The inside scoop on open access book publishing?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Do any readers have an inside scoop on how open access monograph publishing works? Every once in a while, a book from a university press like OUP is published Open Access. Nick Shea's (2018) Representation in Cognitive Science is one example. I assume that in such cases, the author gets a grant from somewhere to pay the press a fee to make the book open access. How much are such fees? And are there particular places to go looking for that kind of funding? I know there are also recent efforts to create all-OA monograph publishing venues (in philosophy of science, there's the new BSPS Open). What other such ventures are out there?

Good questions. I seem to recall hearing that in some places (particular parts of Europe?), people are expected (required?) to publish their research open-access. Is this right? I'm not entire sure how much it costs to publish an academic book open-access (though I seem to recall it definitely being on the order of several thousand dollars), but my sense is that people who publish open-access stuff tend to have dedicated research budgets that they can use to pay for it. Am I right about this? And what about all-OA monograph publishing venues? Here, I know very little.

It would be great to hear from readers who are in the know. Anyone have the inside scoop on this stuff? It would be great to hear some details!

Comments

[sara aronowitz]

I just went through this for an edited volume. We went with OUP, which was 11k pounds (!), though they did give us some of that amount back in royalties as an advance, as well as a grant. Another option we considered was Maize Press (~5k, you need a referral from U of Michigan faculty, this is a fully-OA venue). We paid the OUP fee through two sources: (a) grant funding from NSF, (b) a mini-grant from our university's vice provost for research. At some schools, the library has mini-grants for OA projects. I'm happy to share more info over email if anyone is in a similar situation - OA is important but the current situation is challenging esp for the humanities.

[anti-OA]

As Sara's account makes clear, the problem is that Open Access book publication, as it is currently practiced, will just magnify current inequalities in the system. Already very established or well supported academics will have their book published Open Access, which will be covered by grants, etc. And the rest will either have to pay for part or all of the costs, or just not publish Open Access. And to make things worse there is a moral high grounds that comes with publishing OA. These people are making their scholarship available to all. This is another grim development in our profession.

[Sean Guynes]

I am the acquiring editor for an open access publisher funded by 50+ liberal arts colleges and universities in the America. We make OA free to all authors, no fees whatsoever, and even pay authors/editors for the books we publish. I am (behind the scenes) ramping up a philosophy list and always interested in hearing from people. Many OA programs are grossly predatory and we seek to be the exact opposite: https://www.leverpress.org/

[Peter]

Marcus rightly states that in some European countries, there is a requirement to publish oa, if you are funded by certain grant agencies (the Swiss National Science Foundation is an example). If you have a grant from such an agency, they often pay for the oa-fee, if the volume is peer-reviewed (at least two independent reviews). One has to apply to get this fee paid.

As for costs: I currently have a book forthcoming with open access, the costs are ca. 12000 EUR (Palgrave Macmillan).

I agree with anti-oa that oa can be problematic; however, many researchers are paid with tax-money, and therefore, the general public should have direct access to their work (ideally...).
I do not believe that anyone is disadvantaged on the academic job market for not publishing oa... I think everyone understands that sometimes, it is not possible (restricted budgets etc.).

[David Thorstad]

I'm editing an open access book with OUP. We paid 10k GBP for it. In my case, the funding was simple: my institute had the money to pay for it and that was that.

More generally, my impression is that Marcus is right and increasingly many people (especially in Europe) have institutional and grant-related incentives to publish open-access.

[OA author]

I published a monograph with Cambridge University Press open access. It was $15k and there is no way I could have payed for it. My institution is part of a program called TOME, where you can apply for funds to publish monographs open access: https://www.openmonographs.org/. I was able to get one of those grants from my university.

In my case, I had to sign a contract with CUP before I knew whether I would get a TOME grant (technically, CUP or whatever publisher you're working with applies for the grant). If you want to explore an open access grant with your publisher, be sure to carefully read the contract. If the status of the grant is still pending, do not sign a contract committing to publish the book open access because you might be obligated to foot the bill should the grant not come through.

[elisa freschi]

Yes, if your research is publicly funded in Europe you have to publish it open access. In my case, I applied for grants to publish a book open access (it takes additional peer reviews, an existent agreement with a publishing house, an explanation of why it would be of benefit etc. etc.).

My present colleagues in NA don't even realise the advantages of OA, especially for people who don't have rich libraries they can count on. I was the first one to use her research money to publish something OA (but you are allowed to!).