How to make a journal editor happy

I have learned a lot about submitting manuscripts from being on the receiving end as a journal editor. Instead of giving a list of my pet peeves, I would rather focus on the positive. Every issue, I am delighted by authors more than I am driven crazy. Delight can come from simple kindness in an email or just following instructions. So, here are ways to make one journal editor happy:

Follow the style guide

• Take the time to tailor your manuscript to the journal's style guide. Yes, it's a pain, but it also tells the editor that you are serious about publication. (If you leave it in the style of the journal to which you previously submitted, a journal editor can tell.)
• You don't have to get fancy and mimic the paginated look with text boxes. This only gives the paginating editor the nightmare of copying material from a text box into the main flow of the article.
• If the journal uses a style guide you don't know well, look for a manuscript editor on your campus or in your community. Shout out to Lacie Harris at Tarleton State! She's an awesome editor and helps our faculty submit cleaner manuscripts.

Make substantial changes based on reviewer feedback

• Provide a memo or table addressing how you handled each reviewer comment. This makes it so much easier for an editor to see that you valued the feedback and truly used it to better the manuscript.
•  This is a great time to find more current or robust citations, too.

Make sure your in-text citations match up with your reference list

• Use the "find" feature in your file, or simply cross reference every citation.
• With multi-author papers, and ones that have experienced many revisions, cited works change. Make it your job, not the editor's, to catch these kinds of edits.

Be responsive

• Update your email system to prioritize messages from editors, or at least prevent them from going to your spam folder. You want to respond in a timely manner. Editors are deadline-driven.
• If given a deadline for proofing or other tasks, respond before your given deadline. This may help an editor move the publication along even faster. 
• When you respond, double check that you have addressed all of the editor's questions. Do so thoroughly. Inaccurate or missing elements may make an editor doubt the quality of your research.

Remember that editors are people, too. Well, sometimes...

• Be nice in your messages, or at least professional. I do not mind an email asking for a status update, as long as it's not rude or snarky. Some editors are not receiving huge stipends, course release, or anything beyond a line on the service category of a vitae to do what they do. 
• Thank an editor after you read a great issue. Or after your article publishes.