Most Annual Reviews journals follow these general steps in moving your submission from manuscript to typeset PDF. However, there are exceptions. Contact your Production Editor if you have any questions about the production process.
Please note that we consider the version of the manuscript that you submitted to be the only and official version of your manuscript in production. If you have changes to make from this point on, please make them only to an in-production manuscript that you receive from your Production Editor.
Evaluated by a Technical Reviewer
Following its arrival at Annual Reviews, your manuscript is processed, evaluated by a technical reviewer, and copyedited. Although Annual Reviews articles are invited, a manuscript may be rejected as unsuitable for publication if it does not meet the general guidelines for an Annual Review article or if it is not of high enough quality as determined by the editors.
Galley Proofs
Once the technical editor has approved the manuscript for publication and the manuscript has been copyedited by an Annual Reviews Production Editor or freelance copyeditor, you will receive electronic galley proofs. If your original submission was in Microsoft Word, these galley proofs will also be in Microsoft Word with the reviewer’s comments and copyeditor’s changes and queries marked with Word’s tracking function. A PDF will be sent to authors using LaTeX. (Note that if major revisions are requested, the Production Editor will contact you prior to copyediting.)
Timing
Annual Reviews endeavors to send you your copyedited galley proofs within 16 weeks of submission, but this timeline depends on several factors. Contact your Production Editor if you have questions about timing and schedules.
If you anticipate being unavailable at any time during the production process, please contact your Production Editor, as many stages are time sensitive.
Revisions Permitted at the Galley Stage
The galley stage is your final opportunity to make stylistic changes to your review. Because of time and cost constraints, once we have sent your manuscript to the compositor to be typeset (the “page proof” stage, discussed below), stylistic changes are not permitted. Please use this galley proof to your advantage and make any insertions/deletions you deem necessary. However, manuscripts should not be extensively rewritten at this stage.
Retain All Tracked Changes
If you receive your galley proofs in Microsoft Word, please do not “accept” or “reject” the tracked changes from the copyeditor. If you do not agree with an editorial change, simply type “NO,” and we will undo the change. Corrections and revisions must be indicated using Word’s tracking feature. All tracking will be “cleaned up” by the Production Editor after you return the manuscript.
Figures
During the production process, you will be contacted by an Annual Reviews Illustration Editor regarding edits to your figures. Contact your Production Editor if you have questions about revisions to your figures or for the contact information of your Illustration Editor. You may also refer to the Author Graphics Guide in the Author Resource Center.
Page Proofs
Typeset page proofs are sent electronically approximately one month after you return the corrected galley proofs and approve the final figures. With the author’s permission, these typeset page proofs, not yet incorporating any final corrections, may be published online ahead of print (a “Review in Advance”—see next section). Final corrections are incorporated before final online/print publication.
At the page proof (PDF) stage, only typos, typesetter’s errors, or factual errors may be corrected, and “In press” references may be updated. Any changes that affect the layout of the review cannot be made.
Reviews in Advance
You have the option to have the uncorrected typeset page proof posted online approximately one week after it is available (your Production Editor will send you a form to accept or reject this option). This Review in Advance (RIA) is then replaced by the final version of the article when the complete volume is published online.
Publication
The title and abstract of your article will be available on the Annual Reviews website about seven months before final publication. With prompt submission and your approval, the typeset page proof of your article, lacking any final corrections, will be published online as an RIA. The final full text will replace the RIA upon final publication. For journals with a print version, the hard copy publishes approximately one month after final online publication.
ePrints
Annual Review authors can provide author ePrints to colleagues who request them. An author ePrint is a keyed URL (a unique Web address) that grants free online access to the author’s review in both Web-browsable form (as HTML pages, with links to other online resources) and “reprint” form (a locally printable PDF file). Your Production Editor will provide that information when the final volume is published online. More information about self-archiving and permissions is on our website.