What Happens After a Manuscript Is Accepted?

After acceptance, the journal sends your manuscript into production: you sign publishing agreements, the text is copyedited and typeset, you check proofs, the article is published online with a DOI, and it is later indexed in databases. You should respond promptly to each step.

Typical steps

1. Acceptance notification, sometimes conditional on final changes or documents.
2. Publishing agreement or licence: read it, especially copyright and open-access terms.
3. Payment arrangements if an article processing charge applies, often through a separate system.
4. Copyediting queries: answer questions about unclear wording or references.
5. Proofs: check every number, name, affiliation, table and figure. Only essential corrections are usually allowed.
6. Online publication: the article gets a DOI (see What Is a DOI?) and may appear first as an accepted or "online first" version.
7. Indexing: databases such as PubMed add the record, with timing depending on the journal and process.
8. Dissemination: share the article responsibly through your institution, social media and your ORCID profile.
9. Corrections: if you find an error after publication, contact the journal; errata and retractions follow journal and COPE policies (see What Is an Erratum?).

What to check on proofs

Author names and order, affiliations, spelling of the corresponding author's email, tables, figures and units, and the funding and conflict statements.

Illustrative example

Invented for teaching. An author finds on the proof that a hazard ratio in Table 2 was mistyped as 0.86 instead of 0.68. She reports it within the proof deadline and the journal corrects it before publication, which avoids a later erratum.

Common pitfalls

• Missing the proof deadline.
• Signing agreements without reading them.
• Introducing new content at proof stage.

Key takeaways

• Respond quickly and check proofs carefully.
• Plan for sharing and, if needed, corrections.

This page is general educational information about research methods. It is not medical, legal or regulatory advice; follow your institution's ethics board and your target journal's instructions.