Open Access FAQs
Paying for Open Access
- What support is available for gold open access fees?
- Do I need to include funding for Open Access in a grant application?
- I don’t understand why an APC was paid for one of my articles but not for the next one.
- What if I have not received a reply about paying Open Access fees for my paper?
- Can you pay for Open Access fees if my paper acknowledges the ERC only?
- Do the University's block grants cover the whole cost of publishing? What about page and colour charges?
Open Access Fundamentals
- What is a Read & Publish agreement?
- What are block grants?
- What is rights retention?
- What is a transformative journal?
- What is a hybrid journal?
- What is green open access?
Uploading Articles
- What is the author accepted manuscript (AAM)?
- Which manuscripts should I upload?
- When do I need to upload?
- I have no funders or my funder has no open access requirements (e.g. a College fellowship). Do I need to do anything?
- I’m using arXiv, bioRxiv or another preprint server. Do I still need to upload my article on acceptance?
- My journal asks me to sign a copyright agreement or commit to an Open Access option on submission, not acceptance. Can I get in touch earlier?
Multiple Authors
- If I’ve co-authored a paper with colleagues also affiliated to Cambridge, should we all submit the same article?
- My co-author in another institution has uploaded the manuscript to their system. Do I still need to submit it at Cambridge?
- The corresponding author doesn’t always communicate when the article is accepted. What should I do if I don’t find out the article is accepted within 3 months?
- If an open access fee has to be paid and there are authors from multiple institutions, who pays?
Manuscripts and the Repository
- Should the accepted manuscript (AAM) include figures and other supplementary materials?
- When does the embargo period come into force?
- I don’t want people to read or cite my AAM. It’s inferior to the published version.
- Is the Repository discoverable? How will people find it?
- What is a preprint server?
- What is an institutional repository?
Funder Policies and the Block Grants
Copyright and Publisher Policies
- Will I get into trouble with my publisher for submitting my accepted manuscript to you?
- If I put the article on my own website, will I get into trouble?
- Do I still have the copyright after I submit to you?
- Will there be any copyright issues if I sign my publisher’s agreement before submitting the manuscript to you?
- Which journals offer a green Open Access publishing option? Can you provide a list of approved journals or a blacklist of journals to avoid?
- Do I need to worry about copyright?
