We've found that most questions to the OSA Department of Publications come from authors, readers, or reviewers, or from people puzzled by a publications-related legal issue. So we've categorized the FAQs that follow to correspond to each group, beginning with questions that authors frequently ask. If your question isn't addressed below, simply send an email to odp@osa.org.
This FAQ is broken into the following sections:
Authors: Submitting A Manuscript
Authors: Tracking Your Article
Authors: Optics Letters
Authors: Figures
Authors: Reviewing and Revisions
Advertising, Press Releases
Subscribers
Reprints
Legal Issues: Mailing Dates, Copyright, etc.
Contacting OSA Journals
Q: Did OSA receive my manuscript?
A: Authors who use the electronic submission system will receive immediate e-mail confirmation that the file was received.
Q: What can I do if my electronic submission is not successful?
A: Authors should review the instructions for electronic submission carefully, especially if a TeX file is submitted. The current submission system for Applied Optics, JOSA A, JOSA B, and Optics Letters will accept only one file; therefore text and figures must be saved in one file. TeX files and Postscript figures may be tarred and zipped into one file. MS Word manuscripts should include figures in the document, following the text.
Q: Which forms are required with submission?
A: The required forms are built into the electronic submission process. Authors will be prompted for information about their submissions—including acknowledgment of potential overlength page charges—as well as transfer of copyright and use of color art. Authors with questions about any of the requested information may communicate concerns via the submission site.
Q: Can you use my electronic figures?
A: Electronic figures may be provided as EPS files where the figures are sized as they will appear in the journal. All parts of a multipart figure must be contained in one file, e.g., Fig. 1 a—c. High-quality laser prints should accompany any EPS files that are to be reproduced in our journals. Please see instructions, available on each journal's submission site, re submitting color figures. They should be CMYK not RGB.
Q: What format is required for references?
A: Authors should refer to the journal's website where the OSA style guide is available on the Authors page. Required information for standard journal citations includes complete author listing, article title, journal title, volume number, beginning and ending page numbers, and year. Accepted manuscripts must feature complete references before the article will proceed into production. Optics Letters, unlike other OSA journals, omits the titles of all references, for the sake of brevity.
Q: What is the citation format for material published in proceedings volumes?
A: Sample reference:
R.E. Kalman, Algebraic aspects of the generalized inverse of a rectangular matrix, in Proceedings of Advanced Seminar on Generalized Inverse and Applications, M. Z. Nashed, ed. (Academic, San Diego, Calif., 1976), pp. 111-124.
Q: I am interested in submitting an unsolicited manuscript to OPN. Does OPN accept unsolicited manuscripts?
A: The OPN Editorial Advisory Committee will review unsolicited manuscripts that meet its general guidelines. For submission guidelines please visit the OPN About Page.
Q: What is the status of my manuscript?
A: To view the current status of your manuscript, log in to the ADS from the appropriate journal page. After logging in, any papers for which you are the corresponding author will be displayed:
- ID number links to current PDF version of your manuscript.
- Title links to status page, which lists all activities performed on your manuscript, with links to any tasks that require action on your part.
In addition to the online tracking service, we use e-mail notifications to inform you when various actions are pending. If you suspect that e-mail from OSA is being blocked by your e-mail software, please contact your IT administrator.
Q: When will my paper be published?
A: Once a manuscript is in press it is assigned to a journal issue. Watch for e-mail notification about your proofs, which may be up to three months following acceptance of your manuscript. After we receive your corrections, your paper will be included in the next available issue of the journal.
Q: What can I do if my manuscript is experiencing a delay? What can I do to speed up the process?
A: Authors can help prevent delays in peer review by identifying OCIS codes for their manuscript and by providing reviewer suggestions to the editor. Final decisions can be expedited when authors include a separate correspondence with their revised manuscript that describes all changes made to the manuscript as well as responses to the reviewer comments. Adhering to any Preproduction Review mandatory revisions will help prevent copy-editing and typesetting delays. Editors and staff work accordingly to keep manuscripts moving along in a timely manner.
Q: My paper is accepted. Why is it not in production?
A: Accepted manuscripts will be placed on hold until the required forms and revisions are submitted (such as formatting of references, new figures, figure captions, etc). Log in to ADS if you think you’ve missed an e-mail notification. The online status page lists all activities performed on your manuscript, with links to any tasks that require action on your part.
Q: My Optics Letters proof is longer than three pages. Is that ok?
A: There is a strict three-page limit for all Optics Letters papers. If your proof is over the limit, you need to shorten it by the amount on the fourth page. The paper cannot be assigned to an issue unless it is within the limit.
Q: Why did my Optics Letters paper come out too long? The estimate said it would be within the limit.
A: While we try to be as accurate as possible in estimating the length of a paper, it's important to remember that it is just an estimate. It can be difficult to account for the amount of room that figures and especially tables will take up once in print. Spacing and margins in the manuscript can also affect the estimate's accuracy.
Q: The figures in my page proofs don't look right. Why don't they look like the figure/file I submitted?
A: The figures in the proof do not represent how the figures will look in print. If, however, you do find that corrections need to be made, please be specific about the problem in your corrections. Figures can often be fixed without having to be rescanned.
Q: Figure X is supposed to be in color. Why is it in black and white in my proof?
