Open Access
What is your sales strategy for books?
It’s less of a sales strategy than a publishing strategy. Our aim is to support authors and institutions to achieve their goals with OA books and are experimenting with different business models and approaches.
Do you have a separate OA collection listing on your website?
Yes, our all our OA books and journals are listed on Cambridge Core under our Open Access section.
Flip it Open Programme
Why was it decided to expand from the pilot to a wider programme?
The Flip it Open Programme is an expansion of the open access books pilot that was launched in June 2021. 15 months into the pilot we decided to expand to a wider programme based on the initial success of flipping 5 out of the 28 titles in the pilot during this time, positive feedback and engagement from the library community and on a better understanding of our internal workflows and processes.
What is the Flip it Open Programme and when will it launch?
The Flip it Open programme is based on the same principles as the pilot. The programme will include an additional 100 monograph titles across all subject areas. The programme will launch with new titles starting in early 2023.
How is the programme different from the pilot?
Our aim with the pilot was to investigate a new open access books publishing model to determine whether it could be sustainable as a business model. With the programme we will be working at establishing this new business model for a wider monograph books list. The biggest difference between the pilot and the programme is the number of titles being included and the inclusion of all subject areas across our monograph publishing. All revenue streams will still contribute to a title reaching the sales threshold to flip.
What is the editorial policy for the programme?
We are following the same editorial policy for the programme as for the pilot with the only difference being the inclusion of all subjects and a bigger shortlist of 100 titles.
What is the estimated timescale for the programme?
Similar to the pilot titles will be evaluated in an 18 month period to allow them to flip.
How will the titles be flipped once they become Open Access?
Titles will be flipped in batches when they reach a set sales threshold. These titles will retain the same ISBN on Cambridge Core when they become Open Access with the CC license being updated. A paperback edition of the title will be published as soon as the title flips to OA. All other print and third party eBook editions will continue to be sold.
Where can I read more about Flip it Open?
Read more about the Flip it Open, books in the pilot and blog posts from participating authors on the Flip it Open information page on Cambridge Core here.
Flip it Open Pilot
What is the Flip it Open pilot editorial strategy?
We decided to focus on HSS titles for the pilot and approached editors who have had interest from authors to publish open access books. We selected a longlist of 40 monographs and approached each of the authors individually and ask them if they wanted to be part of the pilot. The subjects in the pilot are diverse but also niche.
What is the estimated timescale for the pilot?
We expect the pilot to run for 18 months starting in June 2021, with most (hopefully all) titles flipping to open access within this period.
Is the pilot limited to specific subject areas and was there a specific reason for choosing these subject areas?
Currently yes, all the titles in the pilot are in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
We decided to focus the pilot on HSS subjects because of the lack of OA funding in these subjects and to help provide access to more books in these subject areas. That is not to say that if we expand the pilot we will restrict the titles in the program to only HSS subjects.
Is there a list available of the titles that have been included in the pilot?
Yes, a full list of the titles in the pilot can be found on the Flip it Open information page on Cambridge Core here.
How were the titles in the pilot chosen and what criteria were used to select the titles?
These titles are all part of our research list.
What revenue is taken into account to help flip a title in the pilot?
Sales for all formats contribute, this includes:
- Institutional sales via our Cambridge Core platform
- Hardback sales
- eBook (Kindle etc.)
- Any other rights sales
What happens if a monograph does not reach the threshold within the set pilot period of 18 months?
A continuous message around these titles being part of the pilot will be communicated over the next two years through marketing efforts through our sales colleagues’ communications with our institutional customers, especially leading up to their EBA selections. This should mitigate the risk of the titles not being taken up by libraries. Giving libraries the opportunity to be featured in the OA edition of the titles, both in print and on Cambridge Core, should also help with take up.
Have any titles in the pilot flipped to Open Access?
Yes, a full list of the titles that have flipped to date can be found on the Flip it Open information page on Cambridge Core here.
What would you like to achieve with this pilot?
