FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the costs for publication?

Our usual process ensures there are no costs for authors. This includes peer review, text design and publication in both print and ePDF.

One of our key drivers is to get the research data out there as quickly as possible. To that end, we aim to obtain peer review feedback within 4-6 weeks. Once we have a manuscript in house the production process is also very streamlined, meaning we routinely turn a manuscript into a print and digital book in 12 weeks. The bit in between – how much you as authors want and need to do within your own schedule to develop your manuscript according to peer review feedback – is the biggest variable. If you have specific publishing deadlines to meet, please discuss this with the editorial team as early as possible, to see how we can accommodate.

Yes! Where it helps the reader understanding please include colour images. We won’t charge you for this.

We really enjoy working with first time authors to demystify the process. You will meet with an Editor who can explain the process and answer any questions you may have. They will provide support and advice as you revise and develop your manuscript. Our editorial and production teams have backgrounds in publishing and archaeology so you will find us interested, understanding and helpful!

If it works well as a monograph and is an original contribution we would be happy to consider publishing your PhD research. You would be expected to make some changes to appeal to a wider readership than your supervisor and examiners. There is usually quite a lot of editing down that can be done, too. We can share advice on what to think about when revising a thesis into a monograph.

We have flexibility depending on the nature of your project. Our usual large (A4) format and double column text design means we can fit in a lot of content! This format has a minimum of 80 pages and maximum of 480 pages, but we can discuss multiple volumes if necessary for longer manuscripts and we also have a smaller format that might better suit shorter manuscripts.

Many of our books include significant amounts of original data. Sometimes we may suggest that large spreadsheets and/or supplementary material might work best for the reader on our online platform, for example.

Yes. All projects are costed on an individual basis with our aim to keep book processing fees as flexible and affordable as we can. Costs are largely driven by the length of the manuscript and the amount of intervention required. Talk to us early in the process for cost estimates. You can find more information on publishing with us in Open Access here.

Sure! We have advice on how best to present titles and which types of cover images work best, and some of our series have a branding designed to help with recognition, but we enjoy author input at this stage. Sometimes it makes sense to co-brand the book, which we are also happy to discuss.

No. We will apply the design layout to your manuscript. We just need you to provide a consistent and sensible structure in your submitted files. All authors are provided with full guidelines on how to produce a clean manuscript to ensure a swift and error free production process.

  • Many key academic libraries around the world take subscriptions of all our titles in either print or digital format.
  • On publication we will send your book to the relevant journals for review.
  • We have a huge mailing list of customers built up over 50 years and announce new publications to these customers on a regular basis.
  • We attend the large international archaeological conferences around the world where possible, and smaller or more specialised ones as resources allow. We regularly display relevant titles at these conferences, offering discounts to delegates both at the book stand and online.
  • We provide marketing materials for you to share with your network.
  • We actively engage with the archaeology community through our social media accounts.

The niche, academic nature of our publishing means that we don’t expect large volume sales of individual titles and therefore we don’t pay royalties to authors. Unlike many comparable publishers we don’t require or charge any other publication fees. You will receive 10 free copies of your print book on publication and thereafter benefit from a permanent 35% discount on further purchases of your book.

We always aim to keep our costs as low as possible so that we can keep the prices of our books as low as possible. Sometimes we may advise you on what you can do as an author to keep the price of your book lower. Usually, the longer the book and the more intervention required, the more expensive the final book will have to be. As an author you benefit from a 35% discount on your own book. BAR members will receive a 20% discount on print book prices. We offer deep discounts on display copies at conferences.

We produce a small initial print run to fulfil orders from subscribing libraries. Thereafter we print on demand and regionally, meaning we have zero waste stock and can limit shipping costs and time.

All of our books are available both in print, and as an ebook as part of our Digital Collection for subscribing libraries and institutions. We also offer individual ebook sales via GlassBoxx for customers who are not affiliated with a subscribing library but prefer to access books digitally.