FAQs

1. What are the benefits of publishing in BMJ Paediatrics Open?

• Rapid publication – all articles are subject to stringent peer-review and fast turnaround times, ensuring prompt publication through our continuous publication policy
• Trusted international brand – BMJ Paediatrics Open maintains the scientific and international reputation of BMJ
• High readership visibility – bmj.com hosting makes sure papers are noticed; exceptional articles are press released

2. How do I submit? Manuscripts should be submitted via the BMJ Paediatrics Open online manuscript submission site, which can be found here. If your article was previously submitted to another BMJ journal and was rejected, we will happily assist in transferring the files to BMJ Paediatrics Open. Please email the editorial office at info.bmjpo@bmj.com for help with this (note that the manuscript must not still be under consideration by any other journal). My paper has just been rejected from another BMJ Journal – will it be automatically transferred to BMJ Paediatrics Open?

3. My paper has just been rejected from another BMJ Journal – will it be automatically transferred to BMJ Paediatrics Open? Your article will not automatically be transferred to BMJ Paediatrics Open if rejected from another BMJ Journal; however, you can choose BMJ Paediatrics Open as an alternative journal when submitting your article.

4. What is Open Access and what is a publishing charge? Open Access stands for unrestricted access. Open Access publishing strives to facilitate the development of new medicines and healthcare by disseminating ideas and discoveries efficiently, effectively and equitably. All articles published in BMJ Paediatrics Open are Open Access so are freely available online in a permanent, universally accessible repository. The standard APC for research articles and reviews will be GBP 1,500 (exclusive of VAT). The APC for protocols will be GBP 1000 (exclusive of VAT) and Original Research Letters are GBP 675 (exclusive of VAT).

The APC covers the costs of the publication process (traditionally covered by subscription fees), including:

• Rigorous peer-review through a maintained online submission system
• Production costs, such as copy-editing, typesetting and preparation for online publication
• Continuous hosting of the article online, available worldwide
• Marketing efforts to increase the article’s exposure

5. How do I pay? The submitting author must confirm at the time of submission that they will organise payment should the article be accepted for publication. Prompt payment is advised as the article will not be published until payment is received. Upon acceptance, the corresponding author will receive an email from our payment partner RightsLink directing the author to proceed with the payment. Payment can be made by any of the following methods:

• Immediate payment online by credit card, using a secure payment form, as soon as the manuscript has been accepted.
• An invoice can be raised on the RightsLink platform by the author. Following receipt of an invoice, payment must be made within 30 days.

6. Does BMJ Paediatrics Open offer discounts and waivers on the APC? BMJ Paediatrics Open offers waivers on the APC for authors based in Hinari Group A or B countries. For HINARI Group A there is a 100% waiver; for HINARI Group B there is a 50% waiver. Any paper submitted to the journal before the end of May 2017 will have its APC waived. Check with your institution before paying the APC. Your publishing costs might be covered through the BMJ Open Access Programme, or you may be eligible for a discount. More information about the BMJ Open Access Programme, including general information on Open Access and copyright policies, is available via our Author Hub. BMJ Paediatrics Open will offer a 25% discount to peer-reviewers who submit a paper to the journal within 12 months of their most recent review. A discount code for the paper will be provided upon its acceptance.

7. Which funding agencies allow direct use of grants to cover the APC? If you received a grant to conduct your research, your first enquiry should be to whoever disburses the research funds. Much research funding is now granted on the condition that any resulting articles are published Open Access. To help authors complete these requirements, many funders will permit payment of APCs from grants or have separate funds available. The Open Access Directory contains a list of universities that have funds for researchers to pay APCs. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) has something similar – both mainly cover US institutions and are not comprehensive. The Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity is a collection of universities who have pledged their support to establishing durable mechanisms for underwriting the APC model. Alternatively, contact your librarian to find out what support your institution offers. General information about BMJ’s Open Access programme, including copyright policies and institutional memberships, is available via our author hub.

8. How do I subscribe? BMJ Paediatrics Open is an Open Access journal and is therefore free to access for anyone with an internet connection. There is no print edition.

9. Does BMJ Paediatrics Open impose any copyright restrictions and who retains copyright of Open Access articles? Authors retain copyright. Articles are published under a Creative Commons licence to facilitate reuse of the content.

10. What is the time to publication? BMJ Paediatrics Open aims to provide authors with a rapid peer review service. Continuous online publication ensures papers are published as soon as they are ready. All phases of the process can be tracked via our online systems.

11. How is the article cited? BMJ Paediatrics Open publishes online, though is assembled into issues and volumes; articles will be referenced by their unique article number (Digital Object Identifier or DOI) as opposed to a page number.

12. How do I sign up to email alerts about articles published in BMJ Paediatrics Open? When the full website launches you can subscribe to receive BMJ Paediatrics Open email alerts. Options available for BMJ Paediatrics Open will be:

• Alerts when an article is cited
• Alerts if corrections are posted to a specific article
• Alerts if a letter is published in response to an article

You can also sign up for RSS feeds that will update you when new content is published.

13. Who do I contact if I would like more information about BMJ Paediatrics Open? For all queries please contact the editorial office at info.bmjpo@bmj.com.