Article processing charges

Any taxes that apply in the payer’s jurisdiction are shown on the invoice. Where an institution requires a quotation before acceptance, the editorial office will provide one.

1. Submission

   Nothing is charged. A manuscript is screened and reviewed at no cost to the author.

2. Decision

   Nothing is charged. No submission or peer-review fee is charged, and the APC is payable only after acceptance. Withdrawal charges apply under the policy below. Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request.

3. Acceptance

   The charge is raised only after the manuscript has been accepted on the strength of the science. The invoice is issued to the corresponding author or to the institution they nominate.

4. Publication

   The article is copy-edited, typeset, registered with Crossref and published open access under CC BY 4.0.

• Editorial handling and the management of peer review
• Copy-editing and typesetting
• Figure preparation and the production of the published formats
• Crossref DOI registration and metadata distribution
• Open-access hosting, with no subscription or paywall for any reader
• Long-term preservation of the published record
• Issuing and linking any later correction or retraction notice

Readers pay nothing. Articles are published under CC BY 4.0 and authors retain copyright — see Copyright and License.

The journal does not want the charge to decide which research gets published. Authors who expect difficulty meeting it should write to the editorial office at [email protected] before submitting, or at submission at the latest, describing the position.

Requests are considered individually by the editorial office. A request has no bearing on the editorial decision and is not visible to the editor handling the manuscript.

Many institutions hold open-access publication funds, and many funders allow publication costs to be claimed against a grant. Your library or research office is usually the fastest route to finding out.

Who is invoiced

The corresponding author, or an institution they nominate. The journal can invoice an institution directly and accepts institutional purchase orders.

Card and online payment

Online payment is available through the invoice.

Bank transfer

For bank transfer, write to the accounts department at [email protected].

Purchase orders

Institutional purchase orders are accepted, with thirty-day payment terms.

Queries

Questions about an invoice go to the accounts department; questions about whether the charge can be met go to the editorial office.

Authors should contact the editorial office promptly and wait for written confirmation before submitting the work elsewhere.

• Manuscripts withdrawn within 3 days of submission are not subject to a withdrawal charge.
• Manuscripts withdrawn more than 3 days after submission incur a withdrawal charge equal to 30% of the journal's APC.
• Authors must receive official withdrawal confirmation before submitting the manuscript to another journal.

These terms are the publisher’s and apply to every journal in the portfolio. They are restated in Editorial Policies so that an author reading either page sees the same thing.