Fees and Article Processing Charges
SERA open press is committed to making open-access publishing affordable and accessible. This page provides a complete and transparent overview of all fees associated with publishing in our journals.
Launch Period — All Fees Waived
During our launch period, all publication fees are waived for every author, regardless of country, funding status, or article type. There are no charges of any kind during this period.
The launch period will remain in effect until SERA open press journals achieve indexing in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Authors will be notified well in advance before any fee changes take effect, and no fees will ever be applied retroactively to manuscripts already under review.
Fee Schedule
Current Fees (Launch Period)
| Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Submission fee | Free |
| Article Processing Charge (APC) | Waived |
| Page charges | None |
| Color charges | None |
| Supplementary material hosting | Free |
Future Fees (Post-Launch)
After the launch period concludes, SERA open press will introduce Article Processing Charges (APCs) to sustain operations. The future APC structure will be:
- Announced at least 6 months before taking effect
- Published on this page with full transparency
- Competitive with comparable open-access journals in each discipline
- Subject to a comprehensive fee waiver program (see below)
No submission fees, page charges, or color charges will ever be introduced. Authors will never pay to submit a manuscript, and acceptance decisions are never influenced by an author's ability to pay.
Fee Waiver Program
SERA open press is committed to ensuring that financial constraints never prevent the publication of quality research. The following waivers will remain in effect permanently, even after APCs are introduced:
Automatic Full Waivers
- Authors from Research4Life-eligible countries (Group A and Group B)
- Authors with no institutional or grant funding for publication costs (self-certified)
Partial Waivers
- Available on a case-by-case basis for authors experiencing financial hardship
- Requests are handled confidentially and do not affect editorial decisions
How to Request a Waiver
Fee waiver requests should be submitted at the time of manuscript submission. Waivers are determined by the publisher's administrative office — editors and reviewers are never informed of waiver status, and waiver decisions have no bearing on editorial decisions.
Payment
When APCs are in effect:
- Payment is due after acceptance and before publication
- Authors will receive an invoice with clear payment instructions
- Accepted payment methods will be detailed at that time
- No manuscript is published until payment (or an approved waiver) is confirmed
Refund Policy
- If a manuscript is rejected after an APC has been paid (which should not occur under normal process), a full refund will be issued
- If an author withdraws a manuscript after payment, a full refund will be issued provided the article has not yet been published
- Refund requests should be directed to finance@serapress.com
Editorial Independence
Publication decisions are based entirely on editorial merit. The ability or willingness to pay fees never influences acceptance or rejection decisions. Editors and reviewers do not have access to information about an author's fee waiver status.
Questions
For questions about fees, waivers, or payment, contact: finance@serapress.com