You will never get a fee for publishing in an academic journal.
According to a recent post in Scholarly Open Access (a now [2019] defunct blog, which used to report on academic publishing scams), there is at least one academic publisher so keen to recruit authors and editors that they offer rewards of “1,000-10,000 dollars as remuneration for each article according to its quality”. Such promises are so ludicrous that they would not normally require refuting. But in the interest of protecting the more trusting among us, let me be crystal-clear: You will never get a fee for publishing in an academic journal.
Increasingly, academic publishing is becoming a ‘you-pay-them’ model, and it is certainly not ‘they-pay-you’. Academic journals that claim they will pay contributors handsomely are most likely seeking to exploit the gullibility of inexperienced, or desperate, researchers.
Nigerian Prince meets Academic Publishing
If the above has not deterred you from doing business with such journals, or if their promises to paying editors up to 2,000 dollars per month (!) seem too enticing, here’s another story about academic publishing fraud to consider.
In this blog post, Dave Bricker, a publishing consultant, narrates how he was once contacted by someone who offered to pay “a high price without questions or negotiation” for his professional services. Bricker astutely realised that he was the target of an advance fee scam, also known as ‘419 fraud‘, in reference to article 419 in the penal code of Nigeria, where this type of scam is prevalent.
Here’s how the scam works, in Bricker’s words: First, “the operator sends a fake check—one that looks authentic. You deposit that check and it clears quickly.” Following that, the fraudster may request a small refund under some pretext (e.g., local taxes, administrative fees, etc.) “With cash in hand, what do you have to lose? You send the operator his ‘refund’ (less your generous compensation) and move on with your life. Weeks later, the bank detects the fraud and pulls the money out of your account. You’re officially hosed.”
Traditionally, advance fee scams involve fanciful stories about deposed Nigerian dignitaries, wealthy widows on their deathbeds and the like. However, Bricker’s post shows that scammers will sometimes approach potential victims using legitimate business pretexts. This is why excess generosity by any academic publisher should be treated with extreme caution.
One final note
Just to be very clear: I have no way of knowing if the publishing company mentioned in Scholarly Open Access is a front for an advance fraud scheme. However, given the prevalence of such activity on the internet, prospective authors and journal editors would do well to be very vigilant. If an offer looks too good to be true, as the adage goes, it probably isn’t.
I hope that you found the information in this post useful. Please feel free to use the social sharing links below to forward this to any friends who might be interested. Also, if you have any stories about academic publishing fraud to share, do please drop a line in the comments or here.
Featured Image: “Danger” by Shawn Carpenter @ Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
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