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Project Planning and Development
Thinking of open access book publishing? We would love to hear from you!
Submit a proposal including details of the book, such as the number of pages, figures and references, contents, authorship model, the intended readership, and what the book adds to the existing literature. The proposal will be reviewed by the Commissioning Editor and may need some further developing. Accepted proposals with secured funding will be contracted for publication.
We prefer to work with Authors and Editors at the start of a project so that we can review and advise early on. We will also consider existing works, although some revisions may be necessary to adhere to our editorial guidelines.
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Manuscript Preparation
MDPI Books must be submitted in grammatically correct English for publication. For more information, please see English Editing Guidelines for Authors. If English is not your first language, please ensure that your manuscript is checked by an English-speaking colleague or a professional editing service. MDPI also offer an English editing service. If you wish to publish your manuscript in a language other than English, please contact us. MDPI offers guidelines and templates to Authors, as well as personalized editorial support from manuscript planning to publication and beyond.
Please use the template files and check the formatting guidelines:
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Manuscript Submission
Final manuscripts are submitted to our online book submission system (JAMS). Authors and Editors can track progress and receive guidance from our Assistant Editors at each stage. The submitting author is responsible for the manuscript throughout the whole process. A book can be reviewed, edited, published, and ready to order in as little as 6 months.
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Editorial Process: Review
Pre-Check
Immediately after submission, manuscripts are checked for plagiarism, data falsification, reuse permissions for figures, inappropriate authorship credit, etc. To learn more about plagiarism, see our Research and Publication Ethics page.
Invoicing
Manuscripts are invoiced after Pre-Check but before Review. The invoice is generally paid by the author, an institution, or a funder. Accepted payment methods are as described in MDPI’s Payment Instructions. If the manuscript does not pass peer review, a refund will be processed.
Review
Information for Authors and Editors
Our Open Access books are reviewed by experts in the field to assess the quality and scholarly relevance. Review processes may vary by academic field. We value transparency; if a traditional external peer review is not performed, it will be clearly stated on the book webpage and in the book.
Information For Reviewers
Reviewers who accept to review a manuscript are expected to:
- Have the necessary expertise to judge manuscript quality.
- Provide quality review reports and remain responsive throughout peer-review.
- Maintain standards of professionalism and ethics.
- Not hold any conflicts of interest with the authors.
Reviewers are asked to provide reports promptly, within a few weeks for chapters and months for Monographs. Reviewers can recommend: Accept, Minor revision, Major revision, and Reject.
Revision
Authors are asked to correct issues identified in pre-check and to address and respond to reviewers and Editors' comments. Revision is requested via email with a suggested timeline. The number of review and feedback rounds may vary based on reviewers' recommendations and involve original or newly invited reviewers.
Publication Decision
The Academic Editor or Consultant, or in the case of Monographs, the MDPI Books Editorial Office, performs a final assessment based on the comprehensiveness of the reviews, the overall assessment or the comments of the majority of reviewers, the authors’ response, and the overall scientific quality of the paper.
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Editorial Process: Production
Graphic Design
Custom design services by experienced designers are provided for book covers and promotional material available for print and online use.
Formatting
The Editorial Office formats accepted manuscripts according to the MDPI House Style.
Figure Editing
We offer optional figure editing to prepare figures for publication. This includes improvements to figure size, resolution, color, font, labeling, and transformations to the approved file formats.
Language Editing
Language editing is carried out by professional English editing staff and includes spelling, grammar, and punctuation; rewording of ambiguous or overly complex phrases; correct usage of common technical terms; editing of Word or LaTeX files; and conformation to the MDPI House Style.
Note: Extensive rewriting and reordering of the manuscript and checks of field-specific terms are not included. Author will be asked to proofread and make final adaptations during the proofreading stage, as well as to confirm the final proofs immediately prior to publication.
Crosscheck
The MDPI Books Editorial Office prepares the manuscript for proofreading by reviewing the final format and comments left for the authors by the language and formatting departments. When figure editing is requested by the author, any redrawn figures are added to the manuscript file at this stage.
Proofreading
Authors are asked to review and respond to comments, review changes made in formatting and language editing, and make final modifications to their manuscript.
Typesetting
Before publication, manuscripts are converted from Word to a machine-readable XML format and LaTeX, a document preparation system used to produce the final PDF.
Book Indexing
Editors and Monograph Authors have the choice to add a book index. MDPI Books uses an external indexing service to provide the reader with a comprehensive list of each mention of the various concepts, places, events, and people in the book (this is different from the Reference or Bibliography section at the end of a chapter or manuscript).
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Post-Publication
Distribution and Database Indexing
We work with major distributors to make sure that our titles are listed on important wholesaler and retaile sites and the title information is sent to relevant libraries and institutions. Our books are freely available to download or purchase via our Open Access Library, and they are also accessible through established channel partners and discovery engines. We offer print on-demand on high-quality paper in 244 × 170 mm (6.69 × 9.61 in) format with a laminated cover.
The title information is sent to international repositories and directories such as the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB), OAPEN, and the Book Citation Index (BKCI) of the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and PubMed’s NCBI Bookshelf, where appropriate. We distribute publications worldwide with a unique identification number (ISBN). Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are assigned at the book and chapter level; metadata are delivered to Crossref.
Marketing
We offer comprehensive marketing services to help Authors and Editors effectively promote their work, including tailored campaigns, promotional tips, and materials. Our campaigns include social media announcements, blog posts, interviews, video abstracts, recorded book launches, and inclusion in newsletters. We also provide Authors and Editors with helpful tips to increase visibility and reach a wider audience, as well as digital and print marketing materials such as banners and flyers.
Copyright
MDPI publishes all publications in open access format, with a Creative Commons (CC) license. The authors retain copyright of their work and grant MDPI the non-exclusive right to publish it. With open access, the following benefits apply:
- Everyone has free and unlimited access to the full text of all MDPI publications.
- Anyone can re-use published material, provided proper accreditation/citation of the original publication is given.
- Open access publication can help with compliance with requirements from research institutes and research funding agencies.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism includes copying text, ideas, images, or data from another source, including one’s own publications, without giving credit to the original source. The reuse of text that is copied word for word from another source must be between quote marks, and the original source must be cited. If a study's design or the manuscript's structure or language has been inspired by previous work, these studies must also be explicitly cited.
If plagiarism is detected during the peer-review process, the manuscript may be rejected. If plagiarism is detected after publication, we may publish a correction or retract the chapter or book.
