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 Frequently asked questions about BioMed Central's article-processing charges
Note - researchers at institutions that are members of BioMed Central do not have to pay the article processing charge, as it is covered by a payment from their institution. Waiver requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted in cases of lack of funds. |
Why does BioMed Central have article-processing charges?Publishing with open access is not without costs. BioMed Central defrays those costs from article-processing charges, because it does not have subscription charges for its research content, believing instead that immediate, world-wide, barrier-free, open access to the full text of research articles is in the best interests of the scientific community.
What do the article-processing charges pay for?- immediate world-wide barrier-free open access to the full text
- developing and maintaining electronic tools for peer review and publication
- preparation in various formats for online publication
- securing inclusion in PubMed as soon as possible after publication
- securing full text inclusion in a number of permanent archives such as PubMed Central
- securing inclusion in CrossRef (enabling electronic citation in other journals that are available electronically)
How much is BioMed Central charging?BioMed Central's standard article-processing charge is £800 (€1185/US$1610). Journals which charge a different amount are shown below. †No article processing charge is payable for this newly-launched journal, for a promotional period. *No article processing charge is payable for this journal, since the journal covers the cost of publication. Discounts of £30 are available if authors submit manuscripts formatted with Endnote ( more information), Reference Manager ( more information) or Publicon ( more information). There is a surcharge of £50 for any payments for individual articles that are not made by credit card.
Does BioMed Central offer discounts on Article-Processing Charges?BioMed Central offers various discounts on APCs, which are outlined below. The discounts are exclusive of each other and cannot be accumulated. Discount reference | Discount amount | Notes | Qualifying journals | Supporter Member discount | 15% on full APC | Submitting author must be from Supporter Member institution. | All journals published by BioMed Central | Reviewer discount | 20% off full APC | Submitting author must have been the reviewer to be awarded the discount. The review must have been returned on time and within the last 12 months. Reviewer discount only applies to the journal in which the review was undertaken. For the purposes of this discount the BMC series (those journal with names beginning BMC and listed here) count as one. | BMC Series journals, Chemistry Central Journal, Arthritis Research & Therapy, Breast Cancer Research, Critical Care, Genome Biology | End Note submission discount | £30 off full APC | Submitting author must submit the final version of their manuscript using EndNote 5 or higher. | All journals published by BioMed Central | Ref Manager discount | £30 off full APC | Submitting author must submit the final version of their manuscript using Ref Manager 10 or higher. | All journals published by BioMed Central | Developing countries discount | 100% off full APC | Submitting author must be from of countries with small economies (total 2005 GDP less than US $100 billion), that are in the World Bank's low income or lower-middle income categories (see this reference.) The following large economies (more than US $100 billion 2005 GDP) do not receive discounts: - Algeria
- Brazil
- China
- Colombia
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Pakistan
- Thailand
| All journals published by BioMed Central |
Please note that if the submitting author's organization is a BioMed Central member, the cost of the article processing charge is covered by the membership, and no further charge is payable. Please check if your institution is a BioMed Central member.
How do BioMed Central's charges compare with other publishers?BioMed Central's article processing charges are extremely competitive. In general, BioMed Central's charges are amongst the lowest of any publisher offering open access publication - see our APC comparison table.
Are any taxes included in this charge?No. Authors resident in any of the countries of the European Union have to add Value-Added Tax (VAT, currently 17.5%). Institutions paying the fee on behalf of the author can in most cases have the VAT refunded, or, by providing BioMed Central with their VAT registration number*, avoid paying VAT altogether. (*except UK) Authors resident in Canada have to add General Sales Tax (GST, currently 7%).
To which articles will this charge apply?To all articles that have been accepted for open access publication in one of BioMed Central's online journals*. This charge will not apply to content that requires a subscription for access. There is an up to date list of those journals that currently have article-processing charges. *With the exception of articles submitted for publication in supplements. Publication charges for articles in supplements are set by special arrangement with the organisers of the supplement. For further information please contact us.
Why a flat charge rather than one based on page numbers?The size of an article is a poor indicator of the actual amount of work involved in obtaining peer reviews and in preparing the article for publication. A more useful discriminator might be the state an article is in when submitted, and its complexity, but the lack of objective tools to measure these has lead us to conclude that a flat fee is the fairest approach at this stage.
Who is responsible for making the payment?Whoever submits the manuscript is responsible for making or arranging the payment (for instance, via his or her institution).
Which funding agencies explicitly allow direct use of their grants to cover article-processing charges?Many funding agencies allow the use of grants for this purpose, and an increasing number such as the Wellcome Trust, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the US National Institutes for Health strongly encourage Open Access publication.The following is a list of funding agencies we know of that have confirmed that they allow the payment of article processing charges: For more detailed information, see BioMed Central's summary table of biomedical funder policies on open access.
How do I pay?Unless a waiver has been granted, the submitting author must confirm, on submission, that they will pay should the article be accepted for publication. If a manuscript is ready to be accepted, following peer review, the author will be notified and should provide payment by one of the following methods: - Payment by check: must be received within 30 days of the manuscript being ready for acceptance.
- Payment by credit card: the credit card details can be provided using a secure form, at the time the manuscript is ready for acceptance. No charges will be processed until the article is accepted for publication, and the author will be notified of any charges that have been made.
- Payment by purchase order: details must be must be received within 30 days of the manuscript being ready for acceptance.
- Payment upon invoice: to be paid within 30 days of receipt of an invoice.
Payment other than by credit card carries an administrative surcharge of £50. In all cases a receipt will be sent after the payment has been received.
Can charges be waived if the author cannot pay?Individual waiver requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted in cases of lack of funds. To apply for a waiver please request one during the submission process. A decision on the waiver will normally be made within two working days. Submission of the article to the journal can then be completed.
Will I have to pay if my institution is a BioMed Central member?Generally, if the submitting author's organization is a BioMed Central member, the cost of the article processing charge is covered by the membership, and no further charge is payable. In the case of authors whose institutions are supporter members of BioMed Central, however, a discounted article processing charge is payable by the author. Please click here to check if you institution is a BioMed Central member.
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