A: The black and white figure in the proof works as a placeholder. The file of the color figure is integrated into the paper when it's sent to be printed. Color proofs are checked during the correction stage and returned to the printer for use during the printing process. Since we have one set that must be returned to the printer, we do not routinely provide authors with color proofs.
Q: How much do color figures cost?
A: Color figures are $650 for the first piece and $325 for each additional piece, plus $50 per 100 reprints. Please note that the cost of color reprints is separate from any other reprint charges.
Q: What is a piece?
A: Say you have Fig. 1 and it has parts (a) and (b). If those parts are stacked or placed next to each other on one page, that's one piece. If they're on separate sheets of paper, that would be two pieces.
Q: Can the revision deadline be extended?
A: Please contact the appropriate journal assistant (JOSA
A; JOSA
B; Applied Optics OT,
IP, LPEO; Optics
Letters) if you are unable to meet the deadline. Revised manuscripts
that are received after the deadline will be given a new submission date.
Q: How can I contact the journal editor or topical editor?
A: All OSA journal editors are offsite at their respective institutions. To contact an editor directly, please request the information from manuscripts staff or search the online OSA Membership Directory.
Q: To whom at OPN should I send press releases?
A: Please send press releases by e-mail to opn@osa.org.
Q: Should I follow-up the e-mail message with a phone call?
A: No. Rest assured that your press release has been delivered to the appropriate OPN staffers, who will contact you if more information is needed.
Q: Whom should I contact to find out about advertising in OPN?
A: Please send an e-mail to adsales@osa.org
Q: Who should I contact to receive the OPN editorial calendar?
A: Please send an e-mail with your request to adsales@osa.org.
Q: Can I order OSA Publications anywhere else?
A: OSA's journal publications are only available from OSA. However, Institutional Non-Member Subscribers can place subscriptions through any subscription agent. Our Japanese subscribers should order from Kinokuniya Company Ltd. This arrangement allows Japanese subscribers to pay in Japanese currency.
Q: Does OSA offer special/discounted shipping rates for bulk shipments on journals?
A: Yes, but rates are not set. Please contact the publications manager for Information. Standard shipping rates are as follows:
US/Canada: $5/first Journal, $4/second and subsequent Journals
All Other Countries: $7/Air Freight, $15/Air Mail.
Q: Do I have to pay publication charges before ordering reprints?
A: No, details on reprint charges can be found on the reprint order form.
Q: I checked the status of my reprint order for Applied Optics on your manuscript status page and the status was blank. Did you receive my reprint order?
A: Reprint orders for Applied Optics are now received and processed directly by Cadmus Journal Services.
Q: If my article length is 5.5 pages, will I be charged for 6 pages?
A: The length of the article is determined by measuring the typeset page proofs in full and half-page increments. If the article length is 5.5 pages, you will be billed for 5.5 pages, not 6 pages.
Q: What is copyright? What am I giving away? Why do you need copyright?
A: OSA asks all authors of articles for its journals, magazines, and books to sign a Transfer of Copyright. In doing so, an author transfers ownership of his or her article or book to OSA. Ownership of copyright gives OSA the right to publish the article and to defend against improper use (or even theft) of the article. It also permits OSA to mount the article online or to use the article in other forms, such as when a journal article becomes a chapter in an OSA-published book.
Transfer of copyright does not prevent an author from subsequently reproducing his or her article. OSA's Transfer of Copyright document specifically gives authors the right to publish the article or chapter in a compilation of the author's own works. The author may also publish the article on his or her own web page or use the article in teaching.
OSA needs copyright for an article because, as publisher, the society is in the best position to defend the article legally. In addition, transfer of copyright assures OSA that the work in question is entirely the author's own. Once again, the purpose of transfer of copyright is not to prevent the author from free publication of his or her own work, as long as this doesn't involve republication in a competing journal.
Q: May I download OSA journal articles or other material from the OSA website? May I re-post the downloaded material?
A: You may download OSA materials once, for your own use. You may also print out an article for teaching purposes under Fair Scholarly Use provisions (see below).
You may not mount any OSA-produced file on a website without permission from OSA. Generally, OSA grants authors permission to post their own articles on their own websites or on sites with limited access (such as a university department's intranet site). No one may post an OSA-produced file on any commercial site or on a site with wide access to the public.
Q: But doesn't scholarly fair use say that I can photocopy any OSA article for my classes and use it as I see fit?
A: You may photocopy an article once for use in teaching. But the Scholarly Fair Use statute clearly says that such use must be spontaneous. In other words, you may use the photocopied article for one semester, but if the article becomes a standard element of your course material, you must pay copyright fees.
Q: How do I request permission to use OSA's copyrighted material?
A: In order for OSA to consider a copyright permission request we require a hard copy by fax or mail of:
- a complete citation of the item to be reproduced, including figure numbers, etc.,
- a clear explanation of the intended use of the item, and
- the requestors complete contact information.
Please direct further questions regarding copyright to copyright@osa.org .
Q: Can OSA verify editor and publishing information for our journals?
A: Yes, our journals are indexed with author and editor information within the Optics InfoBase.
Q: Can OSA provide detailed information on our Authors/Editors?
A: OSA is able to provide Name and Address of Authors and Editors only.
Q: How can I contact a journal at OSA with a question not covered in this FAQ?
A: You can email individual OSA journals at the email addresses below:
Please visit opticsinfobase.org for general information on OSA's journals.
Advancing the Science and Technology of Light
