Never did any research worth publishing in a journal. Working a 9 to 5 job now and no longer have the opportunity to research. But I would have done it your way if I could have. An alternative now for me would be to help build open journals. The authors do the research, the publishers are simply a medium. Doesn't make sense for mediums to bite the hands of authors.
Thanks, am in a similar position now. Open journals are tricky though. I would like to think that there is a way for universities to somehow self-fund platforms for peer reviewed publications, but it just isn't happening. They keep paying huge subscription fees to the publishers of established journals with a reputation and history that is difficult to replace. It's a pretty perverse system, especially if you consider that in many countries universities are funded with public money, but I don't see it changing any time soon unless that change comes from within.
Never did any research worth publishing in a journal. Working a 9 to 5 job now and no longer have the opportunity to research. But I would have done it your way if I could have. An alternative now for me would be to help build open journals. The authors do the research, the publishers are simply a medium. Doesn't make sense for mediums to bite the hands of authors.