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SSRN Instructions

We have simplified the procedure for uploading papers to SSRN. Now all you need to do is go here (Law School X.500 account required). You will be asked for the following:

  • The paper itself, as a Word document, a WordPerfect document or a PDF file.
     
  • An abstract. This should be short, preferably one paragraph. It can either be at the beginning of the main paper itself (preferred) or else provided separately.
     
  • Tell us whether or not the article has been accepted for publication. If it has been accepted, give us whatever citation information you know. You may want to check with the journal to make sure that it is OK to post on SSRN.
     
  • A list of keywords (optional). These are major terms used in the article. Some people search for articles by keyword, so including this may slightly increase the number of people who find your paper. If you include no keywords, we will leave that field blank in uploading the article to SSRN.
     
  • JEL classification (optional, and not important). This is a code classifying articles in the Journal of Economic Literature's system. As you might expect, it does not fit most law articles very well, so unless your article is economics-related you can safely leave this blank. To see the JEL classification system, go here.
     
  • List of SSRN journals in which the article should be published (journal names should be separated by semicolons). The article will automatically be published in the Law School's paper series, but it should also be included in the relevant subject matter journals. This is crucial for ensuring that the relevant SSRN users are aware of your paper. If you do not give us a list, we will either make our best guess as to the appropriate journals or else contact you. You are likely to have a better understanding than us of what the relevant subject areas are for your paper. To see a list of SSRN journals, go here.

Or, if you prefer, you can send an e-mail to newba001@umn.edu with the paper as an attachment and with all of the above information. That's it. Laurie Newbauer will then take care of uploading the paper to SSRN. Once she is done, you will receive an e-mail containing a revised version of the paper with a cover page added and a link to the SSRN page at which the paper is posted. You should check these to make sure there are no problems.

If you have any questions, please contact either Laurie Newbauer at 5-4819, newba001@umn.edu, or Brett McDonnell at 5-1373, bhm@umn.edu.