Many book publishers are either fully Gold Open Access or give authors the option to publish Gold Open Access. If you are publishing a single chapter in someone else's edited book, then note that some publishers may offer open access only for whole books, not for individual chapters.

If you have a particular publisher in mind, then their website should indicate whether they offer Gold Open Access (often referred to by publishers as just "Open Access"). You are also welcome to contact the Publications Team and we can investigate this for you.

If you don't yet have a specific publisher in mind, then you could instead browse the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) by publisher, to see which publishers have already produced open access books. You are also welcome to contact the Publications Team for suggestions.

Most publishers will expect authors to pay for Gold Open Access. Their websites should include an indication of whether or not payment is required. If it is, then they will usually also list rough estimates of costs, which can be a useful starting point when considering whether or not to publish Gold Open Access with them. They won't normally give you a more accurate quote until you have submitted your book proposal.

Book processing charges (BPCs) can range from around £4,000 to £15,000. Chapter processing charges (CPCs) can range from about £1,000 to £2,000. You will also generally find that it is cheaper to publish with fully Gold Open Access publishers than it is to publish with companies that offer a mix of open access and pay-to-read products.

If there is no cost involved, then skip to the next step! Otherwise, you will need to find a way to pay any anticipated costs. For example, you may be able to get financial support from your School or Department, though often the BPCs and CPCs will be too high for this. You might also be able to get financial support from your funder - perhaps costs for Open Access were even included as part of your grant. There is specific support available for authors whose work acknowledges funding from UKRI, any of the UKRI research councils or Innovate UK - see later in this guide for more details about that.

If you cannot find a way to pay the estimated costs, then you will either need to find an alternative publisher or you will need to rely on Green Open Access instead.

How to submit a proposal may vary between different publishers. Their websites should feature guidance on what sorts of information to include and how to send it to them. Feel free to contact the Publications Team if you would like help finding this guidance.

If you are planning to use some of the financial support available from UKRI (see details later in this guide), then - once your proposal is accepted - you will need to contact the Publications Team so that we can help you confirm that this funding is available.

Work with your publisher/editor to produce your manuscript. When obtaining copyright permissions for any third-party materials in your book or chapter (e.g. images, infographics or quotations that you do not own), then you will need to be clear that you want to include these in an open access publication. UKRI have produced detailed guidance on how to manage third-party copyright in open access books and chapters, which we recommend reading - even if your work is not in scope of UKRI's policy.

If there is a BPC or CPC involved, this step will also include paying the publisher's invoice. If the invoice is going to be partially or fully paid using financial support from UKRI (see details later in this guide), make sure that you contact the Publications Team when you receive the invoice so that we can sort this out for you.

You should also do all the usual activities that you'd do to promote your work. For example, you should make sure that it is recorded on Worktribe and OpenAIR. You can also share copies of your work with colleagues and post links to it on social media. You might also want to contact RGU Communications for help in making people aware of your new publication.

A growing number of book publishers support Green Open Access, which they often refer to as "self-archiving". The Publications Team can investigate this for you, particularly if your funder requires specific things for Green Open Access to comply with their policy (like UKRI).

How to submit a proposal may vary between different publishers. Their websites should feature guidance on what sorts of information to include and how to send it to them. Feel free to contact the Publications Team if you would like help finding this guidance.

Work with your publisher/editor to produce your manuscript. When obtaining copyright permissions for any third-party materials in your book or chapter (e.g. images, infographics or quotations that you do not own), then you will need to be clear that you want to include these in both the pay-to-read version and open access repository version of your work. UKRI have produced detailed guidance on how to manage third-party copyright in open access books and chapters, which we recommend reading even if your work is not in scope of UKRI's policy.

If you can secure permission for the pay-to-read published version but not for the open access repository version, then contact the Publications Team for advice on potential implications for funder requirements and the file that we use on OpenAIR.

Make sure that your work is recorded on Worktribe and get in touch with the Publications Team so that we can help you make it Green Open Access on OpenAIR.

You should also do all the usual activities that you'd do to promote your work. For example, you could post links to your work on social media. You might also want to contact RGU Communications for help in making people aware of your new publication.

• The output must fall within scope of the UKRI Open Access policy for longform publications, in terms of the funding acknowledged and the definition of the various output types affected.
• The acknowledged UKRI funding must be from either an active project or one that ended no more than 7 years prior to publication. (If multiple projects are involved, then this applies to the one with the latest end date).
• There must be a "substantial link" between the acknowledged UKRI funding and the content of your publication. This means that what you have written about must be closely connected to the research project that you acknowledge.
• The output must be immediately open access from the point of publication. (Although compliance with the policy requires open access within 12 months of publication, financial support will be provided only for immediate open access.)
• The output must be made open access under any Creative Commons licence, or under an Open Government Licence (OGL) if it is covered by Crown Copyright.
• The funding requested must be no more than the maximum that UKRI will allow per output. This is: £10,000 for BPCs; £1,000 for CPCs; and £6,000 (or £9,000 if the publisher in question has published multiple such books from RGU in that year) for other business models in which there is no direct author payment but instead some other cost to the institution (e.g. membership). All maximum costs are inclusive of VAT, but it may be possible for the money from UKRI to provide only a partial contribution towards the total cost of publishing, as long as funds can be found elsewhere for the remainder.

