The costs of publishing in scientific journals: Where does the money go?

The Wildlife Society (TWS) has been publishing research on wildlife management and conservation for >85 years and has worked to build a strong reputation for rigorous peer review to publish vetted results that can directly benefit wildlife. Our publications rely on countless hours of uncompensated work from authors, reviewers, and our Editorial Board. This system helps ensure that the evaluative steps of science are not biased by financial gain, but it may also lead authors to wonder where the money from publication charges is spent. In a publishing environment that is seeing an increasing number of predatory or for-profit journals, authors are understandably concerned about who is profiting from publication costs when they choose where to submit their research. For TWS journals, the answer is clear but often not communicated: your society benefits financially from TWS publications.

For about 200 years following the establishment of society-owned journals, societies largely subsidized publishing costs through wealthy benefactors and elite society members, but by the 1950s scientific journals began to see profits due to an increase in government funding for research and libraries (Fyfe et al. 2022). These profits allowed scientific societies to greatly expand programs aimed at furthering their missions, such as continuing education, professional development, and advocacy efforts. Subsequently, most scientific societies today obtain a substantial portion of their program budget from royalties associated with publications (Brainard 2019).

Publications have been a priority for TWS since our original constitution and bylaws in 1938. Our initial objectives were to 1) establish professional solidarity and maintain professional standards, 2) develop wildlife management along sound biological lines, 3) produce publications to effect these ends, and 4) protect the interests of our members. The science published in our journals clearly supports our objectives, and the revenue generated from these publications enables us to fund programs that support and advocate for wildlife professionals.

In the 2025 fiscal year, 22% of TWS's income was from journal publications, largely stemming from royalties, subscriptions, and publication fees. Part of these proceeds support TWS staff who manage the review, content editing, and production processes for the journals, and the rest goes to other programs such as policy efforts advocating for wildlife professionals and wildlife, leadership programs, and grants that support our membership. The Society owns and maintains control over its journals, and the majority of funds collected come to TWS, but we manage our journal portfolio through contracts with publishing partners that provide essential services in exchange for a portion of our publication income. In an increasingly complicated publishing world, TWS relies on these partners for their expertise in indexing, submission and proofing software and support, typesetting, government mandates, publication law, information dissemination, and worldwide publicity.

This model of publishing established in the late twentieth century is now changing. With decreases in library funding and increasing calls for openly available research, the previously shared burden of publication costs between subscribers and authors is shifting, and subscription income is lost entirely when articles are free to read. At TWS, we support the move toward openly available research, and we are making efforts to ensure that this goal of accessibility does not result in making our journals unaffordable for authors.

Because our journals are society-owned, we do not have the goal of maximizing profits for shareholders, and we make efforts to increase affordability. For example, in 2022 we reduced page charge rates to ensure fair pricing after a format change, in 2023 we negotiated member rates during the switch to Open Access for the Wildlife Society Bulletin, in 2024 we drastically reduced the costs of monographs, and in 2025 we further cut rates for specific article types in the Bulletin. Furthermore, TWS's contract with our current publishing partner, Wiley, takes advantage of their agreements with numerous institutions to cover publication fees for authors. In 2024, 28% of articles published in TWS journals were funded through these institutional agreements and the authors paid no publication charges for these articles. Through this partnership, we also participate in the Research4Life program and the Open Access Pricing Power Parity program, which provide free or reduced-cost publishing for authors from countries with different economic scales.

With the changing publishing field, we have already seen a reduction in the amount of subscription-based income we receive from closed-access publications, and we are actively pursuing other funding resources in response. This includes a more aggressive pursuit of grant, sponsorship, and partnership funding to support our members and ensure the continued strength of our Society and mission. By diversifying funding sources across grants, partnerships, donations, membership, conferences, program fees, and publications, we can provide the most benefit to our members without overburdening any one source (https://wildlife.org/fy23-annual-report/).

As we navigate the changing environment of the publication world, we thank each of you who has contributed to the success of our journals. The primary purpose of our journals is to provide an outlet for rigorously vetted science focused on improving wildlife populations. Publication charges from most journals will either support a for-profit company or a nonprofit society such as TWS, and we are grateful for every author who chooses to support the Society by submitting their work to TWS journals. We also thank the many reviewers, Associate Editors, and Council members who provide volunteer hours to improve the journal. By choosing to spend your time on TWS journals rather than a journal owned by a for-profit company, you are contributing to the financial viability of the Society; we are grateful that you are donating this time to TWS so we can continue to support wildlife professionals.