Focus On: Journal Production Editors
If you've ever published an article in a Taylor & Francis journal, you'll no doubt have made contact with one of our production editors. But what exactly does a production editor do?
Production editors work behind the scenes to create finished print and online content. They are responsible for overseeing the production process from submission to publication. To do this, they coordinate an army of copy editors, typesetters, and cover designers, and work with our manufacturing team, printers, and distributors. They work closely with journal editors, in-house editorial staff, marketing, and, of course, authors to produce high-quality publications. Each production editor ensures the journal is copy-edited to a consistent style, whilst also respecting the authorial voice (not easy when every journal has its own individual character), and work closely with our typesetters to make sure articles are professionally and attractively presented. The job requires attention to detail, an ability to work across a spectrum of styles and formats, and, working with so many different people, a great deal of diplomacy!
Every journal has unique requirements, and production editors are able to fully meet the needs of the academic journal community using a variety of schedules and workflows, including iFirst, for fast online publication, as well as traditional high-quality print issues.
The production process starts with the submission of a manuscript along with any supplementary material, such as images, tables, and figures. This manuscript is entered into our in-house tracking system, CATS, and usually sent to a freelance copy editor. The production editor monitors the copy editor's work to ensure that the manuscript is edited to the correct style for the journal. Once copy-edited, the article is typeset and proofs are sent out to authors and editors via CATS. At this stage, corrections can be made, the article is updated by the typesetter, and after a final check, the article is uploaded to the Taylor & Francis online platform, informaworldTM; if the article is part of an issue, at this stage it is also sent to be printed and distributed to subscribers around the world.
At every stage, this process is controlled and monitored by production editors, and they are the final quality arbiters of the production process.
Much of our production work is done through CATS, which allows us to track each individual article throughout the entire process. As an author you'll have an account on CATS, allowing you to check the status of your article, check and correct proofs, and order reprints. You can also use CATS to find out who the production editor for your article is, and send them any message relating to your article. CATS also notifies authors that they have free online access to their articles as soon as they are published.
If you have an article in production, the production editor will do their best to help you through the process and work with you to achieve the highest quality possible for the finished article. Production can be a complex process, so if you have any questions or concerns, you should always feel free to contact the relevant production editor for advice. Alternatively, you can contact our Author Services team at any time at authorqueries@tandf.co.uk.
Michael Kelly
Senior Production Editor, Taylor & Francis Journals
