Contributing
Contributor Guidelines
Outside experts may contribute to Acquire Publishing. These standards govern every contribution — from the initial submission through editorial review to publication.
Who Can Contribute
Acquire Publishing accepts contributions from experienced practitioners — people who have done the work, not people who have only studied it. Contributors must have direct, documented experience in the subject they are writing about. Academic credentials are respected but not sufficient on their own. The standard is practical experience: you must have made decisions, taken risk, produced results, and learned from failures in the domain you propose to write about.
Experience Standard
Contributors must have direct, documented experience in the subject they are writing about. We do not publish contributors who have only studied a topic — we publish contributors who have practiced it. Your contribution should reflect decisions you have made, results you have produced, mistakes you have learned from, and patterns you have observed through direct participation — not through reading about others.
Evidence Standard
Claims must be supported by evidence. Contributors must be able to provide sources, data, documented experience, or reproducible reasoning for any factual claim made in their contribution. Assertions that cannot be verified will be challenged during editorial review and removed if unsupported. 'Studies show' without naming the study is not evidence. 'Experts agree' without identifying the experts is not evidence.
Writing Standard
Contributors are not expected to be professional writers — we provide editorial support. However, contributions must be clear, organized, and focused on practical instruction. The editorial team will help shape the material into publishable form while preserving the contributor's voice and substance. Contributions that require complete rewriting may be declined.
Disclosure Standard
Contributors must disclose any financial interests, affiliations, or relationships that could reasonably be seen to influence their contribution. This includes: ownership in companies discussed, consulting relationships, board memberships, affiliate arrangements, and any other material conflicts. Disclosures are published alongside the contribution — not buried in a site-wide footer.
No Self-Promotion Standard
We do not publish contributions that are primarily vehicles for self-promotion, product selling, or competitive attack. Contributors may reference their own work where relevant, but the contribution must stand on its own as practical knowledge — not as marketing material. If the contribution reads like a sales letter for the contributor's services, it will be declined.
Editorial Standards Apply
All contributions are subject to the same editorial standards as every Acquire Publishing publication: verification, fact-checking, expert review, and the requirement that the material be implementable. Read the full Editorial Standards for details. The editorial team reserves the right to reject, revise, or request changes to any contribution that does not meet these standards.
Submission & Review Process
Initial Submission
Contributors submit a proposal including: the topic, the contributor's relevant experience, a brief outline, and a writing sample. Proposals are evaluated against the standards above. Incomplete proposals will not be reviewed.
Review Timeline
Acquire Publishing develops its publishing program internally and commissions works from practitioners we know. Unsolicited proposals may take 4–8 weeks for an initial response. We appreciate your patience — every proposal is read, but we receive more than we can accept.
Editorial Development
Accepted contributions enter editorial development. The contributor works with an Acquire Publishing editor to develop the manuscript. This may involve multiple rounds of revision. The editor's role is to ensure clarity, accuracy, completeness, and alignment with our editorial standards — not to rewrite the contributor's voice.
Fact-Checking & Review
Before publication, the contribution passes through fact-checking and, where appropriate, domain expert review. The contributor may be asked to provide sources, clarify claims, or address gaps identified during review.
Final Approval
The editorial team makes the final publication decision. Acceptance into editorial development is not a guarantee of publication. The team may determine — at any point — that the contribution does not meet standards. If declined, the reason is communicated to the contributor.
Rights & Licensing
By submitting a contribution, you represent that the work is your own and that you have the right to grant Acquire Publishing the publishing rights described below.
Grant of Rights. Accepted contributions are published under an exclusive or non-exclusive publishing agreement, negotiated on a per-contribution basis. The agreement will specify: the territory, the term, the formats (print, digital, audio, etc.), the royalty or fee structure, and the contributor's retained rights.
Attribution. Published contributions carry the contributor's name and relevant credentials. Acquire Publishing does not publish anonymous or pseudonymous contributions without compelling reason and editorial approval.
Simultaneous Submission. Contributors may submit proposals to multiple publishers simultaneously. However, you must inform Acquire Publishing immediately if your proposal is accepted elsewhere. Once a contribution is accepted and the publishing agreement is signed, the work may not be published elsewhere within the agreed territory and term without Acquire Publishing's consent.
Derivative Works. Acquire Publishing may excerpt, adapt, translate, or repurpose published contributions across its collections, learning materials, research reports, and other formats — consistent with the terms of the publishing agreement. Contributors are consulted on material adaptations where practical.
Interested in Contributing?
Acquire Publishing develops its publishing program internally and commissions works from practitioners we know. If you are an experienced practitioner with something practical to share, start here.