FAQ

Can I still publish with the RSC without paying an author charge? Yes. It is envisaged that for the foreseeable future most authors will wish to publish via the normal 'free' route.

Will my willingness to pay an author fee affect whether my article is published? No. Only after the article is accepted for publication is the invitation to have your article published in the normal way or to pay for access made. This preserves the independence of the peer-review process. RSC Open Science will have no impact on the outcomes of the peer review process or on any editorial decision.

Can I arrange to have an article I published previously with RSC made freely available? Yes, contact the Editorial Office with details of the paper and you will be asked to complete a new licence and to send the appropriate fee. Once these have been received your article will be made freely available to all on the RSC website, and possibly on other sites as well, as deemed appropriate.

Is there a discount on the RSC Open Science fee for RSC members? Yes, there is a discount of 15% of the relevant fee for RSC members.

Is there a discount on the RSC Open Science fee for members of Owner Societies of journals published by the RSC? Yes, there is a discount of 15% of the relevant fee for members of Owner Societies publishing in Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences or Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 

Is there a discount for authors from subscribing organisations? If your organisation has a current subscription to RSC's packages A or B, you are entitled to receive a 15% discount on the relevant RSC Open Science fee.

If I choose to pay an RSC Open Science fee when will my article be made freely available? If the article is ready for publication, and the relevant Licence to Publish and fee have been received by the RSC, the article will be made freely available immediately upon publication as an Advance Article on the RSC web site and possibly on other sites as well, as deemed appropriate, and thereafter in PDF and HTML versions. If the licence and/or fee arrive after the article has been published, the article will be made freely available once both licence and fee have been received.

Which version of my article will be made freely available if I pay the RSC Open Science fee? The Advance Article will be made freely available on the RSC web site, and possibly on other sites as well, as deemed appropriate, provided the appropriate licence and fee are received during the period of Advance Article publication. The PDF and HTML versions of the article will be made freely available as and when they are ready provided that the licence and fee have been received by RSC.

Where can my articles that are freely available as a result of my having paid the RSC Open Science fee be posted? In consideration of the RSC Open Science fee the RSC will make freely available the final published version in all online formats on the RSC's website for an unlimited period of time. The RSC will deposit the accepted author version of the article in selected repository(ies); no embargo period applies where the RSC Open Science fee has been paid. You may deposit the accepted version of the submitted article in other repository(ies) as required, with no embargo period, except that you are not permitted to deposit your work in any commercial service.

What does RSC define as an "accepted author version" of an article? The author version of an article is the author's revised version that has been accepted for publication.

If I opt for free publication, where and when will my article be made freely available? The RSC will deposit the accepted version of the submitted article in repository(ies) as deemed appropriate, and the paper will be made available with an embargo of making this available to the public after 12 months. Upon publication you can deposit the accepted author version of your article on an INTRAnet; you can self-archive in a web repository after 12 months.

What can I do with the PDF article that the RSC makes available upon publication?  You may archive the PDF version of your article on your personal website, via the INTRAnet of your organisation, and via any internal website that your university may have for the deposition of theses.

Will RSC take author-pays revenues into account in setting future journal prices? Yes, but with the caveat that, along with many other publishers, RSC considers the author-pays open access model to be an experiment rather than a proven business model. Running this model alongside the normal subscription route for access represents a risk, and the RSC reserves the right to withdraw the author-pays open access model at any stage.