How do I respond to copyeditors' queries? (copyediting step 2a)

To review the proposed changes and respond to copyeditors' queries (which may have been inserted by the copyeditor using the comments function in Word), please log into the journal website. Download and open the Initial Copyedit File (under 2a, see What are the steps during copyediting?).

We do not ask authors to accept/reject changes copyeditors made. To respond to queries for the author, authors can comment back on the comments made by the copyeditor. WE DO NOT WANT AUTHORS TO REVERT STYLE GUIDE CHANGES BY USING ACCEPT/REJECT CHANGES IN THE MANUSCRIPT.

If you do not agree with a copyediting change, use the comments function to tell your copyeditor rather than reverting the change. 

Leave "track changes" switched on (or switch it on if it is turned off) and make your corrections and respond to queries.

After reviewing the copyediting, upload the final copyedited manuscript file in Step 2a. If you need to make changes to the Multimedia Appendices, please upload them separately.

Make sure that all Appendices and Figures which you want to see published are cited in the manuscript (neither copyeditor nor typesetter know which files were intended for publication or for peer reviewers'/editors' eyes only).

References and metadata have been deleted from the manuscript and are to be checked separately online (see What is the RefCheck process?). Do not add any references back to the manuscript. At this point, no references can be added, but you can omit them by deleting the in-text citation in square brackets like this [1]; note that in this case the system will - in the final galleys - automatically renumber all subsequent references so that they still match - do not renumber the subsequent citations under any circumstance!

Please note that we use American spelling and use the AMA style guide, so please do not revert any such changes made by the copyeditor.

This is the last opportunity that you have to make substantial changes. After copyediting and typesetting you will be asked to proofread the galleys, but at that stage we will only be able to correct minor typographical and layout errors. Any changes to language, spelling, rough table layout with table footnotes, etc, must be made during the copyediting stage, and should NOT be deferred to the typesetting/final proofreading stage.

Do not forget to review/edit/approve the references, author metadata, and figures/appendices, see What are the steps during copyediting?) 

To complete step 2, please ensure you complete the quick copyediting survey at the end (step 2.e) to provide us feedback about your copyediting experience.

See also

• What are the steps during copyediting?
• I completed copyediting but I am still getting reminders from the system - what do I need to do?