TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview
In order to publish an article Open Access payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC) is often required. The APC is paid once the article is accepted for publication and it has been exported to our production system. For more information, please see What is an article processing charge (APC)?
What should I do if I cannot pay the article processing charge (APC)?
Hybrid journal
If your article has been accepted in a Hybrid (Sage Choice) journal and you are unable to pay APC to make it Open Access, then your article will be published via the traditional subscription route. You can also deposit the article in your institution’s repository under Sage's Green Open Access Policy.
Gold journal
If your article has been accepted in a Gold Open Access journal and you are unable to pay the APC, please refer to our Gold Open Access Article Processing Charge Waiver policy.
Research4Life program
Sage offers a 100% waiver on an APC in fully Gold Open Access journals where the corresponding author is affiliated with an institution based in a country listed in Research4Life's Group A and Group B. We kindly invite you to visit the Research4Life website to confirm your eligibility; Research4Life Eligible Countries. For more information, please see Does Sage offer Research4Life waivers?
Open Access agreement
Check if your institution has an Open Access agreement which can allow you to publish your article in a discounted rate. Visit our website for more information on Sage's Open Access agreements.
Sage Path
Alternatively, you may submit your paper directly to our Article Transfer Service, Sage Path, and they will work with you to find the right Sage Journal to consider your paper. Please carefully read the submission guidelines of any journal you are considering to ensure that you are aware of any other publishing charges that might apply, and know that your paper will then be subject to peer review once again and we cannot guarantee it will be accepted.
Submit to a subscription journal
You may wish to consider submitting your article to one of the 1000+ subscription-based journals or one of our Open Access journals that do not charge an APC. You can use our Journal Recommender here to find a journal with the appropriate scope for your paper.
Contact the Open Access team
If you are still unable to pay the APC, the corresponding author should contact openaccess@sagepub.com. Discount and waiver requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by a dedicated team at Sage, not the Editor or Editorial Board, to ensure editorial independence. Sage Publishing Editors or Managing Editors will also not assess or grant needs-based discounts but will pass on all requests to the team at openaccess@sagepub.com.