top of page

Our Innovative Honorarium Model

Are you tired of the major publishing companies making 30% and higher profit margins on the backs of researchers? Yeah, us too. So we created the first academic journal that puts the power back into the hands of researchers like you. Essentially, we provide honoraria to authors and reviewers that substantially contribute to our mission: making scientific research accessible. For authors, we calculate the honoraria by taking the views generated by research articles. Specifically, honoraria are calculated as $1 for every 1,000 viewers after the first 3,000 viewers. We use this model to compensate authors for contributing high-impact publications to our mission, as an incentive for choosing accessibility over traditional paywalled publications. For peer reviewers, honoraria are offered for priority processing submissions at a flat rate of $20 per review that meets our quality standards. Will you get rich from publishing or peer reviewing? No, we recommend that you do not quit your day job. But this structure puts the power back into the hands of researchers rather than publishing oligarchs and redirects the purpose of scientific publishing from profiteering to accessibility and giving back. Researchers who don't want to collect honorarium can alternatively donate their honorarium to RJIM or another charity of their choice.

  • Am I really going to make money as an author?
    Maybe. As an author, this is entirely dependent on the viewership of the article. The worst-case scenario is that it is entirely free. As a reviewer, reviews eligible for honoraria include it in the email invitation. Upon satisfactory completion of the peer review, reviewers receive their honoraria within 90 days.
  • What are the stipulations for forwarding honoraria to charity?
    We HIGHLY encourage authors and peer reviewers to forward their honoraria to charity. A single honorarium is likely to be small, but cumulative honoraria forwarded to charity could have a substantial impact. The charity must be one of our pre-selected charities (included in the honoraria forms).
  • How is the honorarium calculated for authors?
    $1 per 1,000 unique viewers after the first 3,000 unique viewers of the Article's webpage during the year following publication. Please see your individual honorarium agreement for full terms and conditions.​
  • As an author, how can I increase my chances of making an honorarium?
    Contribute to our mission by sharing your research, conducting high-impact studies, and focus on rigorous methodology.
  • How do authors get paid?
    All honoraria are paid directly to the corresponding author. It is up to the corresponding author to determine any disbursement of shares among co-authors. Honoraria payments are completed via Zelle for transactions in the U.S. and PayPal for international transactions.
  • As an author, when will I receive my honorarium?
    Honoraria are calculated following a year after publication. All authors receive a statement after the year, and authors that opted into an honorarium payment will receive any necessary forms. Payments are made within 90 days after the end of each post-publication period or after all necessary tax forms and documents are received by the Journal, whichever happens last.
  • What is the duration of the author honorarium agreement?
    The profit-share agreement is valid for one year from the date of the article's publication. After this period, you will no longer be entitled to receive any honoraria from the article. This is because the logistical tracking to provide these indefinitely would be too much, and the likelihood of significant values is low.
  • What if there are issues with my article, like plagiarism or falsification?
    If there is reasonable suspicion that you have falsified, plagiarized, stolen, or misrepresented your article, you will forfeit your entitlement to the honorarium and any other compensation from the Journal.
  • Why are author honoraria capped at $150?
    As a nonprofit organization, our goal is not to distribute revenue. Rather, it's to fairly compensate authors and reviewers for their contributions to our mission.
  • Which reviews qualify for an honorarium?
    Submissions in which the author elects for priority processing. If they choose this option, the invitation email will include the honorarium availability for the peer review.
  • Can I use AI to help with my review?
    AI is not currently allowed to review manuscripts. All reviewers must entirely review manuscripts on their own. Reasonable use of AI to assist in compiling your own assessments, such as proofreading, collating, etc., is acceptable.​​
  • Are reviewer honoraria still given if the article isn't published?
    Yes. We want peer reviewers to focus on the quality, integrity, and scientific rigor of submissions without pressures.
  • As a reviewer, when do I receive the honorarium?
    After you complete a peer review eligible for an honorarium, the editor will determine the quality of your peer review. If the review is inadequate (due to lack of detail), an editor will reach out to you to request revisions. Once the review is deemed acceptable and your tax information is received, you will receive your honorarium within 90 days.
  • What happens if there are issues with my review, like falsification or misrepresentation?
    If there is reasonable suspicion that you have falsified, plagiarized, stolen, created the review with artificial intelligence, or misrepresented your review, you will forfeit your entitlement to the honorarium and any other compensation from RJIM. We also reserve the right to remove you from future peer review invitations.​​​
  • Do I have to pay taxes?
    The only constants in life are death and taxes, so yes. If you elect to receive your honorarium, we require a W-9 (for U.S. Citizens), W-8BEN (for non-U.S. Citizens), or any other tax form possibly needed. Payments are made to you as an independent contractor, meaning it is up to you to declare the taxes as additional income. Failure to do so may necessitate a portion of future payments in case of backup withholding or any other tax expenses.
  • This seems too good to be true, how can a journal be financially viable with this model?
    Most journals either are commercial publishers or contract commercial publishers. Their expenses are way larger than ours for several reasons. Staff payroll and executive salaries are the majority of their costs. As of now, RJIM has a 100% volunteer staff. Commercial publishers also often pay for editorial platforms and other subscription services which cost thousands of dollars. We built our editorial and publishing platform from scratch, saving thousands of dollars each year. Lastly, RJIM is a subsidiary of Public Science Journals, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, which means our revenue related to our mission is tax-exempt. Essentially, we operate a research journal at a fraction of the cost that commercial publishers charge, because we're a journal run by volunteer researchers, for researchers.

FAQs

bottom of page