Hope's Promise Publishing
P.O. Box 631234
Houston, Texas 77263-1234
713-867-5923
www.hopespromisepublishing.com
info@hopespromisepublishing.com


May 15, 2003

HOPE'S PROMISE PUBLISHING INVITES YOU TO SUBMIT CONTRIBUTIONS AND TO BECOME A PART OF ITS GROUNDBREAKING UPCOMING PUBLICATION TENTATIVELY ENTITLED

“The African American College Student Survival and Success Guidebook: Black College Graduates Share Their Candid Advice and Real-Life Experiences on How to (& How Not to) Make the Most of the Entire College Experience”

What is the purpose of this book project?:
To provide insight into the college experience from diverse Black perspectives. It is intended to address the many issues and concerns facing persons of African descent contemplating attending college based on the actual experiences of persons who are currently going through or who have successfully gone through college.

There are a few other books now available for future Black college students. Why add yet another book to what is already out there?:
This book is not in competition with the other Black college guides currently available. It is a supplement to them. It is not designed to replace other books out on the market that provide guidance as to how to select colleges, get into college or where to go for financial aid. This is a completely different kind of book designed to impart advice and engage future college students from a number of diverse perspectives on how to make the most of and take full advantage of the college experience.

What is the primary motivation for wanting to put a publication like this together?:
Bottom line: We want Blacks to succeed in college – on every level. The editor/publisher has discovered that there are many people who have already graduated from college who are realizing that what they did several years ago (when they didn’t know any better) is having a very real impact on their futures. Things would have been different if they would have known what to expect and had some guidance on how to make the most of their college experiences. Not being focused, making less than stellar grades, getting caught up in the wrong things and with the wrong people, and not being able to prioritize correctly, or just not having any balance have come back to haunt them several years later. Why should people have to continue to make the same mistakes over and over when they can learn from others' mistakes and successes and benefit from their wisdom?

Who is collecting submissions and editing this book?:
Evangeline M. Mitchell, J.D., Ed.M., author and publisher, and a graduate of Prairie View A&M University, the University of Iowa College of Law and the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Evangeline is writing and publishing an entire line of books geared to African Americans (and other minorities from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds) to help demystify the college, graduate and law school admissions processes and experiences.

Who is publishing this book?:
Hope’s Promise Publishing will publish this book upon completion. The mission of this publishing company is to ‘take a vested interest in helping you in the journey to achieve your goals’ and ‘to help you make it to the next educational level.’ It is the publisher's belief that there really is no success unless we lay the groundwork and give back to our successors.

What is the vision of the publishing company in putting out this publication?:
Hope's Promise Publishing’s vision is to provide an honest, real and easy-to-read resource from the diverse voices of a large variety of Black college graduates who have been there and successfully gotten through on what young Black high school graduates and even returning and older students need to do to make the most of and take full advantage of their college experiences.

The hope is that this book can provide the inspiration and motivation to help high school, new and even returning college students move forward and understand the pitfalls, challenges and triumphs that lie ahead.

The editor's/publisher's goal is to produce a compilation book that is not only comprehensive and full of important information, but also extremely engaging, thought provoking, interesting, and funny.

The completed book will essentially be a must-read for African Americans getting ready to embark on their college careers.

What chapters will be presented in this book?:
The book will feature chapters on everything from affirmative action in admissions, succeeding in academics, relationships with professors and administrators, the social scene, pledging fraternities and sororities, the job search, dating, sex and relationships, coping with racism and discrimination, campus diversity, studying abroad, preparing for graduate and professional school, the job search, among several others. No relevant topic regarding the college experience will go uncovered.

Why is such a book so important?:
Many young Black people are still the very first to go to college or have not been given a lot of advice and insight. They need a thorough resource that will provide insight and advice from a number of people with different perspectives on what they did well, the mistakes they made and what they would have done differently from those who have successfully gone through it and have been able to thoughtfully reflect and impart their wisdom.

What makes this project so unique?:
Based on the author’s research, there is no current and up-to-date book out right now that provides real-life insight, advice and personal accounts of actual experiences to future Black college students from hundreds of diverse Black college graduates throughout the country who attended public and private HBCUs, private and state predominantly White universities and Ivy League institutions from across the country.

What will contributors be asked to provide?:
Contributors will be asked to share the best real-life and hard-hitting advice given to them or things they had to learn the hard way and divulge personal experiences where important and concrete lessons can be gleaned, so that others can chart a course for a truly successful and full college experience.

If I decide to contribute, what are the next steps?:
If you are interested in contributing, please send an e-mail to info@hopespromisepublishing.com and the editor/publisher will e-mail you guidelines and further information that you can e-mail or mail back with your submission. You can also write or call the publisher directly at

Attention: Black College Student Guidebook
hope's promise publishing
P.O. Box 631234
Houston, Texas 77263-1234
713-867-5923

***Please pass this message along to your friends and associates who might feel they have something to share with our future Black college students.