Chicken Soup Is Looking for Stories

 Every now and then, I go to www.chickensoup.com to check on the possible book titles that are in the planning stages. These are the books for which the editors are seeking stories. Go to the bottom of the page and click on Submit your Story. You will find yourself on the Possible Book Topics page.

Keep in mind that they receive way more stories than they can use, so what you submit must shine, must elicit emotion from the reader, must be an awakening of some sort. Don't pick a topic and dash off a story about something that happened to you. Revise and edit until your story becomes stronger and better with each editing process. Only the best will make it. Don't let that discourage you. Instead, let it inspire you to climb to the mountain top. 

Don't forget that poems are also acceptable. You'll find only a few in the many Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Poems must follow the same guidelines as the stories. The poem must tell a true story with a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Not so easy, but poets should give it a try. 

The books and deadlines that are current are as follows:

A. Angels and Miracles  Deadline February 28, 2023 There are many small miracles and actions that can only be attributed to an angel's help. These stories don't have to detail major miracles, just the everyday ones. 

B. Funny Stories  Deadline October 15, 2022  Better hurry with this one. The deadline is only a week away. 

C. How Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone Changed Me  Deadline December 15, 2022  Self-confidence and determination might play a role in stories for this book. 

D. Miracles  Deadline February 28, 2023   I would think that the stories from the angel book could overlap here. Again, it doesn't have to be a monumental miracle; we have many small miracles in life, too.

E. The Power of Positive Thnking  Deadline December 15, 2022 

Note that there are only five books listed. Often there are seven or eight. There are still a variety of choices for your stories. 

Beneath each book title, you'll find a short paragraph letting you know what the editors are looking for. And also a list of possible topics. It will be to your advantage to read each part.

On the left hand top of the page, there is a menu, click on Guidelines and also Submissions FAQ. I cannot stress enough how important this step is. Without studying the guidelines and reading those FAQ lines, you decrease your chances of being selected. Note that I did not say to 'read' them. You need to study so that you can keep the guidelines in mind as you write. When your story is completed, go back to the guidelines and check to see if your story follows what the editors are asking. 

Finally, when everything is done to your satisfaction, clik on Submit Your Story and fill out the form given. Send your story on its way. This anthology series does not send rejection letters. Usually, you will hear from them about being short-listed about two months after the story deadline. If it goes much past that and you have not heard, you'll know your story was not selected. Time to move on.

Two Calls For Submissions

The other day, I mentioned that now is the time to write your holiday stories and submit them. Chicken Soup for the Soul has just sent a call for holiday stories for the 2020 book. Believe it or not, the deadline to submit is January 20, 2020, so you have a lot of time to come up with a story, or stories, for this book.

The book is centered on December holidays, but the majority will most likely be Christmas themed if this book runs like the previous ones. They are also asking for stories about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day and New Year's festivities. I suspect that, if you submit a story on one of the celebrations other than Christmas, you'll up your odds of being accepted. 

One of the main guidelines that you should pay strict attention to is that they want a 'story' not a reflection or an essay or a slice of life. Your submission should have a beginning, a middle and an end. Is there a problem? Does it get solved? Readers love to be confronted with a problem and then read on to see how it turns out. Hopefully to the good. Add a little tension or maybe some humor. Don't simply 'report' what happened. Bring the reader into your story. Make them laugh or cry or be angry or sad. You want to write in such a way that you bring emotion to your reader. The story must be true.

The second new call for Chicken Soup for the Soul is a book that will be titled I Can't Stop Laughing. The deadline for submissions is July 19, 2019, which gives you plenty of time to write a new story or polish up an old one if it fits this theme. We've all had hilarious happenings in our lives. Weddings and funerals can both be a background for things that make us laugh, for it seems that mishaps occur often at both those events. What about funny things that have happened while on vacation or during a graduation ceremony? 

