I visited the Chicken Soup for the soul website today to check on some deadline dates. One is coming up in only two days from now, but another is the end of October. Many others are much farther away. Sometimes, writers see the deadline dates and think there's plenty of time before getting a story ready to submit. We all know that we get busy with many other things and that deadline might slip right on by.
I know that the earlier you send a story the better. As the stories come in, the early readers select ones they think would be good candidates. If they already have a pretty good number of those, and you send your glorious story in two days prior to deadline, it's going to have to be awfully good to make it. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that the sooner you submit, the greater your chances are.
A few titles that Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking stories:
1. Making Me Time and Taking Care of Yourself--Deadline date is September 30, 2020
2. Tough Times--Deadline date is October 31, 2020
3. Cats--Deadline date is November 30, 2020
4. Angels--Deadline date is December 15, 2020
5. Eldercare--Deadline date is January 30, 2021
6. Counting Your Blessings--Deadline date is February 28, 2021
Go to the Submit a Story page to read more about each book's theme and to check a list of suggestions the editors have kindly offered. Maybe one of them will trigger a story idea for you.
Next, at the top of the same page, click on Story Guidelines. Read them, read them again, then study these guidelines. They will tell everything a Chicken Soup story is and everything it is not. If you have a story to submit for one of these books, go through the Guidelines again and make a checklist to see if your story qualifies. One of the biggest reasons editors reject a submission is because the writer did not follow the guidelines explicitly. Some fine stories can get knocked out for this simple reason. (This goes for other markets, as well.)
When writers ask me what makes a good story for the Chicken Soup anthologies, my suggestion is to read the books. After a while, you'll get a feel for what they are seeking.
In addition, they like humorous stories and ones that bring emotion to the reader--a feel-good kind of story, even one that brings a lump to the reader's throat and a tear to the eye. They seem to like a bit of dialogue within the story. These tips are ones I've gleaned over the many years I have been submitting stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Thank you, Nancy. I tried to forward this to D6 members but Facebook wouldn't let me.
ReplyDelete