"Psychology you can use, from professionals you can trust," is not just a slogan at Impact; it's a description of our business. We're recognized both among human service professionals and in the book trade as an outstanding publisher of self-help and professional psychology, and we're dedicated to bringing it to the widest possible audience. Our door is always open to qualified new authors. If you are a professional in the human services who's been working on – or at least thinking seriously about – a book manuscript, and wondering how to connect with the right publisher, this information may help. We invite your written inquiries, and ask that you follow the guidelines presented here. 

 
Author-Publisher Relations – We believe an author-publisher relationship should be collaborative, not adversarial.
  • The author's job – and it's hard work – is to prepare the best possible presentation on a subject of interest to a definable audience, and to make that material available in every manner at his/her disposal. One part of that job is to find a publisher who can help.
  • The publisher's job – it's not easy either – is to help the author "polish" that work for the marketplace, to produce it attractively and appropriately for its audiences, and to place it in the hands of as many buyers as possible through effective marketing.
  • Impact, like all legitimate publishers, pays royalties to authors; we do not ask authors to subsidize their books. A modest advance and a royalty of 10 to 15 percent of sales receipts are typical.
  • Active authors (those who do workshops, make public and professional presentations, write articles, get media exposure) almost always have the most successful books.
  • You need not have a literary agent. We're happy to work with your agent if you have one, but we frequently contract directly with authors.
  • If you're writing now, keep your audience in mind, and remember that writing self-help is like talking to clients, but it's not the same. In a book, you must spell everything out clearly, simply, and completely. You won't be there for your readers to ask questions.
 
Subject Fields and Author Qualifications – Impact Publishers, Inc. publishes only popular and professional psychology and self-help materials written in "everyday language" by psychologists and other mental health professionals with advanced degrees and significant experience in the human services. The Impact list is focused in six fields:
  • Personal Growth (emotional development, self-esteem, self-expression, coping with change, individuality, life choices.)
  • Relationships (intimacy, love, marriage, divorce, on- the-job, getting along with others...)
  • Families (children's emotional development and self- esteem, parenting, prevention of sexual assault, child behavior management...)
  • Communities (peace, social justice...)
  • Health and Wellness (stress management, depression, mental health, physical well-being...)
  • Professional Psychotherapy (practical guides for therapists of all disciplines).
 
Please don't waste your time (and ours) by sending us fiction, poetry, cookbooks, biographies, autobiographies, history.... If it's not "psychology you can use," written by a qualified professional, it won't work for us. We know it's tough to find a publisher, but we ignore such submissions, since it's obvious our guidelines were ignored. A marvelous resource for writers in search of publishers is Writer's Market.
 
Manuscript Submission Procedures – We look at all submitted material. Your chances of hearing from us promptly are greatly enhanced by the inclusion of a self-addressed stamped envelope. We love to see initial inquiries which look like this:
  1. a brief letter of introduction, telling us:
  • what your book is about,
  • the audience to whom you've addressed it,
  • why you're the right person to have written it,
  • why Impact is the right house to publish it, and
  • why it's outstanding enough to have a chance when 50,000 other books will be published that year.
  1. an annotated table of contents (with a paragraph summarizing each chapter)
  2. a couple of sample chapters
  3. a short resume or curriculum vita (we don't need your lists of publications in refereed journals and/or presentations at professional meetings – yet).
Address inquiries to:
Editorial Offices, Impact Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 6016, Atascadero, California 93423-6016.
(Please do not send entire manuscripts via email, unless specifically requested to do so; a brief proposal is usually sufficient.)

It'll take us a several weeks (from four to twelve, on average) to respond. Please don't telephone. If you want to be sure we got the manuscript, include a simple response device (postcard, or check-off letter & SASE) with your submission.  We rarely select manuscripts from prospective authors outside the U.S. If you wish to submit a proposal from abroad, please provide an email address or International Reply Coupon for our response.
 
Criteria for Manuscript Selection – Since its founding in 1970, Impact Publishers has elected to publish only books which serve human development. A manuscript we select for publication will exhibit a strong combination of the following characteristics: 
  • it will present a message we believe in.
  • it will be a work which, in our opinion, needs to be published.
  • it will present practical ideas which an individual, family, group, organization, or community may use to improve its well being in one or more of the following realms: emotional, intellectual, interpersonal/social, physical, political.
  • it will fit well into the Impact Publishers catalog of books.
  • it will honor the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (although it need not be a work devoted to human rights per se).
  • it will be written in non-academic readable style. We're fond of the saying "The language of truth is unadorned, and always simple."
  • it will be written by person(s) whom we believe to be qualified to speak with authority on the subject.
  • it will be more likely to present an integrative perspective than one which reflects a single school of thought regarding human behavior.
  • it will be marketable within our means. We have an assertive and effective marketing program which emphasizes publicity, direct mail, limited advertising, and energetic author activity. We do not send authors on extensive personal appearance tours.
  • it will have promise of selling enough copies – at a fair price – to pay its own way.
Submissions for "The Practical Therapist Series®" – For nearly 40 years, Impact Publishers has produced a quality line of popular psychology/self-help books and audio products. All of our materials are written by qualified professionals in the human services – the population which has always been our strongest core of support.
 
In 1998 Impact launched a new line of select books for practicing professionals themselves. Each book in "The Practical Therapist Series®" will reflect a strong combination of the following characteristics:
  • significant and timely topic in psychotherapy (issue, procedure, approach)
  • innovative concept, procedures, presentation
  • integrative – rather than ideological – approach
  • addressed to practicing professionals (may also be appropriate for advanced graduate students)
  • specific therapeutic procedures
  • plain language style (technical terms as needed)
  • plentiful case examples
  • empirical research foundation
  • complete literature citations
  • experienced professional psychotherapist author(s)
  • theoretical assumptions identified
  • 200-250 manuscript pages (75,000-100,000 words).

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