• UKRI have also said that up to £2,000 of the above support for monographs and edited collections, and up to the full £1,000 of the available support for individual chapters can be used specifically for the costs of clearing copyright for third-party materials to facilitate open access publication.

  However, these costs can also be included as part of your grant application. Given the generally high costs of open access book publishing, it is preferable for us to use the UKRI books fund for direct Open Access charges as much as possible, rather than for charges that could be accounted for via other means. RGU therefore encourages researchers to budget for copyright clearance fees within your grant.

  As a reminder, it is also worth reading UKRI's guidance on copyright for third-party materials, as this may help you to understand how much of a budget you will need.

1. Consider what outputs your research project will produce

   This is something you should do from the very beginning of a project, when you are applying for research funding. It is possible for you to decide to produce a book or chapter later in the project, but the sooner you know that you are likely to write a book or chapter, the more time you have to start considering publishing options and to budget for clearing copyright for any third-party materials.

2. Discuss your plans to produce a book or chapter with the Publications Team

   As soon as you know that you are planning to write a book or chapter acknowledging UKRI funding, get in touch with the Publications Team to discuss your preferred publishers and options for complying with the UKRI Open Access policy.

3. Decide where to publish and submit a proposal

   You may need to produce a ranked shortlist of potential publishers, in case your preferred publisher rejects your proposal. Let the Publications Team know once you have submitted a proposal and keep us updated on its status.

1. Proposal accepted! Contact the Publications Team

   Once your proposal has been accepted, you will need to work with your prospective publisher to produce the information that must be sent to the Publications Team in order for us to apply for Open Access funding from UKRI. You'll need to confirm:

   • The type of publication (monograph, book chapter or edited collection)
   • Title of your publication (can still just be a draft at this stage)
   • UKRI funding award reference number and project end date
   • That RGU is the grant-holding institution, or otherwise the name of the grant-holding institution
   • One or two sentences to explain why there is a substantial link between the funding award and the content of your publication
   • Names and ORCIDs:
     • For monographs: author names and ORCIDs
     • For chapters: author names and ORCIDs; also the name(s) of the editor(s) and title of the collection in which the chapter will be published
     • For edited collections: editor names and ORCIDs
   • Publisher
   • Quoted costs in £ / GBP (and indicate whether these exclude or include VAT)
   • Estimated publication date (you can just provide the month and year if you don't have a more precise date from the publisher)
   • The licence under which your publication will be distributed (i.e. a specific Creative Commons licence or the Open Government Licence - see our online guide for more information about open licences)

2. Publications Team apply to UKRI to confirm able to provide funding

   At this point, the Publications Team will use the information you've provided to make an initial application to UKRI. Once we've submitted the application, UKRI aim to reply within 10 working days. They will then confirm whether they are provisionally happy to provide funding for this publication.

   If they say no, the Publications Team will discuss your options with you. We can reapply for the same publication if it is initially rejected, as long as we can address the concerns raised by UKRI.

1. Confirm your contract and produce your work

   Once UKRI have confirmed provisional acceptance to provide financial support, you can sign the contract with the publisher and proceed to work with them for the production of your book or chapter. Remember that you'll need to clear copyright for any third-party materials that you want to include - again, see UKRI's guidance on this.

2. Send the invoice(s) to the Publications Team

   The publisher should invoice you once you are near to publication. Make sure that you send this invoice to the Publications Team so that we can arrange for it to be paid. If you are also reclaiming costs of third-party copyright clearance from the UKRI books fund, rather than from your budget for this in your grant, please also send us these invoices as well.

   If you are publishing through a business model that doesn't involve direct costs, any invoices involved will probably come straight to the Publications Team and you therefore don't need to worry about sending us anything at this point.

1. Get published! Contact the Publications Team

   As soon as your work has been published online via the publisher's website or platform, get in touch with the Publications Team to provide the link. We will then arrange to reclaim the costs of your invoice(s) from the UKRI books fund, using the link and your chosen licence as evidence for your work having been published open access.

2. Share your work

   You should also do all the usual activities that you'd do to promote your work. For example, you should make sure that it is recorded on Worktribe and OpenAIR. You can also share copies of your work with colleagues and post links to it on social media. You might also want to contact RGU Communications for help in making people aware of your new publication.

• Website

  • Bloomsbury Academic

• Publishing Model

  • Pay-to-read and Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs and edited collections only. Not offered for individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • £6,500 to £12,000

• Green OA Permissions

  • Monographs: One chapter only.
  • Edited collections: All chapters directly authored by the editor.
  • Individual chapters: Yes.

