Article processing charges

Waivers and discounts are granted case by case, at the publisher’s discretion. To ask for one, email [email protected] with your manuscript ID and the reason before you pay; the office replies within five working days. For invited submissions and sponsored special issues the publisher may reduce or waive the charge; the invitation or the call says so.

When you write, please give:

• the manuscript ID and the journal;
• the corresponding author’s country and institution;
• why the charge cannot be paid in full, for example no research funding;
• the part of the charge you can pay, if any.

You need not pay while the office decides. Waivers and discounts are decided by the publisher’s office, never by the journal’s editors, so a request cannot affect the decision on your manuscript; editors’ own submissions are treated the same way, case by case. A charge that has been paid cannot be waived afterwards.

Reviewer vouchers. Reviewers may receive a voucher towards a future charge, at the office’s discretion, based on the quality and timeliness of their reviews. The code is entered on the payment page.

• Before acceptance: you may withdraw a manuscript at any time from its page in My SciPub; nothing is charged. The office confirms within two working days.
• After acceptance, before payment: you may still withdraw it; the invoice is cancelled.
• After payment: No refunds once an article has been paid for: payment starts production at once.
• After publication: an article is not withdrawn. It can be corrected, or retracted on the grounds in our publication ethics policy; see the Crossmark policy.