Book Author

1.   What are the advantages of publishing in open access as opposed to publishing in the traditional print model?

Open Access as a publishing model enables your research to reach the widest possible audience and share your results with the global scholarly community. So far Open Access has been successfully used for journals and now we seek to apply it to monographs. Research has shown that open access not only does not jeopardize print sales but in fact increases them. Electronic Publishing also offers many additional features that are not available in traditional formats, such as reference linking, full-text search etc. As the cost of handling Open Access publishing is lower compared to traditional model, one can afford publishing very specialized books, which otherwise, due to their small potential audience, might not have been accepted for print by traditional academic publishers.

2.   What is the advantage of publishing with Versita as opposed to just uploading a pdf file of my book on my webpage?

Open Access Publishing does not simply mean uploading a pdf file to a website and making it available to a wide audience.  It is still a publishing service which is handled with meticulous care to meet the standards of quality scholarly publication. All book proposals and manuscripts are submitted to a rigorous and comprehensive peer-review, they are copy-edited by a native English speaker specializing in the field and, in the production process, professionally composed in PDF formats. As we introduce print on demand options the author will be granted royalties from print sales as well as three complimentary print copies of his/her book. We also handle distribution of your book, ranging from making it available in e-book form on our platform, in libraries and other distributors such as Amazon and selling print copies to libraries and individuals.

3.   Why should i publish with Versita and not with any other open access publisher?

Versita has been on the market for more than a decade now and within this relatively short amount of time, with over 250 Open Access journals in its portfolio, it has managed to establish itself as one of the leading scholarly Open Access Publishers. During this time period we have acquired substantial Open Access publishing know-how. We know how to approach Open Access publishing and we do it with high efficiency and with high standards in mind. The Versita team is made up of young, creative and competent people who take pride in working on this pioneering project. In January 2012 Versita company was acquired by de Gruyter, a prominent scholarly publisher with 260-year history. We are honored to cooperate with the most distinguished scholars in their respective disciplines and seek their advice regarding our publishing portfolio.

4.   How do you address the question of open access as “vanity press”?

Open Access publishing is commonly mistakenly associated with low quality texts that would have never met the standards of traditional academic publishers and would have not been published otherwise. Open Access Books program at Versita challenges this idea as it is set to ensure high quality publications freely available to the readers. For the Open Access Books program we apply the same standards as are used in the traditional publishing model, so each book proposal and manuscript must first be accepted by two reviewers in order to qualify to be published. We are committed to make this selection as scrupulous as possible by choosing our reviewers among the best specialists in respective fields.

5.   What marketing and pr strategies does Versita envision regarding the open access books program?

Versita is currently launching an Open Access blog, which we see as a platform for an ongoing exchange of ideas and experiences in Open Access publishing. We will also use social media platforms to animate discussions about the program. Versita will be present at some of the most influential conferences and plans to spread the news about the Open Access Books among academics through various group discussions, academic societies and universities. We are also working on extensive press coverage of the program and forthcoming titles.

6.   What are Versita’s publishing strategies? What books are you interested in?

Versita is interested in innovative, promising research from various scholarly disciplines. Our publishing portfolio will be covering twenty seven broad areas ranging from Chemistry to Arts, Music and Architecture. Regarding the content we do not target any specific subject areas, as we are interested in topics that may attract a wide market (occasionally the consumer market as well). Our ambition is to reach 200 published books soon. Versita focuses on monographs, but we will also welcome textbooks, edited volumes and reference works. As a rule, all books will be in English, yet, in exceptional justified cases, we do consider other international languages.

7.   What will your book processing charges be?

Versita is currently undertaking extensive analysis to set a moderate and fair price that will be applied as our Book Processing Charge which should cover the costs of production and marketing. However, we decided to waive this fee for the first 200 books that we publish, so authors who decide to submit their manuscripts now and whose books get accepted by our reviewers for publication do not have to pay any charges for Versita’s publishing services.. Universities will be able to sign general agreements with Versita, so that their faculty can enjoy significant reductions of publication fees.

8.   What are the benefits of joining the Versita open access books program as an Editorial Advisory Board member?

As an Editorial Advisory Board member you will have the opportunity to support our innovative Open Access Books program which seeks to revitalize the declining academic book publishing market and give the scholarly monograph a second life. Our goal is to publish fresh, promising research and make sure that it reaches the widest possible audience, with no geographic or economic limits. As we want to ensure the high quality of books published with Versita we invite most distinguished scholars to join our EABs and serve as the ultimate authorities in their respective fields. As Versita’s Open Access Editorial Advisory Member you will have the chance to participate in this pioneering project and watch it change the world of scholarly publishing.

9.   What are the benefits of joining the Versita open access books program as an Associate Editor?

As an Associate Editor you will have the opportunity to support our innovative Open Access Books program which seeks to revitalize the declining academic book publishing market and give the scholarly monograph a second life. Our goal is to publish fresh, promising research and make sure that it reaches the widest possible audience, with no geographic or economic limits. Versita Associate Editors are given the chance to have an impact on scholarship by identifying promising authors in their field and inviting them to publish with us. They also have their say in the evaluation of book proposals. You will be compensated per each book published and your name will be listed in the book credits. We will also provide you with a complimentary printed copy of each book you work on and your name will be listed on our webpage among other Editors and Editorial Advisory Members in your field.

10. What are the benefits of joining Versita open access books program as an assistant editor?

As an Assistant Editor you will have the opportunity to support our innovative Open Access Books program which seeks to revitalize the declining academic book publishing market and give the scholarly monograph a second life. Our goal is to publish fresh, promising research and make sure that it reaches the widest possible audience, with no geographic or economic limits. Versita Assistant Editors are given a chance to participate in this pioneering program and help us change the world of scholarly publishing. You will have the opportunity to work with a dynamic team in a new field and familiarize yourself with the newest publishing practices. Versita values the engagement of its Assistant Editors and provides them with references and letters of recommendations. Assistant Editors are also listed on our webpage among other Editors and distinguished scholars from the Editorial Advisory Board in each respective field of research.