My paper has just been accepted! Now what?

[EngineerGrad]

Hi guys,

I've just received the decision letter for a paper I submitted to a peer reviewed journal, and it was accepted! Yay!

Now I wonder if I should reply to the editor's decision email? Should I send a thank you message? How do I handle this situation?! What is the rule of thumb in my case?

Thanks

[ProfLorax]

First, do a little dance! Second, re-read the decision letter. Usually it will detail the next steps. If not, respond and ask what the next steps are. Even for an unconditionally accepted paper, there are often some notes from the editor and reviewers regarding minor revisions. 

[danieleWrites]

Once you've done your victory dance, read over the acceptance letter/email and followed directions, make sure to update your C.V.!

[fuzzylogician]

Do a victory dance, possibly take the evening off, if you can afford it. Also, let your supervisor know and update your CV and website. There may be a few last changes to make, like de(/un?)-anonymizing anything that you anonymized for the review process, adding acknowledgements, or small suggestions from the reviewers. If the decision letter doesn't specify, you could reply and ask. Either way, I would reply to thank the editor and express your enthusiasm at the favorable decision. 

[ZiggyPhil]

I have no advice, only congratulations!

[SNPCracklePop]

Congratulations!  First, have an adult beverage.  Then, reread the letter for any instructions.  From my experience, if there aren't any directions, you're now at the "wait until the proof arrives" stage.  You and your advisor will then be allowed to review the proof and make any final corrections.  My suggestion, reread that proof pdf CAREFULLY (Figure Captions, Author Affiliations, everything) as this is typically your last shot at catching any errors, including editorial/formatting errors.  

 

As for thanking the editors, I usually save that for returning the proof with corrections.  Congrats!

[fuzzylogician]

As for thanking the editors, I usually save that for returning the proof with corrections.  Congrats!

 

That is probably another one of those things that depend on the field. In mine, it can take a long  for a paper to go from "accepted" to the proof stage. For example, a paper of mine was accepted in December 2012; I got the proofs around May of 2014, and the paper should be out in an upcoming volume, presumably in early 2015. Meanwhile, the editor I worked with stepped down and is no longer serving in that capacity, so it'd be more difficult to thank him. In addition, the later stages of approving the proofs and signing over my rights were done with the copy editor and the publisher, without any involvement of an editor. This changes by journal -- some are faster and some have the editor involved in the proof stage. Either way, though, I wouldn't want to wait so long to reply with a thank you. I don't think there would be a problem with thanking the editor twice - once for the decision, and again when the final proofs are done and the paper is in the pipeline and about to get officially published. 

[St Andrews Lynx]

Gosh, what a terrible dilemma to be faced with.

 

Just play it cool. Mature and restrained.In future correspondence with the editor remember to politely thank them for accepting your manuscript at some point in the email...but don't gush. 

[Threeboysmom]

Congrats!

[Vader Was Framed]

start planning what easter egg you are going to hide in the final version once you are able to review/comment the proofs. duh.  

 

Congrats! 

[TakeruK]

Congrats! In addition to what others said above, find out what your field's norms are for pre-prints. Probably the best person to talk to about this is your advisor. For example, in Astronomy, people often put pre-prints of their accepted papers on www.arxiv.org (sometimes they are posted as soon as they are submitted!). In my field, this is the way we normally hear about new papers and start incorporating their results into our own, which cuts down on the extra delays between acceptance and actual online publication. 

[EngineerGrad]

Thanks for the advice, guys! =)