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Can comply through Green Open Access only.

• Website

  • Brill

• Publishing Model

  • Pay-to-read and Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs, edited collections and individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • For monographs and edited collections, average £8,700
  • For individual chapters, average £1000

• Green OA Permissions

  • Monographs: No.
  • Edited collections: All chapters directly authored by the editor.
  • Individual chapters: Yes.

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Can comply through Gold or Green Open Access. Up to £1,000 of total cost for Gold can be reclaimed.

• Website

  • De Gruyter

• Publishing Model

  • Pay-to-read and Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs and edited collections only. Not offered for individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • From £6,100

• Green OA Permissions

  • Monographs: No.
  • Edited collections: All chapters directly authored by the editor.
  • Individual chapters: Yes.

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Cannot comply by default, as Green Open Access permissions are too restrictive.

• Website

  • Elsevier

• Publishing Model

  • Pay-to-read and Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs, edited collections and individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • For monographs, £13,600
  • For edited collections and individual chapters, £1,400 per chapter

• Green OA Permissions

  • Monographs: No.
  • Edited collections: Maybe, for editor's own authored chapters only - must request permission from Elsevier's Global Rights Department.
  • Individual chapters: Maybe - must request permission from Elsevier's Global Rights Department.

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Can comply through Gold Open Access; permission for compliant Green Open Access might be granted on a case-by-case basis. Up to £1,000 of total cost for Gold can be reclaimed.

• Website

  • IntechOpen

• Publishing Model

  • Fully Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs, edited collections and individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • For monographs, £4,000 to £10,000
  • For edited collections and individual chapters, £850 to £1,400 per chapter

• Green OA Permissions

  • N/A (Fully Open Access publisher)

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £1,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.

• Website

  • MDPI

• Publishing Model

  • Fully Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs, edited collections and individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • For monographs, from £7,200
  • For edited collections and individual chapters, £1,100 per chapter

• Green OA Permissions

  • N/A (Fully Open Access publisher)

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £1,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.

• Website

  • Open Book Publishers

• Publishing Model

  • Fully Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs, edited collections and individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • Free to publish. They claim it costs £5,000 to produce a book on average and authors can optionally contribute towards this if they are able.

• Green OA Permissions

  • N/A (Fully Open Access publisher)

• UKRI Compliance

  • All publication types: Can comply through Gold Open Access. The publisher is financially supported by libraries; if RGU Library becomes a member, we can reclaim membership costs up to £6,000 (or £9,000, if multiple RGU-affiliated, UKRI-funded outputs published in a given year) if RGU authors publish UKRI-funded publications.

• Website

  • SAGE

• Publishing Model

  • Pay-to-read only

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Not offered.

• Gold OA Costs

  • N/A

• Green OA Permissions

  • Not permitted under most circumstances.

• UKRI Compliance

  • All publication types: Cannot comply by default.

• Website

  • Springer Nature

• Publishing Model

  • Pay-to-read and Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs, edited collections and individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • For monographs and edited collections, £6,400 to £11,600
  • For individual chapters, £2,000

• Green OA Permissions

  • Monographs: Up to 10% of the book.
  • Edited collections: One chapter per RGU editor, where that editor is also an author of the chapter.
  • Individual chapters: One chapter per RGU author.

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Can comply through Gold Open Access only; Green Open Access permissions are too restrictive. Up to £1,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.

• Website

  • Scottish Universities Press (SUP)

• Publishing Model

  • Fully Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs, edited collections and individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • For monographs and edited collections, £3,500 to £5,500
  • For individual chapters, there is no specific fee; you may instead need to negotiate with the editor as to how they will pay for the fee for the whole collection

• Green OA Permissions

  • N/A (Fully Open Access publisher)

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Can comply through Gold Open Access. Up to £1,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.

• Website

  • Taylor and Francis

• Publishing Model

  • Pay-to-read and Open Access

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Monographs, edited collections and individual chapters.

• Gold OA Costs

  • For monographs and edited collections, £5,000 to over £10,000
  • For individual chapters, from £1,300

• Green OA Permissions

  • Monographs: One chapter per RGU author.
  • Edited collections: One chapter per RGU editor, where that editor is also an author of the chapter.
  • Individual chapters: One chapter per RGU author.

• UKRI Compliance

  • Monographs: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Edited collections: Can comply through Gold Open Access only. Up to £10,000 of total cost can be reclaimed.
  • Individual chapters: Can comply through Gold Open Access; Green Open Access is compliant for STEM authors only, as permissions for other disciplines are too restrictive. Up to £1,000 of total cost for Gold can be reclaimed.

• Website

  • Wiley

• Publishing Model

  • Pay-to-read only

• Gold OA Publication Types

  • Not offered.

• Gold OA Costs

  • N/A

• Green OA Permissions

  • Not permitted; no policy.

• UKRI Compliance

  • All publication types: Cannot comply by default.