What is new in independent publishing?
Many centuries ago, a Greek philosopher declared that the only constant is change. “Everything changes and nothing remains still; and you cannot step twice into the same stream,” he rightly said. This truth of life is all around us – the audio cassette evolved into a CD, yet one can share music freely today without either of these!
In a world that is constantly evolving, the academic system of communicating new results by publishing them in journals has remained surprisingly consistent.
What are some issues researchers face in publishing?
Some of the systemic issues that researchers have identified in the current publishing landscape include:
- Lack of access
- Lack of diversity
- Long gaps between paper submission and publication
- Other issues such as predatory publishing,high costs, and miscommunication
What are recent trends that support Independent Publishing?
Some of the trends that have emerged lately that support independent publishing include:
- More support for open access publishing,
- Increasing preprints,
- Availability of journal content online,
This suggests that the way we write, communicate, and publish research may undergo a complete overhaul.
What is Independent Publishing?
Publishing research independently is a fast-growing area in academia. Academics can already publish their research independently in the form of books, monographs, or dissertations. They can publish these in a form that can be read or accessed easily by students, other researchers, libraries, and general public.
Moreover, the researcher can retain all the rights to their publication, including the right to send copies to their colleagues and potential employers.
It is likely that in the future, there will be an increase in options available for the direct communication of one’s research.
Benefits of independent publishing in academia
As part of the traditional publishing route, researchers communicate their study findings to a relevant journal. A group of reviewers then scrutinize the research, and decide whether it is suitable for the journal in its current form. This method of publishing can take anywhere between six months to two years from the time researchers start writing the manuscript. Additionally, they often have to pay article processing charges to journals for publishing their work, and receive no monetary compensation/royalties. This creates an inequitable playing field.
Given this situation, publishing their study findings independently can offer several benefits to researchers. It is faster, free of cost, and the content can be accessed immediately by everyone. Researchers can also present parts of their research individually, instead of waiting to prepare a full-fledged research paper. This can ensure that their work is published as soon as possible, reducing the chances of a rival research team coming up with similar results (often referred to as ‘scooping’ in academia).
Moreover, independent publishing can open up higher degrees of flexibility and creativity for scientists. They can share information about experiments that didn’t work out, or negative results that they obtained – something that isn’t easily accepted for publication in most established scientific journals. This is of particular value to others who are working or may work on similar projects.
Academics are increasingly understanding the benefits of this approach. In their blog, researcher Dr. Aure Schrock shared how they published their work in a book that cost $195. This cost meant that the research did not reach wide audiences, and fetched fewer citations. Readers may similarly not be able to access articles appearing in paywalled journals, resulting in lower citations. Because of their experience Dr. Schrock announced that in the future, they will publish independently.
What are some pitfalls of Independent publishing?
While independent publishing may appear attractive, it has certain drawbacks, especially in today’s context where publishing in scientific journals is an established model.
The system of peer review, although not entirely flawless, has stood the test of time. It is the more accepted way to communicate one’s research findings. Hiring and promotion committees want to know that a candidate’s research has been vetted by a third-party. Tenure track positions often require that researchers publish their work in prestigious journals with a high impact-factor. These factors conspire against many researchers exploring the option of independent publishing.
The motivation to publish independently is further dampened by the fact that although the peer review process may take longer, it enhances the quality of work that researchers communicate.
Where do we stand and what lies ahead?
Despite the obvious advantages of independent publishing, academia has been slow to embrace this model. Although no statistics are available regarding how many researchers choose independent publishing, experts believe that many researchers may soften toward the concept over time. Indeed, researchers are increasingly publishing their work independently in preprint repositories.
At its core, science is about an exchange of information and dialogue. The current publishing system often excludes important stakeholders from participating in this dialogue. Researchers identifying problems in the current publishing models indicates a motivation for change.
But since change is the only constant, this development may not be here to stay, just as direct sharing of music replaced the CD that once succeeded the audio cassette!
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