Submission Process

Q: Do I have to pay for submitting an article to a journal regardless of whether it is accepted or not?

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I want to know how the system of article publication works. I know that authors have to pay in most of the journals but I don't know if they have to pay for submission or for getting their paper reviewed, regardless of whether the paper is accepted or not.

Asked on 27 Jan, 2016

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It's not true that authors have to pay for journal publishing in most cases. Traditional subscription-based journals require the reader to pay for access to the journal; the author does not have to pay any charges for publishing in the journal. On the other hand, in the open access model of publication, journals may charge a fee to the author to cover the costs of publishing. These fees are commonly referred to as "article processing charges" (APCs).

However, the author does not have to pay any fee for submitting an article or for the peer review process. The need for payment arises only if the manuscript is accepted for publication. If the manuscript is rejected, the author usually does not have to pay anything. Beware of journals that request APCs at the time of submission. They might not be trustworthy.