MRD charges a publication fee for all articles in its three peer-reviewed sections: MountainDevelopment, MountainResearch, and MountainAgenda. The fee is due only if an article is accepted for publication. This fee helps the journal to offset its operational costs and to continue to offer full-text articles free of charge.
Authors of papers that are accepted for publication in MountainDevelopment, MountainResearch, or MountainAgenda are invoiced a base charge of US$ 750 for the first 25,000 characters (including spaces) and US$ 100 for each additional 5000 characters. Papers exceeding the maximum length of 25,000 characters stipulated in the guidelines are only accepted in cases where the Editors feel that extra length is warranted. Color figures are free of charge in MountainDevelopment articles but not in MountainResearch and MountainAgenda articles (US$ 20 per color figure).
Character counts are based on the number of characters (including spaces) in the title, author names and affiliations, abstract, keywords, main body text, and acknowledgments, after final editing. The list of references, tables, figures, captions, and appendices are not included in the count.
For editorial support beyond copy editing, the Editorial Office will offer services on a cost basis (quotes on request).
Payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date and must be received before an article can be published.
There is no charge for manuscripts that are not accepted for publication.
Waiver policy
A waiver or partial waiver of the publication fee may be considered for authors who feel they are not in a position to pay the fee. However, the fee will be waived only in exceptional cases, and only when authors can provide sound reasons why they cannot pay the fee and also prove that they have made a sincere effort to secure the fee. Authors who apply for a waiver will be asked to meet the following conditions once their paper has gone through preliminary review and is designated to go into peer review:
- Authors must have applied to their institution for funding to cover the publication fee. They must provide written evidence (officially signed attestation) that their institution is unwilling to pay the fee or part of the fee.
- Authors must have seriously considered and/or tried to apply for funding from other organizations or institutions. Authors must provide a brief overview and, if applicable, written evidence of unsuccessful applications.
Final determination will be made by MRD’s Editors.
