I recently submitted an article to a Journal that had asked me to write a review. All went well and I was excited about what I had written.
Then came the shock. The website of the publisher required me to fill in a form before publication. The form gave me three options. For 3000 euros they would put the article fully in the public domain. Or, if I did not pay the
m, then the publisher wanted me to sign a full and very restrictive copyright agreement giving the publisher sole rights to my work.
To be fair to the publisher, Journals have long taken the copyright to government funded work. The rational for this has been that the journal needs the copyright in order to sell subscriptions. That rational, combined with the power of the web to cut publication costs to a minimum, seems to have led this publisher into a unique idea … why not let authors PAY for the privilege of making publicly funded work available to the public?
I did ask our school what to do. The response was not fully forthcoming. If I understood it, I was told that I could pay for this privilege out of my own pocket or find some source willing to pay the publisher.
I think the time has come for major universities, like the UW, to create a code of behavior that requires all work done on campus be either owned by the UW or placed in the public domain.
You should find a drug company to do your studies for you and write your papers for you. It will save you time and effort and build your cv quickly. A good company will pay all the publication charges and may even pay you an honorarium and provide you with an “unrestricted” grant. Many academicians are not aware of all the benefits that pharmaceutical company medical writing assistance can provide for humanity.
Sarcasm and anonymity go together like cowardice and bravado.
I assume this was an attempt at humor?
Anonymity is stock in trade of professional medical writers, who provide great benefits for those who acquiesce, the drug companies who employ them, and the society for whom the drugs are targeted.
Yes.
And YOUR anonymity serves what purpose?