Mattering Press is a registered charity, formally based in the UK, with no ongoing institutional support. This means it is entirely reliant on funding it can itself source, which it does through a mixed model as follows:
Donations
We ask readers accessing our Open Access texts for donations. We have also received personal donations from members of our Advisory Board.
Book sales
While readers can download all Mattering Press texts for free, we charge for the sale of printed copies of our books. We particularly encourage readers to order books direct from our website, given the higher profit margin this results in. All profits from book sales go back into the press to fund future publication projects.
Supporter programme
In 2023, Mattering Press launched its Supporter Programme with our partner, the Open Book Collective. This programme offers libraries the opportunity to provide financial support to the press for its own access publishing work, in exchange for benefits including an annual report and public acknowledgement. This financial model is key to the aims of the press to become fully financially self-sustaining and less reliant on the charging of publishing fees (see below). We are extremely grateful to all our supporting institutions.
Partner support
We have received financial support and support in kind (for instance, legal guidance) from a number of partners. This has included the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST), the Centre for Invention and Social Process, the Hybrid Publishing Initiative, and the Institute for Social Futures (now the Centre for Social Futures).
Publishing fees
For those who have access to funds to support publication projects, we ask them to contribute towards the costs of publication. Our standard fee is £6,000 per book.
This is allocated by the Press as follows: £3000 is allocated to cover the cost of production. This is the ‘raw’ cost, mainly comprising copy editing, proofreading and typesetting plus a small budget set aside for marketing/web design costs, which goes into a general pool. Reviewers, designers and editors contribute their labour for free. £3000 is allocated to a general pool to fund books that do not have access to/sufficient funding to cover the costs of their production and to sustain the online presence and general operations of the press.
As is implied by this, we may offer discounts on the full fee depending on the project. We have in the past agreed discounts on the fee ranging from 25% to 100%. If we have to draw from the general pool to partially or fully fund a book’s production costs then final decisions about publication become tougher and slower, as we need to weigh the merits of different projects against one another against various criteria.
We encourage authors, particularly if they have access to institutional funding, to explore all means at their disposal to obtain funds to cover the entire fee, given the future benefits this brings to other authors without this opportunity.