PULCHRITUDESTUDIOS Let’s talk

Contributor partnerships

WHAT WE ASK
OF EACH OTHER.

Black Men, Black Women, and the
Expectations We Bring Into Love

A book by Amayah Daniels · Pulchritude Studios

Explore the partnerships
Contributor perspectives for the expanded edition.
THE CONTRIBUTOR EDITIONTarget publication November 1, 2026Read the current edition on Amazon

Current partnerships

Hinge, BLK, Barnes & Noble, and Target.

01 / THE BOOKLOVE IN A CHANGING WORLD

The world changed.
Did our expectations?

AMAYAH DANIELS

13Core chapters
$60Current edition
2026Contributor edition target

What happens when the world around marriage changes, but our expectations of one another do not?

Black men and Black women are attempting to build love inside institutions that look radically different from those that shaped previous generations. Work, housing, gender roles, technology, the church, popular culture, and the economics of adulthood have changed. Even the way people meet has been reorganized by algorithms.

Yet many of our ideas about courtship, provision, masculinity, femininity, commitment, marriage, and family remain inherited from another social order.

What We Ask of Each Other is a sweeping, honest, and deeply human exploration of what Black men and Black women must understand about one another in the 21st century. Amayah Daniels moves across history, policy, class, race, gender, popular music, dating apps, religion, family, and emotional life, examining how private expectations collide with public transformation.

The book seeks a language adequate to the world we now inhabit. If the institutions around love have changed, how then should we love?

View the book on Amazon
Where the book goes next

The current edition is available on Amazon. Pulchritude Studios’ current partnerships include Hinge, BLK, Barnes & Noble, and Target. We are developing a separate contributor edition and broader retail distribution, with availability for the new edition to be announced as release arrangements are finalized.

Contributor pathways

BRING YOUR PERSPECTIVE
TO THE NEXT EDITION.

Choose a focused royalty contribution or a commissioned three-chapter engagement.

Compare partnership options
02 / THE PARTNERSHIPSTWO WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE

Your voice.
Your way in.

Bring a perspective that grows out of your work, your research, or your lived experience. Choose a focused contribution with a proposed royalty share, or a larger, commissioned three-chapter engagement.

01 / Royalty partnershipStart with one contribution

A smaller contribution.
A lasting stake.

25%

Proposed share of net earnings
from the agreed edition’s sales

One focused chapter, a concise reflection of around one page, or an audio contribution developed into text. Start with the idea you know best and agree on a scope that fits.

  • ContributionOne agreed piece
  • FormatWritten text or recorded audio
  • CompensationRoyalties tied to book sales
  • Best fitA focused perspective, smaller scope
Discuss a royalty partnership

The proposed 25% share is subject to an individual written agreement. The edition, calculation of net earnings, deductions, duration, and payment schedule must be agreed before work begins. Royalties depend on sales.

02 / Commissioned partnershipThree original chapters

Go deeper.
Build out the argument.

$2,500

Total compensation
for the three-chapter engagement

Develop three original chapters around an agreed topic that extends the book. A defined editorial engagement for contributors who want the space to build a substantial body of work.

  • ContributionThree agreed chapters
  • FormatOriginal written manuscript
  • Compensation$2,500 for the full engagement
  • Best fitA sustained, in-depth contribution
Discuss the three-chapter engagement

Pulchritude Studios pays the contributor. This is not a fee to participate. Scope, length, acceptance criteria, revisions, delivery dates, and payment timing will be set out in the written agreement.

Choose the scope before you commit.

You do not need to write three chapters to join the conversation. A royalty partnership can begin with one clearly defined contribution. Ongoing earnings are possible after publication, but no level of income is guaranteed.

Who we want to hear from

Experience.
Expertise.
A point of view.

We’re interested in writers, researchers, educators, clinicians, cultural critics, community leaders, and people whose work or experience gives them something specific to add to the discussion of Black love.

Your contribution should connect to a topic in the book and be recognizably your own. Prior essays, talks, interviews, publications, professional work, or community practice can help us understand that fit.

Original thinking. Human authorship. A perspective with substance.

We ask for work authored by the contributor, rather than AI-generated chapters. Draw on what you know, explain what you mean, and identify sources where your argument relies on research.

03 / THE CONVERSATION13 CHAPTERS. MANY POINTS OF ENTRY.

Where does your
perspective belong?

These are the thirteen core chapters in the manuscript. Explore a theme to see the questions a contribution could build on. A strong new angle is welcome, too.

