Predatory Publishing: Protecting Yourself

Predatory publishers are known for aggressive email solicitations of authors and editors. This page includes examples of actual emails from potential predatory publishers. For privacy reasons, specific details of the journals and personal information have been removed.

Remember, these are examples of commonly seen emails that predatory publishers often distribute. These examples demonstrate predatory publishers' tactics to lure authors into submitting manuscripts for publication.

Subject: Precious Publication in Upcoming Issue of Journal X

Dear Dr. XXXX,

Hope you had a great time on the eve of New Year 2017!

Today, I am very much pleased to kindly notify you that, Journal X has been scheduled to release Volume 4 Issue 6 by January 27, 2017.

I hope Journal X goes a long way in 2017 with the association of experienced personalities like you, as we believe that, your contribution towards the research field is absolutely prominent. I would be glad to have your active participation in the journal activities that will be a good start especially in the new year.

On this occasion, Journal X would be glad to welcome precious article from dynamic professionals like you for publication in the forthcoming issue. 

So, I kindly request you to let us know your convenience to submit your potential article so that, we can plan accordingly. I eagerly look forward to receive your response!

Dear Dr. Jane Doe,

I will be thankful if you could concern on my request.

I am pleased to inform you that Journal Y is planning to release Volume 5 Issue 1 by 3rd week of January and we need only two articles to accomplish this issue. In fact I am afraid as I am having hardly few days in hand to release the issue. Hence I have chosen some illustrious people like you to support us for release the upcoming issue. So please support us with your contribution of 2 Page Mini-Review towards publication in Journal Y.

Your prompt submission sustains us a lot and impacts my ranking in end of this month.

Hope you understand my concern and your kind attention in this regard highly esteemed.

Await your hopeful submission.

Best Regards,
Predatory Publisher

Dear Dr. X,

It is our immense pleasure to invite you as an Editorial Board member for Journal Y.

Publisher Y in its bag having 3500+ Open Access quality articles and more than 5000 EB has come about in the short period and we have indexed in repositories like ICMJE & Pubs Hub, that adds value to the quality work published and helps in easy access throughout the globe. 

Being aware of your proficiency and expertise in various fields we invite you to be honorable editor for Journal Y. In fact having your profile in our Journal adds visibility to us as well as many viewers will cite your profile.

If you are willing to accept our invitation to serve as an editor to the mentioned journal, kindly send us your CV, Biography, Research Interest & Recent portrait photograph.

Do not hesitate to contact us for any queries. We await your positive response.

Best Regards,
Questionable Journal

Dear Esteemed Scholar,  

Good Morning…..!

Can we have your article for successful release of Volume 5 Issue 5 in our Journal?

In fact, we are in need of one article to accomplish the Issue prior 12th January we hope that the single manuscript should be yours. If this is a short notice please do send 2 page opinion/mini review/case report, we hope 2 page article isn’t time taken for eminent people like you.

Your trust in my efforts is the highest form of our motivation, I believe in you that you are eminent manuscript brings out the best citation to our Journal.

Anticipate for your promising response.

Regards,

Predatory Managing Editor

When it comes to predatory publishers, the best course of action is to avoid any association whatsoever.

If you receive an email from a predatory publisher inviting you to submit a paper for publication or to become a reviewer or editor, simply ignoring the email is the best course of action. Replying to these emails, even declining their offer, could be construed as permission for them to use your name in association with their predatory journal.

Keeping yourself informed about the behaviors and tactics used by predatory publishers can help you avoid submitting a manuscript to a predatory journal for publication in the first place. 

If you have questions about a publisher or journal, don't hesitate to contact Himmelfarb's Serials Librarian, Ruth Bueter (rbueter@gwu.edu) who will provide feedback about the legitimacy of a publisher/journal. Ultimately, the decision on where to publish your article is yours.

Once an author has signed a copyright transfer or approved publication of an article in a predatory journal, your chances of having the article removed from the journal are improbable. We stress the importance of avoiding predatory publishers from the start.

In the case that your article is already published in a predatory journal, you can consider the following options:

• Contact the publisher (by email, phone, and certified letter) and request for the article to be removed from the website.
  • Most of the time, authors will not receive a response back from the publisher, even after repeated attempts.

• If you have NOT signed a copyright agreement with the predatory publisher:
  • Your article can still be published in a legitimate journal. We recommend contacting the editor-in-chief of the legitimate journal, explaining the situation to them, and seeking their guidance.
  • If the paper is accepted in a legitimate journal, it may appear with an editorial note on the paper to explain the situation. 

• Take legal action:
  • Contact GW Office of General Counsel for assistance.

Predatory publishers often include names of people within a field of study among the editors, board members, or reviewers for their journals without the knowledge or permission of these people. While you can take action and attempt to have your name removed from these lists and websites, many predatory publishers will simply not respond to your repeated requests. The following steps can be taken:

1. Google yourself often: 
   • Often, you will only find that your name has been used without your permission through simple internet searches.
2. Contact the journal/publisher and ask for your name to be removed from all of their materials.
3. Do not list these publications on your CV or researcher profiles. Actively make it clear that you are not affiliated with these predatory publishers.
4. Contact GW Office of General Counsel for help and advice regarding possible legal action that can be taken against the predatory publisher. 

For GW faculty, staff, and students seeking guidance on legal action against predatory publishers, please contact the GW Office of General Counsel (generalcounsel.gwu.edu/).

If you've been approached by a publisher as an author or editor and are concerned it may be predatory, email Ruth Bueter, Associate Director of Library Operations (rbueter@gwu.edu).

Priority is given to requests submitted by members of the GW community.

This guide is intended to provide information about predatory publishing and is intended as a guide only. Deciding where to publish is solely the responsibility of individual authors.