How to answer questions from authors about open access
Information and tips to help you respond
If you’re the editor of a Taylor & Francis Open Select journal, your authors will have the option to publish on a Gold open access basis. This means that your journal is a ‘hybrid’ journal, publishing both subscription access and open access articles. So authors may have some questions about open access, the benefits, and the process.
On this page you can find some questions that authors frequently ask, alongside our top tips for responding.
Navigating open access
You can find more information and guidance on choosing open access on Author Services.
Tips for answering questions about open access
Should I publish open access?
As editor your position will be neutral, but you can signpost the resources Taylor & Francis have to help support authors making their decision.
You could start by getting familiar with the benefits for researchers if they publish open access in Open Select journals. These benefits include, more usage of and citations to their research.
Some researchers who publish in your journal may find that their funder requires them to publish in an open way.
I want to publish open access, when will I be asked to choose open access?
In a hybrid journal, authors will be asked if they wish to publish Gold open access after acceptance. More specifically, after their manuscript moves into production, they will be asked to complete their Online Author Publishing Agreement. It is at this point, that they will be asked whether they wish to publish Gold open access.
If they do want to publish open access, they will be prompted through the process of generating and accepting a quote for their Article Publishing Charge (APC). If an article is eligible for a discount based on the author’s institution, this will be signposted in the quote process.
My institution has an agreement with Taylor & Francis, what do I need to do?
Our workflows are designed to recognize eligible articles and direct them to the appropriate librarian for approval without intervention.
You can share the read and publish FAQs on Taylor & Francis Online with your authors – they include specific information on institutional agreements.
My funder requires me to publish open access, what should I do?
Some researchers publishing in your journal may find that their funder requires them to publish open access.
Authors should verify requirements with their funder based on the date of their grant, and the date they submit their article. In a hybrid journal, the author will need to choose Gold open access after acceptance. And, they will need to share who is paying their Article Publishing Charge (APC) – this does not happen automatically unless they are eligible for an institutional open access agreement with Taylor & Francis.
If an author intends to meet their funder open access requirements via Green open access (making their Accepted Manuscript (AM) available in a repository) they should check our open access cost finder. This will provide them with details of embargo periods that apply to AMs in your journal. Taylor & Francis is unable to grant exceptions to the embargo periods.
You can find more information about funder policies here.
How much is the Article Publishing Charge (APC) for your journal?
Editors should direct any authors who ask about APCs to our open access cost finder. Here authors can find details of the APC in the currencies that we operate in. There are also details of the embargo periods for Green open access, and the choice of licenses available when publishing Gold open access.
It is important to note that the open access cost finder displays the current standard APC for a quotation requested today. Any discounts that may apply based on institutional agreements or memberships are available during the quotation process.