For anyone wishing to publish an open access (OA) scholarly monograph, the book processing charges (BPCs) typically charged by publishers can be an obstacle. In this blog series, we will provide an overview of alternative publishing funding models (Subscribe to Open) for open access monographs in which UVic Libraries participate. The range of innovative approaches to sustainable funding of OA books highlighted here all have in common that authors are freed from costly publishing fees.
Cambridge University Press’ (CUP) pilot Flip it Open converts (“flips”) books from traditional pay-for-access content to Open Access. In order for a book to be flipped, all sales of the regular edition (e-books and print, trade and library sales, even translation rights) add to the sum that has to be met to make its flip to Subscribe to Open publishing model sustainable. Once a certain threshold is reached, a new, specific OA edition of that title will be published. Titles with the highest demand will automatically see an OA published version first.
The editorial processes and marketing efforts for the titles in the CUP’s pilot follow the same quality standards as conventional monographs, as these open access titles are initially published as traditional editions.
By default, all Flip It Open titles are released under a CC-BY license and they will be included in established discovery indexes so that they receive the widest possible visibility and distribution.
If you have any questions related to the program, please contact the Office of Scholarly Communication.
