for expedited review. The journal was selected not only based on metrics—we also took into account the specifics of its editorial policy to ensure that the client’s topic aligned with the publication’s current priorities.
• June 2025 — Editorial Response, Revisions
  After 3.5 months, we received a response: “minor revisions.” The revisions were completed within 3 weeks. One week after submitting the revised version, the article was officially accepted. The client paid the APC directly from grant funds.
• July 2025 — online publication
  Two weeks after it was accepted, the article was published online.
• August 2025 — Indexing in Scopus
  Indexing in Scopus was completed in 3 weeks—faster than usual. The journal's percentile is 68. The contract requirement has been met.

In parallel with the publication, we worked on increasing the h-index. To go from an h-index of 4 to an h-index of 5, we needed to secure 5 additional citations spread across several of the client’s articles. Doing this on our own could have taken anywhere from a couple of months to several years. We completed the task in 4 months—by the time the grant report was due, the h-index stood at 5.

✅ 6 months from scratch to Scopus Q2
✅ 4 → 5 h-index in 4 months
✅ 68th percentile in the Scopus journal

• The publication was released earlier than scheduled in the contract
• The publication requirements of the grant contract issued by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan have been successfully fulfilled
• The Hirsch index has reached the threshold value of 5
• The client was extremely satisfied with the quality of the text, the speed of the process, and the communication.

This was made possible by our careful selection of a specialized magazine, the professionalism of our authors, and the client’s clear and organized approach.

🔔 «This isn’t our first joint project, but it was the most challenging one yet. Oncology isn’t a field where it’s easy to find a suitable journal with the right percentile and a reasonable price. The team found an option that I wouldn’t have considered on my own. In the end, everything worked out—both on schedule and within budget.»