Where to Publish: Choosing a Journal for Your Scholarship

As you decide where to submit your article, it is important to understand how each journal handles access, costs, and your rights as an author. Open access options, article processing charges (APCs), and copyright or licensing terms can affect who can read your work, how it can be reused, and whether you meet funder or institutional requirements.

Open access (OA) refers to scholarship that is free to read online, usually with fewer restrictions on reuse than traditional subscription articles. Journals support open access in several ways.

• Gold open access. The journal makes the final published version of the article freely available on its website. Many gold OA journals charge an article processing charge (APC), but not all do.
• Hybrid open access. Subscription journals that allow individual articles to be made open access for a fee, while the rest of the content remains behind a paywall.
• Green open access (self archiving). Authors publish in a journal (often subscription based) and also deposit a version of the article, usually the accepted manuscript, in an institutional or subject repository after any embargo period.

When comparing journals, look for:

• Whether the journal offers an open access option and which version of the article is made open
• Any embargo periods before you can share your accepted manuscript in a repository
• Which Creative Commons or other licenses are used, and how they affect reuse

If you are unsure how a journal’s policies align with funder or institutional requirements, your subject librarian or scholarly communications librarian can help you interpret them.

Please see our Open Access guide to learn more.

Some journals charge fees to cover publication costs. These may be associated with open access publishing, page or color charges, or optional services. It is important to know what you might be expected to pay before you submit.

• Article processing charges (APCs). Fees charged by many open access and hybrid journals to make an article freely available on the publisher’s site.
• Other author fees. Some journals charge for color figures, page overages, or optional extras (such as language editing or open data hosting through partner services).
• Transparency. Reputable journals provide clear, easy to find information about all fees on their website. Be cautious if fees are not mentioned until late in the process or are hard to understand.

Before choosing a journal, consider:

• Whether you or your co authors have funds available to cover potential APCs or fees
• Whether your institution has agreements or memberships that reduce or waive APCs with certain publishers
• Whether a no fee route such as green open access through a repository will meet your needs and any funder requirements

If cost is a concern, talk with your librarian about funding options, institutional agreements, and journals that do not charge APCs.

We have a guide on Publishing Agreements that provide details on opportunities to have your APCs covered.

When you publish, you are often asked to sign a copyright transfer or license agreement. Understanding these documents helps you make informed choices about how your work can be shared and reused.

• Copyright transfer versus license to publish.
  • Some journals require you to transfer copyright to the publisher, which may limit how you can share the final version of your article.
  • Others use a license to publish, allowing you to retain copyright while granting the journal the rights it needs to disseminate your work.
• Self archiving rights. Check whether you are allowed to deposit a preprint or accepted manuscript in an institutional repository, personal website, or subject repository, and whether there is an embargo period.
• Creative Commons and other licenses. Open access articles often use Creative Commons licenses (such as CC BY or CC BY NC) that specify how others can reuse, adapt, and share your work.
• Reuse in teaching and future work. Confirm whether you can use your article in course packs, deposit it in a thesis or dissertation, or reuse figures and text in future publications.

Before signing any publishing agreement:

• Read the terms carefully and note any restrictions on sharing or reuse that may conflict with your goals or funder requirements
• Check whether the journal offers alternative agreements or addenda that allow more flexible reuse
• Contact your librarian if you would like help interpreting the agreement or exploring rights retention options

If you have questions about your rights as an author or how a specific journal handles copyright and licensing, please reach out to your scholarly communications librarian or your librarian subject specialist.

We also have guides on Copyright and Creative Commons Licenses to answer basic questions.