Transitional Agreements: An Introduction for Editors

"As an editor, you may be increasingly aware of the move towards open access (OA) publishing as policy and funder mandates favor routes towards OA publication. There are several ways publishers, including Wiley, are addressing the increased need for OA publication, such as launching new OA journals or transitioning (flipping) titles to OA from a subscription model. Another way in which OA publishing is being made available on much larger scales than before is via transitional agreements. With frequent announcements by varying publishers, consortia, and societies, transitional agreements are becoming a common feature of the landscape. Here we give you an overview of what transitional agreements are, their benefits, and how they may affect your journal....

As Wiley enters into more transitional agreements, you may see more of your journal content becoming open access (depending on the corresponding author country). This may present an opportunity to consider transitioning (flipping) your journal to a fully gold OA model, especially in light of APCs being covered under the various agreements. However, transitioning to fully gold OA is a big decision, and requires detailed analysis to help inform that decision. We want you to be confident a transition to OA can be sustained and advise speaking to your Wiley Journal Publishing Manager to discuss the most appropriate strategy for your journal...."