So, you have your final draft of your academic paper to be submitted in your hands, and the only thing left for you to do is submit it to a journal. You do what everyone does first when publishing an article; you begin your search for the best-suited journal for your article, but are overwhelmed by the various fees and potential charges of journals. It might feel as if your dream of getting published just drifted further away because of the nightmarish fees the journals charge. Most journals, traditional and open access, charge either submission or publication fees. What are submission and publication fees? Subscription-based and open access journals may charge you a fee when you submit your manuscript which is called submission fee, and it is payable at the time of submission. The fees charged by most open access journals right before publishing your article is called publication fees or article processing charges. Why do they exist? The fee paid by an author is usually for the costs incurred (costs of editing, preparing, and typesetting the document, peer review, and publishing processes, such as online publication and dissemination, registering with the DOI system, and archiving) by the journal to publish your article and the upkeep of the journal. How does it help? Submission fees charged by a journal ensure that you are confident about the manuscript you are submitting, and avoid competition from authors who are uncertain about their writing. On the other hand, publication fees ensure that your article is immediately available to a worldwide audience, without subscription fees and paywalls. It helps in archiving your paper in independent and permanent open access archives. Publication fee also helps you retain the copyrights of the article, unlike most traditional journals. How are the fees decided? Various journals charge differently. Some decide to charge according to the word count, whereas others charge based on the number of pages. Sometimes the fee is also decided based on the academic post of the most senior author of a paper. Who pays? The individual or institution submitting the manuscript is responsible for paying the submission or publication fees. What if you can’t afford the fee? Most journals understand that not everyone in the world can afford their exorbitant fees. Therefore, various journals provide various levels of discounted fees or financial assistance, based on your country or origin, institutional membership programs, or coverage by your institution or grant. Do you get any financial assistance? Fee assistance is provided by many journals to authors who demonstrate financial need. Every journal has its own rules and condition and limits of financial assistance provided to authors. So, when choosing a journal for publication go through the various financial aid options from various institutions, foundations, research centres, or other authors. Can the fee be waived? Some journals do not expect authors from low-income countries to pay any fees, bearing in mind the financial constraints of the author. But, to ensure which group your country belongs to, you need to go through the journal’s list because every journal has a different list. Other journals waive a percentage or the entire fee based on the author’s application for fee waiver that is submitted before submission. It is highly recommended that you do your research regarding the journal you decide to submit your article to in case your pockets are shallow or have a major hole in them because of the expenses involved in conducting your study. You may also consider seeking professionals providing journal submission support services.
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