01ListeningThe songs we lost and the questions they left behind
How does popular music teach us to desire, to court, and to express need? Bring a perspective on the changing language of love in Black music, culture, and everyday life.
02ProxiesWhy dating apps cannot measure the thing we say we want
Explore algorithms, attraction, credentials, visibility, and the gap between a compelling profile and an emotionally compatible partner.
03RewardThe hidden machines that teach us what to become
What behaviors do attention, money, status, and social approval encourage? Consider how those rewards shape masculinity, femininity, and relationship expectations.
04InstitutionsWhy love cannot survive on chemistry alone
Bring history, policy, housing, work, religion, or community into the conversation. What conditions make commitment possible, sustainable, or harder to maintain?
05ChildhoodThe first school of what we call love
Explore family models, early lessons about safety and dependence, and the ways childhood experience enters adult intimacy.
06ConfidenceThe thing we praise until it touches us
What separates self-possession from performance? Consider attraction, insecurity, ambition, and our responses to confidence in a partner.
07ControlWhen care becomes a hidden system of command
Examine the boundaries between support and control, protection and restriction, leadership and command within intimate relationships.
08StandardsThe difference between discernment and defense
How do we distinguish a useful standard from a protective reflex? Bring insight into preference, selection, compatibility, tradeoffs, and the expectations we inherit.
09LanguageHow men go unseen and women go unheard
Explore respect, emotional expression, listening, conflict, and what happens when two people use the same words to ask for different things.
10ProvisionMoney, safety, leadership, and the price of being needed
What does provision mean in a changed economy? Consider money, care, childbearing, class, responsibility, and the emotional cost of being valued for usefulness.
11RomanceCourtship after performance
What distinguishes attention from commitment? Explore courtship, desire, vulnerability, and the everyday behaviors that make romance more than a display.
12MutualityThe heart of what we owe each other
Bring a perspective on reciprocity, shared responsibility, negotiation, and the practical work of creating a relationship that can hold both people.
13ReturnHow we learn to love after lovelessness
Consider repair, rebuilding trust, learning new patterns, and what it takes to become available to love after disappointment.

Your contribution can extend an existing theme or introduce a related perspective. The topic, format, and placement will be agreed with Pulchritude Studios.

From the manuscript

“You cannot negotiate a symbol.
You can negotiate behavior.”

Amayah Daniels · What We Ask of Each Other

04 / HOW IT COMES TOGETHERA CLEAR SCOPE FROM THE BEGINNING

Start with an idea.
Agree on the details.

The contributor edition is targeting publication on November 1, 2026. Individual delivery and review dates will be agreed around that target before the engagement begins.

01

Have a conversation

Tell us the perspective you would bring, the relevant work behind it, and which partnership interests you. A short call can help us establish the fit.

02

Define the partnership

Agree on the topic, format, length, attribution, rights, timeline, and editorial process. Put compensation and payment terms in writing before beginning.

03

Develop the contribution

Deliver the agreed written piece or audio contribution. For audio, agree on transcription and editorial support in advance. Review the text and any agreed revisions.

04

Prepare for publication

Finalize the accepted contribution for the new edition. Payment or royalty reporting follows the terms of the signed contributor agreement.

05 / BEFORE YOU DECIDETHE DETAILS THAT MATTER

A few things
to know.

Am I paying $2,500 to be included?

No. The $2,500 is total compensation paid by Pulchritude Studios to the contributor for the agreed three-chapter engagement. The payment schedule and acceptance terms will be confirmed in writing.

How much do I need to contribute for royalties?

The royalty route can be built around one chapter, a focused reflection of around one page, or an audio contribution developed into text. The final scope depends on the topic and editorial fit and is agreed before you begin.

What does 25% of net earnings mean?

It is a proposed percentage of the net earnings from sales of the edition covered by your agreement. The agreement must specify the revenue included, permitted deductions, reporting, payment timing, duration, and whether the percentage is an individual share or part of a contributor pool. It is not 25% of the retail price, and the website itself does not establish a royalty entitlement.

Is this an ongoing job or a contributor partnership?

The proposed arrangement is a defined contributor engagement with Pulchritude Studios. The three-chapter route has a larger writing scope; the royalty route can be limited to one agreed piece. Any continuing obligations, revisions, or promotional participation must be specified in the agreement.

Can I contribute something from my existing work?

Existing work can help establish your voice and topic fit. If you want to adapt or reuse it, we will first discuss permission, any prior publishing commitments, and how it would fit the new edition. New chapters should be original, human-authored work.

How will my name and work be credited?

Attribution, contributor biography, permissions, ownership, and publication rights will be agreed in writing before work begins. Contributor credit does not automatically establish co-authorship of the full book.

Is November 1 a guaranteed release date?

November 1, 2026 is the target for the contributor edition. The final release depends on contribution delivery, editorial review, and production. Your individual deadlines will be confirmed as part of the engagement.

Will the contributor edition be in other retailers?

Our current partnerships include Hinge, BLK, Barnes & Noble, and Target. The current edition is available on Amazon. Availability of the contributor edition through individual retailers will be announced as release arrangements are finalized.

How can I discuss a contribution?

Email partnership@pulchritudestudios.com to share your idea or ask about either contributor partnership. We can discuss the topic, scope, and terms directly.

Contributor partnership inquiries

LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR CONTRIBUTION.

Email Pulchritude Studios about a royalty partnership or the three-chapter engagement.

Contributor partnerships

Contact us directly at:

partnership@pulchritudestudios.com