Can you make money getting published in scientific journal

AI Thread Summary
Getting published in scientific journals does not typically result in financial gain for the authors. Instead, authors often have to pay fees to publish their articles, and they transfer copyright ownership to the journals. This means authors cannot earn royalties from citations, as copyright laws do not cover such scenarios. The discussion highlights a contrast between academic publishing and other forms of writing, like books or articles, where authors may receive compensation. Some participants express a sense of unfairness regarding the lack of payment for scientific contributions, questioning why journals profit significantly without compensating authors. However, the consensus remains that authors do not earn money directly from their published research, and the fairness of this system is a separate issue from the original question about financial gain.
damabo
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I was wondering if one can make money by getting published in scientific journals
 
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damabo said:
I was wondering if one can make money by getting published in scientific journals

You have it the other way around.

If you look at the authors guidelines for many of these journals, you'll note that you have to PAY them to get your article published (although it is on a voluntary basis). Furthermore, you also transfer the copyright to them, unless you're working for a govt. agency that prohibits such a transfer (and in that case, you never own any of the work you do that's funded by the public anyway!).

But even disregarding that, how do you think you can make money off the papers that you published? You can't ask for royalties if your paper is cited - that isn't covered by any copyright laws. If you want royalties for people using your result, then guess what? People will simply NOT ask for it, because, chances are, someone else can duplicate that result and publish that (you can't copyright physical results).

Short answer: NO.

Zz.
 
russ_watters said:
Yes.

could you elaborate a bit :D
 
ZapperZ said:
You have it the other way around.

If you look at the authors guidelines for many of these journals, you'll note that you have to PAY them to get your article published (although it is on a voluntary basis). Furthermore, you also transfer the copyright to them, unless you're working for a govt. agency that prohibits such a transfer (and in that case, you never own any of the work you do that's funded by the public anyway!).

But even disregarding that, how do you think you can make money off the papers that you published? You can't ask for royalties if your paper is cited - that isn't covered by any copyright laws. If you want royalties for people using your result, then guess what? People will simply NOT ask for it, because, chances are, someone else can duplicate that result and publish that (you can't copyright physical results).

Short answer: NO.

Zz.

well, it seems to be the case that you don't get paid. However, this is highly contrasting with other intellectual endeavors like writing any book (which someone else can also easily duplicate by finding the same thing independently), or even the fact that some people are paid to write book reviews, articles in newspapers. why the exception for science?
I think it would only be fair that journals like 'nature' who get big bucks give some back to the writers of the articles they base themselves on.
 
Journals don't pay people who submit articles. I don't think that they even pay the people who vet those papers and referee them (don't know for sure, so label this IMO).
 
damabo said:
well, it seems to be the case that you don't get paid. However, this is highly contrasting with other intellectual endeavors like writing any book (which someone else can also easily duplicate by finding the same thing independently), or even the fact that some people are paid to write book reviews, articles in newspapers. why the exception for science?
I think it would only be fair that journals like 'nature' who get big bucks give some back to the writers of the articles they base themselves on.

Then this is a different topic entirely, isn't it? You asked if you can make money this way. You have the answer.

Whether you think it is "fair" or not is irrelevant.

Zz.
 
damabo said:
well, it seems to be the case that you don't get paid. However, this is highly contrasting with other intellectual endeavors like writing any book (which someone else can also easily duplicate by finding the same thing independently), or even the fact that some people are paid to write book reviews, articles in newspapers. why the exception for science?
I think it would only be fair that journals like 'nature' who get big bucks give some back to the writers of the articles they base themselves on.
Should newspapers pay Obama when they publish a story about him?
 
ZapperZ said:
Then this is a different topic entirely, isn't it? You asked if you can make money this way. You have the answer.

Whether you think it is "fair" or not is irrelevant.

Zz.

wow, I thought this was a forum, but maybe I am mistaking.
 
  • #10
zoobyshoe said:
Should newspapers pay Obama when they publish a story about him?

Nice analogy. I'll have to think out loud for a bit to test it.
The story is clearly not entirely made by obama, well it depends. But if you write a scientific paper, lots of solitary, and creative work is involved. And I believe it deserves merit.
But I can definitely see your point.
 
  • #11
damabo said:
wow, I thought this was a forum, but maybe I am mistaking.

should I leave and start another topic for the fairness question :p
 
  • #12
damabo said:
should I leave and start another topic for the fairness question :p

Or maybe you should spend some time browsing the forums, especially the Academic Guidance forum, since this topic has been discussed several times at length.

It would help, however, if you actually know what it is you're trying to discuss. It appears that you are unfamiliar with academic publishing in general, how it works, what it costs, what the journals actually have to do, etc. etc. It is often difficult (I find it pointless) to discuss such a thing when some of the parties involved are often ignorant of the circumstances.

Zz.
 
  • #13
Read your private messsages damabo. I have deleted your posts calling people names and whining.
 
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