What happens between acceptance and publication?

 Many journals now run manuscript texts through plagiarism detection software such as iThenticate
 Editors may request revisions if plagiarism is detected and could withdraw the offer to publish the manuscript in the event of substantive plagiarism

 Some journals screen figures for image manipulation, including addition, subtraction, duplication, enhancement, obscurement and repositioning
 Original data may be requested if the resolution of a figure is insufficient for image screening
 Editors may request revisions or withdraw the offer of publication if they find that information has been misrepresented

 Most journals will edit accepted manuscripts for spelling, punctuation and the journal’s style

 Manuscript files will be converted to XML or HTML for online publication

 Figures will be laid out with the text to create a PDF for online and print publication

 You will have an opportunity to check a proof of your article for typesetting or conversion errors
 Additional changes, for example to the content of the manuscript, are generally not permitted; such requests may cause delays
 You may be offered XML/HTML-based online proofing, which will allow you to directly edit the text yourself, but some systems don’t provide a view of the PDF layout
 Alternatively, you may be able to check and annotate a PDF, but in this case the publisher will make the changes that you specify
 There are likely to be some queries from the copy editor or typesetter, which you should respond to
 It’s beneficial to ask co-authors to also check the proof, but the corresponding author is responsible for requesting changes
 Journals typically ask that corrected proofs are returned within 48 hours of receipt

 Online publication will usually precede any print edition
 Your article can be openly discussed and cited as soon as it appears online