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The Editorial Process

When an article is submitted, an editor will select it for editing. This person becomes the Primary Editor, and his/her name can be found at the bottom of the article.

AAJ's editorial policy is aimed at ensuring that these guidelines are followed. It's intent is to be as transparent as possible, retaining both the author's voice and intent. Here's how the editorial process works:

Once you have submitted your article, you will see Status: Unpublished at the top of the article. This means that the article has not yet been edited, though it is possible that a Primary Editor has been assigned;

Once a Primary Editor has selected a piece for editing, the article is locked and cannot be edited by anyone else until the Primary Editor releases it for scheduling. The Primary Editor's name is located at the bottom of your article. Clicking on the name will take you to his/her Contributor Profile page, where you can click the email icon to send a message;

If you attempt to edit one of your pieces and receive the following message: "Sorry, but article name is locked by Primary Editor," then the article has been locked by the Primary Editor and is in the process of being edited;

If you have changes you wish to make while the article is locked, you can contact the Primary Editor;

If you need to make minor corrections in punctuation or spelling, you can edit your article and make such changes;

If, however, you need to make a more significant alterations, please contact the Primary Editor to let him/her know, so that the alteration can be made without affecting the optics of the article;

We reserve the right to reject articles that have been significantly altered by the author after editing, without first consulting the Primary Editor.

Questions Or Issues With Article Editing

If you have questions or issues about how your article has been edited, the correct protocol is:

Contact the Primary Editor

You can find the Primary Editor's name by scrolling to the very bottom of your article. Clicking on the name will take you to his/her profile page, where you can click the email icon to send a message.

Escalate Only If Unresolvable

If you are unable to resolve your problem satisfactorily with the Primary Editor, email the Publisher, but only after attempting to work the issue(s) out with the Primary Editor.

A Note About Submissions And The Artists

Our policy is to not permit artists access to articles about them prior to publication. There are rare circumstances where an artist insists on seeing a piece prior to publication. Under such circumstances please contact the Publisher to discuss before showing any unedited or edited draft to the artist prior to publication.

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