The Publishing Process (How to Deal with Proofs)

Agenda The proofing process Why proof is sent to authors Misspelled words Marking the corrections Addition of references When to complain

The proofing process The manuscript usually goes through a copyediting during which spelling and grammatical errors are corrected. The copyeditor will standardize all abbreviations, units of measure, punctuation, and spelling. These questions will appear as “author queries” on the margins of the proofs sent to the author.

Why proof is sent to authors You should examine the proofs carefully for typographical errors. If the printed article contains serious errors, all kind of later problems can develop, not the least of which may be irreparable damage to your reputation.

Misspelled words(1/2) If you read proof in the same way and at the same speed that you ordinarily read scientific papers, you will probably miss 90% of the typographical errors. To catch most errors, however, you must slowly examine each word. The havoc could occur from a misplaced decimal point.

Misspelled words(2/2) Be especially careful in proofing the tables. The rule is important for two reasons. –First, errors frequently occur in keyboarding numbers, especially in tabular material. –Second, you are the only person who can catch such errors.

Marking the corrections When you find an error on a page proof, it’s important that the error be marked twice. These marks are a language universally used in all kinds of publishing.

Addition of references A new paper appears that you would like to add to you References, but you need not make any appreciable change in the text. If you add a reference at proof, do not renumber the references. What you should do is add the new reference with an “a” number.

The End