Predatory publishers – beware of publishers bearing gifts

There is money to be made in publishing. A lot of money. Commercial publishers are companies. Their drive is not a zero sum game, but an increase in returns. The large variation in APCs, ranging from a ‘mere’ € 200 to well over € 6000 for the publication of one article, clearly shows that more is included than the costs for the digital platform, or the editing and dissemination of the article. Some publishers explicitly state what the APCs are used for – in some cases the income thus generated supports a waiver program for financially less well-endowed authors. In most cases, however, no explanation for the steep APCs is offered, although there seems to be a correlation between the APC and the journal’s impact factor. In the worst cases, authors are requested to pay an APC while the journal still receives its (additional) income from selling subscriptions, e.g. to research libraries. This is the hybrid Open Access model.

One step lower down the ladder of ethical publishing are the predatory publishers. They benefit from the fact that Open Access is mandated by many funders combined with the fact that rejection rates with some journals are high. Predatory publishers will accept any contribution as long as you are willing to pay the APC. They are extremely resourceful in attracting contributions. Their most common strategy is to contact researchers with an offer to publish your research that sounds too good to be true. The thing is, often the offer is too good to be true indeed.

But how do you know when you need to be cautious?