This pilot is our way of asking our customers to become actively involved in the funding of Open Access books. Libraries are paying to get the book early, and to fund a wider program that will benefit them, their customers and the wider Academy directly. There are a few important things that our program is not. It is not a program in response to any particular government, funder or society mandate. Rather, it is the implementation of the core OA principles of availability, inclusivity and dissemination because we believe in them. It is also not a mechanism for funding all our publishing. We are asking our customers and partners to buy what they would want to buy anyway, in the knowledge that by doing so they will have the additional bonus of helping those books to reach a wider audience.
Where can I read more about the pilot and its progress?
Read more about the Flip it Open pilot, books in the pilot and blog posts from participating authors on the Flip it Open information page on Cambridge Core here.
For Librarians
Where are the books indexed?
All our Open Access books are added to Cambridge Core. Currently we do not actively index our OA books any other repositories, however we are working with DOAB on possible indexing.
What are the benefits for libraries supporting Flip it Open?
Libraries that contributed to flipping these titles will be mentioned on a special page on Cambridge Core and a page in the new OA print and digital edition will link directly to the page on Core where libraries will be thanked for their contribution. We hope to create a community of libraries helping to fund more open access books through the pilot.
Are the titles made open in the order in which the revenue threshold is met? Are they released one by one, or as a bundle?
In the pilot each title was “flipped” as soon as it reaches the sales threshold. This meant that they were flipped throughout the period that the pilot was run.
In the Flip it Open programme titles will be flipped in batches as they reach the threshold.
Can these titles be considered fully open or do they still require institutional affiliation?
Once flipped these titles will be completely Open Access. The new OA versions of the titles will be published as new editions and linked and signposted on Cambridge Core between the old, non-OA edition (which we will not remove from Cambridge Core) and the flipped OA edition.
How can libraries participate?
Any purchase of the titles in the programme – whether directly from the Press, via your usual library supplier, through an EBA, or a Frontlist order – will support a title on its journey to becoming OA.
How is the EBA model used to fund and flip these titles?
The books in FiO are also part of our EBA collections, meaning EBA customers can choose to spend their committed funds on these titles if usage indicates a healthy demand, thereby moving the books closer to their ‘flip’ target.
How much of a libraries EBA revenue goes toward the pilot?
Each sale of each book in the pilot, not more and no less.
How long is the pilot and what will determine the pilot as successful?
The pilot will run until May 2023, giving each title a minimum of 18 months to reach the sales threshold. During this time we will be evaluating the sales of the titles and flip them as they reach the threshold. The success of the pilot will be determined by through seeing if and how many titles can reach the threshold during the pilot period and how long it takes the different titles to reach the threshold. The ultimate success of the pilot will be to provide us with a new scalable and sustainable OA books business model.
For Authors
Are the monographs included in the pilot being treated the same as any other monograph titles on initial publication?
All titles in the pilot will be published on Cambridge Core. There will be additional promotion due to their involvement in the pilot scheme as we promote this and look to encourage libraries who are not normally eBook customers for Cambridge to include our OA books and Elements in their library catalogues.
What is the Book Processing Charge for Flip it Open?
There is no BPC on any of the titles in Flip it Open programme. All of the titles are published as regular monographs and once they reached the sales threshold they are flipped to be open access. The sales threshold of £9,000 is not our BPC and is a number specifically decided on as a sustainable amount for the programme.
When will the Paperback edition of the Open Access edition be released?
When a monograph reaches the sales threshold this will serve as a trigger for the OA edition as well as the paperback edition. The paperback edition will publish shortly after the target is reached.
Is there a specific length for these books or particular requirements (around authors, image permissions, etc.)?
No, these are all standard monographs. For the ‘proof of concept,’ we have tried to pick titles that are relatively straightforward to ‘flip’ because they are single-authored without other contractual obligations which would have to change when the book became OA (no permissions to clear, for example).
How can an Author take part in the Flip it Open Pilot?
Currently, we are not taking any submissions for the Flip it Open pilot from outside of the 28 titles already selected. We will consider opening Flip it Open to a wider author and title based on the evaluation of the pilot’s performance.
How can an Author take part in Flip it Open?
If you would like to find out more about Flip it Open please get in contact with your editor.