Open access books
The open access books landscape is very diverse with several types of actors co-existing, ranging from commercial publishers, to university and learned society presses, and non-profit academic-led initiatives. Business models vary significantly too. While most publishers charge Book Processing Charges (BPCs), others are instead experimenting with different funding models, such as freemium models or library partnership subsidy models. The University of Groningen Library proudly supports some of these innovative initiatives , like Open Book Publishers, Punctum Books and Sandstone Press.
Would you like to better understand open access book publishing? Use the OA Books Toolkit.
Funding
BPC rates vary considerably, from €5,000 to €10,000+. A recent study commissioned by the National Platform Open Science estimates the average BPC for monographs to be €8,000. We suggest inquiring about BPCs rates with your publisher.
As with articles, open access fees for books are eligible for reimbursement from research grants and should be budgeted for when submitting funding applications.
The University of Groningen has an open access book fund. UG- and UMCG-affiliated authors can apply for funding the publication of their monograph or edited volume.
Are you funded by NWO?
Beneficiaries of NWO grants can request up to €10,000 to support the publication of open access academic monographs, edited volumes and book chapters.
Your rights as an author & publishing contracts
Publishing contracts: what are your rights as an author?
Under Dutch copyright law, when a work is created in the course of employment, the copyright generally vests in the employer. This would mean that the University of Groningen could be regarded as the copyright holder. However, the university has a policy of exempting academic works and books from this rule. As a result, as the author of an academic work – whether it is a book or an article – you are usually the primary copyright holder of the work. Where several persons have made an original contribution to the work, they share the copyright. This copyright grants the author, amongst other things, the exclusive right to make copies of the work, to sell or distribute it and to make adaptations, such as translations. If you use third-party material, such as images, photographs, graphs, tables and long quotations, you, as the author, must ensure that you provide correct source references and attribution, and obtain the necessary permissions for reuse.
Publishing your work
When a publisher accepts your book for publication, you will be asked to sign an agreement. This agreement sets out who holds the copyright, what rights the author and the publisher have (for example, regarding reuse or translations), and the terms regarding royalties (if applicable) and how the work should be cited.
Such agreements are referred to, for example, as a Copyright Transfer Agreement, an Author Agreement, a License to Publish or just Contract.
Book contracts
Book contracts vary from publisher to publisher and can be complex. When you sign a contract to publish your work, it is important to check that your own rights are adequately protected and that the contract takes into account any obligations you may have towards your employer and/or the funder of your research.
In many cases, a contract involves the transfer of part of the copyright or certain exploitation rights to the publisher. This may affect how you are able to use your own work in the future. It is therefore advisable to consider in advance how you might wish to use your work in the future, for example in your reaching, in future publications or when producing a translation.
Publishers often ask for (all) exploitation rights to be transferred. However, this is not necessary. In many cases, it is possible to adapt the agreement to suit the author(s)’wishes.
Publishing open access books with the University of Groningen Press
University of Groningen Press (UGP) is an open access publisher for academic authors and editors based at the UG. It publishes books, series and academic journals.
UGP combines traditional library expertise with tailor-made technological support for editors and authors. If you would like to publish with UGP, please get in touch at: ugp rug.nl.