Editorial Submission Guidelines

We appreciate your interest in publishing with Health Communications. Due to the volume of submissions, Health Communications cannot guarantee response times or personalize responses to individual proposals. Under no circumstances do we accept phone calls pitching submissions.

What We Look for in a Book

For more than forty years, we have enhanced our readers’ lives through top-quality books promoting recovery, personal growth, and the enrichment of mind, body, and soul. 

Our publishing program includes titles in self-help and psychology, health and wellness, spirituality, inspiration, women’s and men’s issues, relationships, family, teens and children, memoirs, and mind/body/spirit integration.

Besides being familiar with the subject areas in which we publish, it’s also important for you to understand the type of book we want to acquire.

An HCI book shares the following qualities, which we refer to as HEART:

Healing – The book promotes personal growth and long-term change by offering deep-rooted solutions.

Expert – The author is an expert and bases the book on either experience or extensive knowledge and research.

Affirming – The book has an emotional component that is uplifting and compassionate.

Readable – The book is written in a popular style and is easily accessible to general trade readers.

Timely – The topic is newsworthy and offers something new to readers in terms of content, author, or approach.

To continue our tradition of excellence in publishing, we seek high-caliber authors who produce original material that appeals to a broad readership. We are interested in nonfiction books that emphasize self-improvement, personal motivation, psychological health, and overall wellness.

Most of our authors are established experts in their fields and, in some cases, already enjoy national recognition. Many of the authors we publish are professional speakers and consultants who conduct workshops, seminars, or training regionally or nationwide. Increasingly, authors have a robust social media following. These authors are well positioned to promote their books successfully.

The publishing process at HCI Books begins with a book proposal, which is evaluated by our editorial department. To ensure that book proposals are evaluated on an equal basis and that all necessary information is provided, we require prospective authors to follow our submission guidelines in preparing their proposals

Sending a Proposal

For HCI Books to consider your work for publication, you must provide a book proposal consisting of the elements outlined in the Book Proposal Guidelines.

Please do not send a complete manuscript unless asked to do so. All proposals are evaluated on content, author credentials, and marketability. Proposals that do not conform to our guidelines are rejected. 

If your proposal is submitted by any method other than e-mail, and you would like to have it returned to you, you must include a self-addressed, stamped (not metered) envelope (SASE) of suitable size and with sufficient postage to return your proposal. Materials received without an appropriate SASE will not be returned.


Postal regulations prevent us from using a SASE to return parcels weighing 13 ounces or more, therefore neither submissions weighing 13 ounces or more, nor your SASE, will be returned.

Do Not Send Originals
All materials you submit should be copies only, not originals. We are not responsible for submissions that are lost, sent without a return address, sent without an appropriate SASE or submissions that exceed the returnable weight limit. Include a cover letter containing your name, return address, and daytime phone number with your proposal. The cover letter is for our records and will not be returned to you.
 

Electronic proposals are accepted at Editorial@hcibooks.com.

If you are sending a printed proposal, please send to:

Health Communications, Inc.
Attention: Editorial Committee
301 Crawford Blvd, Ste 200
Boca Raton, FL 33432


All submissions are read in the order they are received, and responses are made by mail. Response time may be up to six months from date of receipt. If you do not include a SASE with appropriate postage, your submission will not be returned. Under no circumstances do we accept phone calls regarding submissions. Thank you for your understanding.

Book Proposal Guidelines

Your proposal must include the following:

  1. AUTHOR INFORMATION
    Send us your bio or curriculum vitae. Include information on professional credentials, current occupation, previously published works, social media statistics, any public speaking, or promotional experience you have, and any television or radio appearances you have made.

    II. MARKETING DATA
    Supply detailed information on the marketability of your book, including:
  • Book summary and purpose
  • Book’s unique content and characteristic
  • Target audience
  • Market size, description, and demographics
  • Ways you intend to promote the book
  • Competing titles and sales figures
  • Specific information not provided by comparable titles

III. MANUSCRIPT SAMPLE
Please send no more or less than the following:

  1. Detailed outline of the book
  2. Table of contents
  3. Introduction
  4. Two sample chapters

 

Manuscript Format Requirements
In preparing the manuscript sample chapters, please observe our format requirements (these also apply if you are asked to send a complete manuscript):

    1. Manuscript paper: If you will be sending your proposal via USPS, use standard (8 x 11), good-quality white paper. Do not use erasable bond. 
    2. Print quality: Use letter-quality type. Make type as clean and legible as possible.
    3. Spacing and type size: All text, tables, and caption material must be double-spaced. Allow at least one-inch margins on both sides, top and bottom. Use at least 12-point type.
    4. Chapter and section titles: All words in these titles should be upper- and lowercase.
    5. Spelling: Use the first spelling listed in the most recent edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary or Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
    6. Punctuation and style: Use a serial comma. Refer to the most recent edition of The Chicago Manual of Style regarding numbers and any other points of style.
    7. Pagination (applies to complete manuscript only): Pages should be numbered continuously throughout the manuscript, not chapter by chapter.