Business Models

Traditional journals have always used to variety of revenue sources to meet publication costs – subscriptions, page-charges, reprint fees, colour-figure charges, advertising, sponsorship, etc. The same is true of open access journals (without subscriptions!). Publishers need to identify the costs they will have to cover in an open access environment and then look to revenue sources to cover those costs. The resources listed in this seaction will help publishers begin to address these issues.

JISC: Learned Society Open Access Business Models

A key for any publisher looking to new business models is first to understand their current model and costs. As part of a study of society publishers Mary Waltham compiled a profit and loss template which will help any publisher gain a clearer understanding of the costs that they need to cover. JISC: Learned Society Open Access Business Models, pp.54-56.

Open Access Journal Business Guides

The following guides are available in PDF or HTML format: Guide to Business Planning for Converting a Subscription-based Journal to Open Access v3, Guide to Business Planning for Launching a New Open Access Journal v2, and Model Business Plan: A Supplemental Guide for Open Access Journal Developers & Publishers all by Raym Crow and Howard Goldstein, SPARC Consulting Group on behalf of the Open Society Insitute

Sponsorships for Nonprofit Scholarly & Scientific Journals: A Guide to Defining & Negotiating Successful Sponsorships

Raym Crow, SPARC Consulting Group. This guide [PDF] describes how nonprofit publishers can evaluate whether a corporate sponsorship program might be appropriate for their journal and, if appropriate, develop a sponsorship program as a component of the journal’s income stream.

Overcoming Obstacles to Launching and Sustaining Non-Traditional-Publisher Open Access Journals

August 14, 2006. Helpful advice from Charles Bailey for 'non-traditional publishers'.