Page 130 - How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 8th Edition 8th Edition

Page 130

Now hear this. If you add a reference at proof, do not renumber the references. Many, if not most, authors make this
mistake, and it is a serious mistake. It is a mistake because the many changes then necessary in the reference list and
in the text, wherever the cited numbers appear, involve significant cost; new errors may be introduced when the
affected lines are rekeyboarded; and, almost certainly, you will miss at least one of the text references. The old
number(s) will then appear in print, adding confusion to the literature.

What you should do is add the new reference with an "a" number. If the new reference would alphabetically fall
between references 16 and 17, enter the new reference as "16a ." In that way, the numbering of the rest of the list need
not be changed.

Page 137

Proofing the Illustrations

It is especially important that you examine carefully the proofs of the illustrations, especially if the original manuscript
and the original illustrations are returned to you along with the proof. Although you can depend on the proofreaders
in the journal editorial office to aid you in looking for typographical errors, you must decide whether the illustrations
have been reproduced effectively because you have the originals with which the proofs must be compared.

If your paper contains important fine-structure photographs, and if you chose that particular journal because of its
reputation for high-quality reproduction standards (fine screens, coated stock), you should not only expect almost
faultless fidelity, you should also demand it. And you are the only one who can, because you are the one with the
originals. You and you alone must serve as the quality control inspector.

Seldom will there be a problem with graphs and other line drawings, unless the copyeditor has sized them so small
that they are illegible or, rarely, misfigured the percentage reduction on one of a related group, so that it does not
match.

With photographs, however, there are problems on occasion, and it is up to you to spot them. Compare the illustration
proof with the original. If the proof is darker overall, it is probably a simple matter of overexposure; if detail has
thereby been lost, you should of course ask the printer to reshoot the photograph. (Don't forget to return the original
illustration along with the proof.)

If the proof is lighter than the copy, it has probably been underexposed. It may be, however, that the "printer" (I use
the word "printer" as shorthand for all of the many occupations that are involved in the printing process) purposely
underexposed that shot. Sometimes, especially with photographs having very little contrast, underexposure will retain
more fine detail than will normal exposure. Thus, your comparison should not really be concerned with exposure level
but with fidelity of detail.

It may be that one area of the photograph is of particular importance. If that is so, and if you are unhappy with the
reproduction, tell the printer, via marginal notes or by use of an overlay, exactly which part of the proof is lacking
detail that is evident on the photograph. Then the printer will be able to focus on what is important to you.

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When to Complain

If you have learned nothing else from this chapter, I trust that you now know that you must provide the quality control
in the reproduction of illustrations in journals. In my experience, too many authors complain after the fact (after

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