The Seismological Society of America requests that institutions supporting research share in the cost of publicizing the results of that research. Publication charges are based on the final number of printed pages in the journal. Additional costs may be charged to authors who introduce substantive changes late in the production process.
Some special features/columns in SRL do not incur page charges. Click here for a list.
The fee structure below applies to submissions after 15 November 2024. For billing questions regarding manuscripts submitted before 15 November 2024, please contact: accounts@seismosoc.org.
Fee Structure:
| Page Charges -OR- Open Access – Article Processing Charges |
$195 per page
$300 per page |
| Color Charge | $250 per color figure in print (online-only color is free) |
| Electronic Supplement | $150 |
Page Charges: Authors submitting papers to BSSA and SRL can choose a flat per-page rate of $195, regardless of the length of the paper. This is a change from our previous tiered structure. Authors choosing this option can upload the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) to a publicly available repository without an embargo.
Open Access: For authors who prefer immediate public access to the Version of Record (VoR) for their papers, we offer a second option to choose a per-page Article Processing Change (APC) at a rate of $300 per page.
SSA will issue proforma invoices at the request of authors. Authors can estimate the number of journal pages by using this formula:
(# of ms words / 1100) + [(# of figures* + # of tables) X 0.45]
However, the author is responsible for all fees based on the final article length. In cases where the estimate differs from the final amount due, a second invoice will be issued to the author.
*each part of a multi-part figure should be counted as a figure when using the page estimation formula. For example, Figure 1 (a), (b), and (c) equals three figures.
Color Charges for Print
Articles with color figures have two options:
(1) Both Publication Charges and Color Charges Will Be Paid. If you choose this option, you will be able to select which of the color figures submitted should appear in color in the printed journal, and which of the color figures should appear in grayscale in print but in color online. Any figure submitted in color will appear in color in the online version. Before choosing this option, please carefully review SSA’s publication charges. Each figure the author identifies to print in color will incur a fee of $250 per figure. This option requires publication charges (either Page Charges or Open Access Article Processing Charges) and color charges.
(2) Only Publication Charges Will Be Paid. All color figures submitted will appear online in color, and in grayscale in the printed journal. There are no color charges for color online only. Authors are responsible for submitting color figures that are understandable when converted to grayscale for the print version and any text references, figure legends and captions should be written so they are appropriate for online viewing (in color) and in the print version (grayscale). For information on preparing figures, see SSA Art Guidelines. If you choose this option of color online and grayscale in print, it is essential that you review the Tutorial on Producing Online-Only Color Figures from the SSA Art Guidelines.
Authors may not change their color option after acceptance.
Refunds
Authors will not be eligible for a refund if their article is retracted or removed. SSA has already provided full editorial and publishing services to these published articles, the publication charges covers this investment and a retraction or removal does not detract from this.
Offprints
Offprints are reprints of an article printed on the same paper type and printing process that creates the print journal, with or without covers. The title of the article appears on page 1 even if it appears on an even-numbered page in the journal. Authors may order offprints at the time final proofs are approved. Click here to view a sample offprint cover.
Offprint PricingCharges are calculated based on page length and number of copies. The minimum quantity for an offprint order is 25 copies. Additional charges apply for color figures, offprint covers, and shipping outside North America.
Billing
The corresponding author (or someone designated by the corresponding author during the submission process who confirms responsibility for the costs) will be billed for publication charges after the final proof of the article is approved by the corresponding author. For billing questions, please contact SSA Headquarters via telephone at (510) 525-5474 or via email at accounts@seismosoc.org.
Pay Page Charges Online
Authors may pay by credit card (Amex, MC and Visa) online.
Waiver Policy
The Editor has the discretion of reducing publication charges for authors who do not have grant support or institutional financial support, as documented by the authors in a formal letter. The high cost of publication limits the number of waived pages that can be published each year; papers with reduced page charges are limited in length and there are limitations on the number of waivers allowed per author.
Requests to waive page charges must be made at time of original submission. If a waiver request is not made at time of submission and granted, then authors are responsible for all page charge fees.
These rules apply for papers that receive waived page charges for BSSA and SRL:
- An author may request only one waiver every two years, regardless of whether the paper is accepted or rejected. If a waiver request is submitted, then all co-authors are considered to have requested the waiver.
- No more than 12 pages will be waived per paper. If the paper is longer than 12 pages, each additional page will be billed at the current page rates listed above. The corresponding authors review and approval of article proofs is agreement to pay any excess charges.
- Waivers will only be considered for Page Charges, not Open Access Article Processing Charges.
- SSA will not waive the costs of electronic supplements, offprint orders or printed color figures. If publication charges have been reduced or waived, all figures will be printed in grayscale in the printed journal.
- Waivers must be requested at the time of original submission.
- Authors must provide a detailed letter that meets the following requirements:
- Provided on official university/institutional letterhead
- Signed by a supervisor or department head
- States the reason for the waiver request
- Estimates the length of the paper, using the equation above
- Indicates what costs the authors will be able to cover, if any
- This file should be uploaded to the submission as a Letter to the Editor file at the time of initial submission.