What is a Galley Proof?
A galley proof is a typeset copy of a text that the author checks before publication. The name comes from the long metal trays, called galleys, that printers once used to hold set type. Today journals usually send "page proofs" or simply "proofs", and most people use the three terms for the same thing: the accepted article laid out as it will appear, after copyediting.
When You Receive It
Proofs arrive after the manuscript has been accepted and copyedited, so the content decisions are already made. Journals usually ask for corrections within a short window, often two to three days, and send them through an online proofing system or as a PDF to annotate.
Purpose of Galley Proofs
- Catch errors introduced during copyediting or typesetting.
- Confirm that figures, tables and equations appear correctly.
- Answer the copyeditor's queries, which are marked in the proof.
How to Review Galley Proofs
- Read line by line against your accepted manuscript, ideally on paper or a large screen.
- Check every author name, affiliation, funding statement and correspondence address: these are the errors that are hardest to fix after publication.
- Compare each figure and table with your originals, including captions, units and symbols.
- Check numbers, equations and special characters, which typesetting most often changes.
- Answer every author query, even when the answer is "no change".
Galley Proof, Page Proof and ARC
- Galley proof: strictly, the typeset text before it is broken into pages, so page numbers, headers and figure positions are not final.
- Page proof: the fully laid-out pages, the version journals send today.
- Galley or ARC (advance reader copy): in book publishing, "galley" also means a pre-publication copy sent to reviewers and booksellers, which is not for correction.
What Not to Change
Proofs are not a new round of revisions. Limit changes to genuine errors; adding sentences, new results or new references usually needs the editor's approval, and can delay publication or be refused.
Best Practices
- Return corrections before the deadline; some journals publish the proofs as they stand if you miss it.
- Keep corrections short and specific, one per location.
- If a co-author must approve, agree in advance who returns the proofs.
Use case: AI writing tools for researchers