Submissions

Manuscript Submission Guidelines for PageMill Press

Information for Writers

Thank you for your interest in publishing with PageMill Press. We are always seeking new projects that use the power of words to further our mission and add significantly to the literature in the areas of transpersonal psychology, the psychology of religion, mysticism, the development of consciousness, and unusual human experiences.

We welcome unsolicited proposals. We do our utmost to get back to you in eight to twelve weeks. Additionally, please understand, however, that PageMill Press is not responsible for returning any manuscript (whether sent electronically or by mail). Furthermore, in receiving a submission, we do not assume any duty not to publish another book in the same professional or academic field.

Our experience is that many scholars and psychologists and psychotherapists have access to research that is significant and appropriate for creating important narratives that will benefit readers across a broad spectrum of professional and academic disciplines. Your ideas are not new to you, but they may be new to the person who will be reading your work. Therefore, it is important that you send a submission, please establish who the reader is (try to be as specific as possible, e.g., age, educational attainment, profession, income, family status, and so on) and what the marketplace will be for your book. (See the The Publishing Funnel article to understand markets in more detail). Are other books similar to yours available, and how are they selling or what sense do you have of their reputation among professionals and scholars in the field?

Give thought as well to how you will support your book if it gets published. The success of a book often depends on the author connecting with readers through readings, lectures and presentations, articles, social media, and interviews. Although the publisher enhances this process through advertising, PR work, and other promotions, our book marketing efforts just speed up the process -- it cannot force demand.

The following are basic guidelines for submitting your proposal to PageMill Press. The adequate proposal offers the following elements:

IF YOU DON’T FOLLOW THESE NEXT TWO PRIMARY GUIDELINES WE WILL NOT EVALUATE YOUR PROPOSAL OR YOUR MANUSCRIPT FOR POSSIBLE PUBLICATION.

1. The definitive Style Guide for book publishing is the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, NOT the APA style guide and CMOS must be used not only for all references, citations, notes, and bibliographies but for all other grammatical issues.

2. We will NOT accept a PDF format for any document. It MUST be sent in a Word doc or again we will not evaluate it for possible publication.

OTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER WHEN SENDING A PROPOSAL OR A MANUSCRIPT WITH A COVER LETTER.

Proposal title. Know that we work intensively on developing and testing titles, and the title you propose may not be the final title.
A 100-word description / sales pitch of the project
Two-to-three-paragraph description of the project—no longer than 1 page
Intended format (text-only printed book, e-book, printed book with charts and graphs)
Contents: list of all chapters and their titles
Endorsements that support your book, ideally by publicly known persons -- for example, other scholars, publishing authors, and professionals in the world of psychology and religion who you are sure would endorse your book and/or research.
Approximate length (in words, not in pages)
Evaluation of what is unique about the book (e.g., takes a unique stand on a particular issue, introduces material not readily available, explains in accessible language material that previously has been presented in technical language). Please also include a discussion of other published books in the field and the way your work relates to them.
Intended audience. Discussion of who you think will buy and read the book (e.g., groups of people as defined by a common denominator, readers of a specific book and / or magazine, members of associations, etc.), and discuss and review it (e.g. reviewers, newspapers, journals).
Resume or C.V. with cover letter.
Bibliography, including articles you have written and / or courses / talks / workshops you have given. If you have an audio or video of yourself giving an address, please let us know that it is available. Also, please let us know if you are currently under contract with another publisher for another project.
Please send only e-mail proposals; do not send original art, photographs, recordings, or other unique materials. We do not assume liability for such materials and cannot guarantee their return. If additional materials are needed, send copies only, such as a digital recordings or photos in .jpg format.
Please keep in mind that while the review of manuscripts is an assessment of the value of the ideas and writing, we must also, in fairness to you and your work, evaluate whether we are the most suitable house for your manuscript's intended audience, given our current publishing plans.
To reiterate if the bullet points above are not followed, we will not review your proposal or manuscript for possible publication.

Frequently Asked Questions

“On what basis do you accept or decline a proposal?” The publishing industry is in the midst of flux and that flux manifests most dramatically in the number of titles published every year. In the space of 30 years the U.S. has gone from publishing 46,000 new titles annually to more than 1 million new titles annually. So we must work hard, in concert with you of course, to reach an identifiable audience for your book. Then we must ask whether that audience will pay hard-earned dollars for that particular book.
“Do you offer joint venture publishing?” In some cases, the publishing team has identified a book’s content as excellent but for various reasons that book needs to be published in a collaborative financial arrangement with the author. This kind of arrangement is called hybrid publishing.
“Do I need an agent?” No, but we can certainly work with an agent if necessary. Most of our books, though, are unagented.
“Do you offer advances?” No, not usually, although sometimes a minimal advance might be considered but only if it is $500 or less.
“May I e-mail my submission?” Yes, we only accept e-mail submissions.
“May I fax my submission?” No, we have no fax available.
“Whom do I call to talk about my manuscript idea?” We would prefer to evaluate a written proposal before any discussion is arranged. Once the proposal is evaluated you may have questions for the editor or he may have questions and clarifications to discuss with you.
“May I submit to more than one publisher simultaneously?” Yes, however we appreciate knowing whether you are submitting simultaneously. If we begin a serious discussion with you about publishing your book, we will ask that you put any other discussions on hold.
“Do you release electronic editions?” Yes, we do.
“Do you release electronic and audio editions?” All of our books are available in eBook formats and we will consider an audio book if the topic is appropriate for that market.
“Can you help me distribute my project widely?” Yes, we work with distributors and wholesalers across the book industry spectrum.