title: Email solicitation for scholarly work--a single researcher's perspective.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Publishing is important for career progression. The traditional journal model results in subscribers bearing publication costs. The eagerness with which researchers seek journals for the publishing of their work, along with the internet, has resulted in the creation of a new model called open access (OA). Author/s or their institution/s pay an actual publication fee. This has in turn resulted in the creation of questionable journals which charge steep publishing fees.
  
  
  METHODS
  Emails soliciting publication to one of the authors (VG) were collected for the month of March 2015. Information collected included costs of OA publishing, and whether or not this information was readily available. The appropriateness of said solicitations was also assessed with regard to topics with which the targeted author was familiar.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a total of 44 solicitations: 3 were duplicates. Out of 41 solicitations, 20 (49%) were appropriate. The open access fee was readily available in 27 out of 41 solicitations (66%). The open access fee averaged $475, ranging from $25 to $1500. The only journal which provided true OA was Medical Principles and Practice, with no fees charged whatsoever.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Potential authors should carefully investigate OA journals prior to choosing journals wherein to submit their work.
authors.affiliation: a Paediatric Department , Mater Dei Hospital , Tal-Qroqq , Malta.
authors.forename: Justine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bugeja
authors.affiliation: a Paediatric Department , Mater Dei Hospital , Tal-Qroqq , Malta.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grech
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce; D035081:Editorial Policies; D034742:Electronic Mail; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D011642:Publications
keywords: access to information; information dissemination/*methods; internet; peer review; periodicals as topic/economics/*standards; publishing/*economics; research