Despite the significant increase in publishers' awareness and efforts to increase Open Access (OA) for research publications, many publishers still generate difficulties for authors who wish to exercise Rights Retention Strategy set out in Plan S
cOAlition S requests that publishers make their policies and contracts more transparent at the outset of the submission process. In particular, the request concerns making sure that authors are aware of the licence they will be asked to sign, any fees and whether their manuscript will be re-routed to another journal as a result of any prior notice of re-use rights, ahich is included in the submission. Those informations should be displayed prominently on the publisher’s webside, in a section with informations for authors and in the submision system itself.
cOAlition S emphasizes that these requirements consistent with COPE's "Principles of Transparency guidelines" which will not only enable the author to make an informed decision whether to proceed with their submission or not but also significantly streamline the flow of texts, for example reducing the percentage of texts withdrawn by authors after the review process.
A special form for publisher has also been created. Data collected from it are provided to grantees to facilitate the selection of a journal that meets the requirements of Plan S.