Write about the literary and intellectual influences that have shaped you as an individual within the context of culture, family, community, or society, as well as a writer. Discuss the events that have directed or redirected you along the path that has taken you to this point in time. Do not think of this as a linear or even a chronological writing exercise. There is a section that follows where you are asked to provide facts in the form of a CV or a resume. This space is reserved for you to describe the architecture that shelters you as the individual you are in this moment.

Please begin this section with:

• The word count of the entire finished manuscript
• A list of illustrations, if any, and the chapters in which they are located
• A list of any permissions you (a) have acquired in writing and/or (b) have yet to acquire to authorize your use of others’ copyright-protected work
• The name of the individual who has written the foreword, if appropriate for your genre.

Describing your project requires more than an abstract or summary of the work. You should be able to situate your work within the framework of our imprints. Describe your work and explore the ways that your project fits Integral Publishers’ mission to publish topics approached from integrally informed, transdisciplinary, and adult development perspectives, or if it is a better fit for Tangent Publishers’ categories of biography, history, current events, self-awareness, and politics.

In a detailed response, describe your professional, academic, and life experiences that qualifies you to write the book you are proposing. If you are proposing an edited volume, please include the names, professional quailifications, and affiliations for each of the contributors.

Seriously consider and explore people, groups, institutions, businesses, and the ancillary connections in each category that will be interested in buying your book. If you see your work as attracting audiences in one or two specific fields of interests, or your audience is “anyone who is interested in x, y, or z,” we respectfully suggest that now is a good time to reconsider completing this submission. Describe your audiences in sufficient detail to demonstrate that you have considered your target audiences, their relationships one to another, along with strategies for reaching each particular group and sub-group.

If you believe that your book has no competition, please consider not submitting at this time. You may not be ready. We understand that authors consider their books to be unlike anything others have written, and this may be true. However, every idea and practice has competition in the marketplace. Have you done any homework to see how it compares to what’s out there on your topic? It is important to us that authors demonstrate that they are aware of the market in which they are competing. Situate your work within the context of the current market by citing several similar works or authors. A lack of seriousness toward competition will cause your query to be rejected.

We cannot proceed without your firm commitment to a well-developed Marketing/Promotion Plan. It is a myth that Authors write books and Publishers promote them. Some publishing houses invest more than others, but unless you are an author of some note or a celebrity, you will be expected not only to participate in the promotion of your book, but to spearhead the effort.

Thus, you are responsible for creating, funding, and implementing a viable marketing and promotion plan. By viable we mean that at a minimum, an author’s promotion and marketing campaign will elaborate on the following points and satisfy the questions posed to the fullest extent:

• Building a detailed timeline that begins three months prior to launch date and can be sustained indefinitely, or at least until your next book is published.
• Combining comprehensive online and off-line resources. Authors that utilize traditional media and social media are best situated for success.
• Demonstrates a level of professionalism, which may include hiring a marketing mentor or an assistant.
• Establishes a marketing and promotion budget that may include paid advertisements, purchasing email/mailing lists, etc.

Our approach at Integral Publishers and Tangent Publishers is to work with our Authors to increase the chances of success. However, the role we play in marketing and promotion of your work is very limited. Before submitting your query, develop answers to the following:

• Am I willing or able to hire a publicist?
• Do I have the skills and resources necessary to design, implement and maintain a successful marketing campaign?
• Do I have links or ties to organizations that would be interested in making a bulk purchase?
• Have I demonstrated an expertise in public speaking?
• Do I have the time and resources to do a book tour?
• Is my website professional looking and robust enough to promote my book?
• Do I have the patience to promote my book on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and other maddening social media platforms?

Only send samples from the four sections listed below. Each section should contain a minimum of 1,000 wds. Each sample should be clearly labeled:

• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter One
• Final Chapter

After consideration of your submission, we may invite you to send us your entire manuscript. If you fail to hear back from us within three weeks, you may assume that no invitation is forthcoming. If you respond to our invitation requesting your entire manuscript, we ask that you refrain from soliciting other publishers during our review process.