We can all recall a humorous time, one that got us to rollicking with a full belly laugh. Remembering it and writing about it so that your reader is highly amused is not an easy task. I've seen writers who think they are writing something funny, but it falls flatter than a pancake. Guest Blogger, Kaye Curren, wrote about humor in personal essays. What you're aiming for here is an actual story, but much of what Kaye says in her post about humor in writing can work for either. Read it here.

Do a search on writing humorous stories if you feel you need a bit of extra help. Erma Bombeck was a master at writing humorous columns. Read a few to get a feel for how she did so well. 

You can read more details about both these calls at the Chicken Soup for the Soul website. You'll also find a few other books that still need stories. Pay attention to the deadlines. Don't wait until the last minute to submit. When the editors find a story they like, they are ready to accept. When those 101 needed stories are ready to go, they are not going to take those last minute subs. That is, not unless they have trouble finding the quality of story they want, and one of the last minute subs might be just right. Still, I would suggest submitting well before the deadline. 

New Call For Submissions From Chicken Soup for the Soul

Chicken Soup for the Soul has probably been the best market for my stories over the years. It's a good thing they keep coming out with new titles so that I can come up with stories that might fit the theme.

It pays to check the possible books page on the Chicken Soup webiste now and then. There are new books added off and on. I checked the page yesterday and found four new ones. Go to the page to read what the editors are looking for in the new book titles listed here:

1. Angels and Miracles (yes, one more angel book--they must be very popular)

2. Military Families

3. Random Acts of Kindness

4. The Spirit of America

For #2, they are looking for stories written by soldiers and their families. That includes spouses, children, parents, siblings. So, this topic is a little more limiting than the other three.

Note the deadlines for submitting. I've been told that the earlier you submit the better. But then we hear stories about people who submitted on the final day and got in. I tend to think the earlier the better because those last minute subs that accepted are probably in the 'very few' category.

Before you start writing a story to send to this anthology, study the guidlines page. Note that I said 'study' not 'read' because the guidelines given are lengthy and pretty explicit. Check them out here.
When you finish writing and editing your story, go back to the guidelines and do a check to see if you have followed the requirements.

If you go to the home page of the Chicken Soup website to find the guidelines and book topics and submission form, scroll down to the list at the bottom of the page and click on Submit Your Story.
You'll find the possible book topics, the guidelines and the submission form on this page.

Writers tell me that they have submitted stories to Chicken Soup and all were rejected. Remember that this is a very competitive market--thousands of stories received for each title--but you'll never get in unless you keep writing and keep submitting.

As for me, I've already thought of a story I can write for #3 on the list above. I've let it swirl in my mind for a couple of days now so it's time to get the first draft written this afternoon.

Don't Let Old Files Gather Too Much Dust

This was my 12th Chicken Soup for the Soul book

Today, I'd like to give you a list of the books for which Chicken Soup for the Soul is actively seeking stories.  I hear so many writers say that they've sent stories to Chicken Soup many times with no successful results. No one gets every story accepted at this prime anthology series. I certainly haven't. I've been fortunate to have my work in 13 of their books but the number of rejects is far greater.

The key here is to keep submitting. One of these times, your story may be exactly what they need to round out the 101 stories they publish in most books. With that in mind, here's a list of their current needs.

• Holiday Stories
• Devotional Stories for Wives
• Lemons To Lemonade
• Messages From Heaven:  Love Never Dies
• Multi-tasking Moms Survival Guide

You can read more about each of these books on the Possible Books page at the Chicken Soup website. Pay close attention to the deadline dates and also read the Guidelines page, even if you've already read it a million times. You don't want to overlook anything when sending a story.

Earlier this morning, I read a blog post written by a friend of mine that fits in quite well with my own post today. Tracy Million Simmons let her readers know about the benefit of going through old files and pulling out writing projects of long ago. Take a look here at what she had to say.

Periodically, I cruise through My Documents files to see if I have anything that has been sitting there gathering dust that might be appropriate for a Call for Submissions from a publisher. It's very easy to let a story sit in a file and forget that it's there. Slip down the list off and on to keep yourself alert to what's there.