PeerJ (peerj.com) is a new publishing venture set up by Peter Binfield, previously of PLoS ONE, and Jason Hoyt, ex-Mendeley. PeerJ is a new open-access journal and pre-print service, initially limited to biomedical science, and opens for submissions in summer 2012. Like PLoS ONE, and the many other broad-based ‘mega-journals’, PeerJ will assess submissions for methodological rigour, not 'interest'. But what makes PeerJ different is its business model: PeerJ won’t charge article processing or submission fees; its income will come from membership fees. “Pay $99, publish for life” claimed the pre-launch publicity. It’s a bit more complex than that, with various levels of membership and other considerations, but the basic model is free publishing for life for a one-off fee.
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