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Open Plus Books - FAQ's

Open Plus Books - a new concept in book publishing

Q. What are the publication charges for an Open Plus Book and Open Plus Book+?
A. We are working on sustainable pricing models with our customers with charges based on the length, complexity, and number of chapters in the book, as well as the number of figures and tables, plus a one-off set-up charge. Authors are therefore encouraged to discuss their proposed book with their editor as early as possible.

Editorial contacts can be found at www.routledge.com/contacts/editorial or contact the  Taylor & Francis Open Access Books team

Q. Will I have to sign a contract?
A. The Open Plus book agreement will be between the Publisher and the author.

Q. Who will hold the copyright for my work?
A. Copyright will be held by the author.

Q. What licence will my work be published under?
A.    OA content will be published under a CC-BY-NC-ND licence. We may be able to offer other license types based on author and funder needs. Learn more about the creative commons options available to you .

Q: Will I still receive royalties?
A.   Yes, royalties will be payable on sales of print copies. However, royalties will not be payable on the eBook as this will be available on an OA basis.

Q: How long will it take for my work to be published on the F1000 platform?
A: Once chapters have been accepted and checked they can be published on the platform in as little as 14 days. One of the benefits of Open Plus Books is that chapters can be published individually as soon as they are ready; there is no need to wait for all chapters to be delivered.

Q: What kind of checks are carried out on the chapters before being published on the platform?
A: Chapters are published rapidly as soon as they are accepted, after passing a series of prepublication checks to assess originality, readability, author eligibility, and compliance with F1000’s policies and ethical guidelines.

Peer Review

Q: Does the proposal for an Open Plus Book have an initial peer review prior to a contract being offered?
A: Yes, the book proposal will be evaluated in the same as any other Routledge or CRC Press book and obtaining peer review is an important part of that process. To learn more about the initial peer review process, visit our page on Proposal Reviews .

Q: What is the peer review process for Open Plus Book chapters if I have Open Plus Books+?
A: Peer review takes place as soon as the chapter has been published on the F1000 platform (or one of our partner platforms). The peer review process is entirely open and transparent: each review, plus the approval status selected by the reviewer, is published with the reviewer's name and affiliation alongside the chapter. The peer review status of the chapter is updated with every published peer review.

Authors are responsible for identifying suitable reviewers who are experts in the field and can provide unbiased reviews on their article. Before publication, authors are asked to suggest at least five potential reviewers, who must meet our criteria for reviewers . Authors are asked not to contact the reviewers directly.

Peer review is by invitation only and administered on behalf of the authors by the editorial team. The editorial team are here to support the authors during the peer review process, and are responsible for:

  • ensuring the reviewer criteria are met;
  • acting as the intermediary between authors and reviewers;
  • contacting the reviewers on the author’s behalf;
  • ensuring all aspects of an article are reviewed;
  • checking the peer review reports before they are published;
  • supplementing the author’s suggestions for reviewers if, for example, a chapter covers a particularly controversial topic. This will be done in agreement with the authors in the interest of ensuring a fair and balanced peer review process.

Q: What classes as Approved Status with peer review?
A: The peer review status of a chapter is clearly indicated at all stages: 

  • Immediately on publication, and until the first peer review report is published, the chapter is labelled AWAITING PEER REVIEW as part of the chapter title and in the Open Peer Review summary box on both the article HTML and PDF.
  • As soon as a peer review report is published alongside the chapter, the current approval status is displayed. As additional reports are received, the approval status is updated.
  • Once a chapter receives two ‘Approved’ statuses, or two ‘Approved with Reservations’ statuses and one ‘Approved’ status, it will be indexed in various bibliographic databases.

Q: What are the benefits of open peer review and how is it moderated?
A: There are tangible benefits to open peer review, both to you as a researcher and to you as a peer-reviewer. As a researcher, having your work reviewed openly means creating a more collaborative and constructive approach which should ultimately improve your publication. It can also save you time since you will be in direct dialogue with your reviewer/s. As a reviewer, the same is also true – an open and honest dialogue is usually more constructive. Furthermore, the benefits can be significant since peer review reports are independently citable, maximizing your visibility and making your work more discoverable. In both cases, more than harming your reputation, open peer review gives you a chance to enhance it. If you want read more about the open peer review process, take a look at the F1000 FAQs .

Q: What are you doing to protect authors from bias in peer review?
A: To encourage inclusivity in our peer review process and to help ensure robust peer review, where possible suggested reviewers should be diverse with regards to their gender, geographic location and career stage (whilst still adhering to our criteria for reviewers ). The Editorial team may request additional suggestions if we are concerned that the suggested reviewers are from too limited a pool.