SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

A Call for Submissions: HBCU Experience – The Book, Vol. 2

Attention good people: While we are still promoting HBCU Experience –The Book, and will be for the foreseeable future,  we are now also accepting essay submissions for Vol. 2. The guidelines remain roughly the same: Each essay should be between 250-1250 words and detail a specific experience the writer had while attending his/her HBCU. 

The stories can span the wide spectrum of college life (dating, pledging, mentor relationships, sports, parties, health challenges, family, dorm life, financial issues, etc.), as long as they're authentic. Also, submissions can be published anonymously if the writer wants to protect his/her identity, or that of others discussed in the essay. And more than one essay can be submitted per individual.

So, get those ideas flowing, we are sure you have a great HBCU story (or two) you’d love to share in HBCU Experience – The Book, Vol. 2.  –  In terms of format, either word text or PDF is fine as long as the text is accessible (as in can be copied and placed onto a master editing document) and please use a legible font type and size (12 pt. is preferred). Submissions should be sent in via ChrisOneDG@Gmail.com.

Please click here if you want to read sample essays from Vol. 1 as a guide.

Please Note: Submitting an essay does not guarantee inclusion in the final work; ALL submissions are subject to approval by the editors. All accepted submissions must be accompanied by a signed permission form by the essay’s author; the editors will make the forms available once essays are accepted/approved for use in HBCU Experience – The Book, Vol. 2.

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Contact: Chris@BlackCollegeBook.com with questions.  All the best.
 

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Friendly Tips for Writing Your Personal Essay

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• Focus on a specific event, encounter, or occurrence, as opposed to an overall, broad recollection. The best stories detail a particular experience.

• Build your story in a linear fashion, with a beginning, middle and end; remember you are writing for your reader more so than yourself. Make the story easy to follow by someone who does not know the intimate details like you do.

• In that vein, feel free to paint a picture for your reader. Without going into excessive detail (there's not a lot of time or space), describe the setting of your essay in terms of look, tone, and mood. With a tiny bit of guidance, readers will create an internal vision of your story.

• Don't only think of great, warm, and fuzzy tales; as with college itself, many of the most impactful experiences were/are related to heartbreak, challenge, controversy, etc.