Re: "Overlay Journals" Over Again...

[Mike Rossner <rossner@mail.rockefeller.edu>]

Submission fees are not practical as the sole source of revenue 
for selective journals.  Based on our submission numbers for 
calendar year 2008, we would need to charge nearly $2,000 per 
submission to make up our revenue.  Two of our journals reject 
70% of submissions on the basis of review by the academic editors 
(i.e., they are not sent for external review), and the authors of 
those papers receive their rejection letters within a few of days 
of submission.  I do not think those authors would be pleased to 
pay $2,000 for such a result.

Most journal publishers are in the business of trying to attract 
the highest quality submissions.  We are loath to levy any 
upfront fees that would discourage an author from submitting a 
manuscript.

Mike Rossner
Rockefeller University Press