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Dealing with exorbitant open-access fees?

In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I'm co-editing a volume, and we're interested in making it open access. Unfortunately the fees are exorbitant and our respective institutions offer no financial support.
(1) Are there grants for funding open access and, if so, which bodies give them out? (We're based in Europe and the US in case it matters.)
(2) Can one negotiate open access fees with a publisher and, if so, what's a good way to go about this?

Good questions. Do any readers have any helpful insights?

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3 responses to “Dealing with exorbitant open-access fees?”

  1. please please

    Please report back on the prospects of (2), negotiating with publishers. That would be such good news, though I am skeptical.

    Reply
  2. R

    I don’t have direct experience of this, but I was told by people who do have direct experience that there is more scope for negotiation with the publisher than people tend to assume. Certainly couldn’t hurt to send an email to the publisher and ask. “Hey we’re interested in open access publishing but we think we might not be able to meet the listed fee. Is there any flexibility on this?” Worst case they say no and you’re in the same place as before.

    Reply
  3. Attila

    In negotiations with OUP two options came up:
    – Reduce length (they set the fee based on number of words)
    – Delay OA publication: OUP charges significantly less if you don’t publication OA from the start, but only after the print publication was in circulation for some time.
    I am not aware of other options, but it is business, so no doubt, there is some discretion depending on author, subject etc.

    Reply

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