Open Access Isn't Just for Journal Publishing: What Open Access Book Publishing Offers

In scholarly publishing open access (OA) has become widely synonymous with journal and article publishing. However, what many don’t realize is that OA models are also available for full book and chapter-level publishing. IGI Global understands the potential impact that OA books can have on the academic community, and, as such, is continually providing researchers and scholars with the opportunity to publish full book projects as well as chapters under the OA publishing model.

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How Is Publishing a Book Under OA Beneficial?
The OA model for books is highly beneficial as it provides researchers, academicians, and students around the world complete access to the high-quality research contents of the book. Moreover, it aids with the discoverability and citation impact of the book, thus allowing the research to be used and further expanded upon. Due to their wide availability, OA books have an increased potential of being indexed in top indexes including Scopus and Web of Science Book Citation Index.

As OA books are vetted through the double-blind peer review process like traditional books, they aid with the career development and advancement of academicians. Similarly, they provide unique networking opportunities and provide connections among other experts in the field. Furthermore, they allow authors/editors to make sure that valuable and impactful research is free for use
to everyone.

What Types of Book Can Be Published Under OA?
IGI Global welcomes authors and editors to submit authored or edited scholarly monographs for OA publication. Books should be research-based but can range from conceptual and theoretical research to case studies and practice-based/applied research. All IGI Global book formats are eligible to be published as OA.

What Are the Similarities Between Publishing OA Books and Traditional Books With IGI Global?

• Whether published under OA or traditional, books published with IGI Global must consist of new previously unpublished content.
• Just like traditional books, OA books must have line-by-line professional copy editing conducted on all chapters prior to finalization, and also all submission and formatting guidelines must be adequately met. IGI Global’s Author Services is an option that authors and editors of OA books may wish to utilize as they provide high quality, affordable, and expeditious content and editing services ranging from Scientific and Scholarly Editing Services to English Language Copy Editing. Professional editing improves the quality of work, leading to minimized revision times and increased potential for acceptance by eliminating the distractions that poor quality content can cause. Importantly, any fees paid for IGI Global’s Author Services will be deducted from the open access Book Processing Charge (BPC) (see more information about the BPC further below).
• The same rigorous double-blind peer review process that is applied on traditional books is also applied on OA books to ensure that the research is sound before allowing its distribution amongst the research community.
• The same level of evaluation, editorial support, copy editing/proofreading, typesetting, e-content development, etc. is applied to OA books as traditional books, and IGI Global provides a great deal of promotional support and disseminates the content out to global partners and hosts the work on IGI Global’s website and the InfoSci® online platform.
• Similar to traditional books, OA books are submitted to prestigious abstracting and indexing databases including Scopus, Web of Science Book Citation Index, and PsycINFO.
• All authors and editors benefit from use of IGI Global’s eEditorial Discovery® submission system to manage their projects.

How Does Publishing an OA Book With IGI Global Differ From a Traditional Book?

• The main difference between the publishing of an OA book vs. a traditional book with IGI Global is the access level as OA books operate under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licensing arrangement wherein the copyright for the work remains solely with the author(s) of the manuscript and the authors can freely distribute, share, remix, download, etc. the final book. The book is then widely disseminated to various online platforms for full content access without any paywalls. This is unlike traditional books where the copyright for the book transfers to the publisher. Also, a traditional book would have paywalls associated with its access.
• In order to offer the CC BY 4.0 licensing and to have the content freely accessible without any paywalls, there is a Book Processing Charge (BPC) which must be paid by the authors/editors or their funding body directly to the publisher. Because there is no revenue being generated through sales of the book publication, the BPC helps offset all the publishing costs associated with producing the work (see more about what the BPC covers below).

What Exactly is the Book Processing Charge (BPC)?
The BPC offsets the costs associated with the production of the work in order to allow the final book to be freely accessible to all. Steps include a strong evaluation process, use of the submission system, copy editing/proofreading, typesetting, promotion and distribution, digital tools, and online hosting, all that require a great deal of employee labor and technology support. When the final work is published under the open access model, no paywalls are associated with the accessibility of the content and as such there needs to be some collection of financial resources to help offset the costs, and as such, the BPC is issued to the author (or their funding body) to support the publisher’s cost to produce their work. Depending on the situation, the BPC can be paid by the author(s)/editor(s) or the funding body (university, institution, etc.).

When is the BPC Paid?
IGI Global offers the option for either the author/editor, or their funding body, to pay the entire amount of the BPC upfront, or in separate installments as the book moves through each separate process in development.

On the book chapter level, the BPC fee, paid directly to the publisher by the author or a funding body, is not required until AFTER the chapter manuscript has undergone the full double-blind peer review process and is accepted into the book publication by
the editor.

How Much is the BPC?
The BPC for a single chapter in a book is $2,000 USD. The BPC for a full book depends on the total number of words and complexity of the book. Please see the chart below:

* Pricing may be subject to change based on the complexity of the project

Also, content such as a single chapter or an entire book can be retroactively opened as OA after its original publication. While the pricing models for full books retroactively being opened as OA is the same as the BPC pricing in the above chart, below you will find the pricing models for chapters that would like to be converted to OA following their original publication. Please note that the individual chapter conversion is based off of the copyright year in which the chapter was originally published.

Should you have any questions about these BPCs, please reach out to IGI Global’s Open Access Team at openaccessadmin@igi-global.com.

What Funding Is Available for OA Book Publishing?
The best place to start is by talking to your institution and/or library. To assist researchers in covering the costs of the BPC in OA publishing, there are various sources of OA funding. Additionally, unlike many other publishers, IGI Global offers flexible subsidies, 100% Open Access APC waivers, discounts, and more.

• IGI Global’s OA Fee Waiver Initiative:  For any library that invests in IGI Global's e-Book and/or e-Journal Collections, IGI Global will match the library's investment with a fund of equal value to go toward subsidizing the Open Access APCs or BPCs for their patrons. This provides authors with 100% OA subsidies to be utilized toward open access publishing in any IGI Global book or journal. Learn More >
• As was mentioned previously, any author or editor who utilizes IGI Global’s Author Services will be able to have the amount paid for such services deducted from the BPC.
• IGI Global also offers special programs for authors and editors residing in developing countries. Contact openaccessadmin@igi-global.com for more information on these programs.

• Sherpa Juliet is a searchable database of research funders' OA policies.
• The Open Access Directory maintains a list of institutional funds for OA publishing.
• SPARC maintains a list of North American universities and university libraries with OA funds.

How To Get Started
Please use this link for more information on open access publishing. If interested in publishing a new open access book or in having a translated version of a previously published work republished as open access, please contact the Acquisitions Division of IGI Global’s Editorial Content Department at acquisition@igi-global.com.

If interested in retroactively opening up a book or book chapter, please contact IGI Global’s Open Access Department at openaccessadmin@igi-global.com.

Author Relations Team
(717) 533-8845
authorrelations@igi-global.com
www.igi-global.com