Write December Holiday Stories Now!

No, I haven't lost it. I know that it is the day after Easter, not Christmas. I also am aware I have written other posts with this same suggestion but now is the time to write Christmas stories. Consider me your adopted muse reminding you that time is moving along and you need to get started writing December stories.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is looking for stories for a book titled The Joy of Christmas. Title is a bit misleading as they want stories for other December holidays, as well. That includes Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Boxing Day and New Year's. The book will be published in time for the 2016 December holidays season.

Deadline for stories for this anthology is April 30th. That gives you slightly more than a month to submit. Read a bit more about what the editors are looking for on this page of possible book topics. The Christmas book is quite far down the list so don't give up as you scroll down. (Might check out the other books while there, as well.)

It's not easy to write a holiday story months ahead of the actual celebration. You might need to drum up some inspiration to be able to write for this book. I'm going to give Christmas examples as that is the December holiday with which I am most familiar. Do you keep old Christmas cards? Get them out and go through them one by one. Sure to bring back some memories. Play a Christmas CD. Go through your picture file and check out those family pictures you took last December. Spend some time scanning a Christmas cookbook. An idea for a story is sure to pop up along the way.

Another idea is to go through your files of already written, but never published, stories and see if any will fit the theme. Don't just upload them on the submittable form and feel satisfied that you sent a story. Step back and read your story as objectively as you can. Will it fit the guidelines? Can you find the emotion in the story? Chicken Soup books are big on emotion. Not phony kind, the real thing, so don't just insert a crying jag scene for that reason alone. Revise and edit carefully before sending.

While your friends are tip-toeing through the tulips in April, you should be hammering the keyboard of your laptop writing a Christmas story. Take a break now and then and enjoy the pleasantries of April now and then.

Magazine editors and book publishers are working on holiday books now. Wait until November and it's too late. Plan ahead for all holiday stories.

Deadlines For Chicken Soup Stories

Chicken Soup For The Soul is one of the best opportunities for writers, as well as non-writers, to get published in an anthology that pays decently and is well-known.  I like to make readers of this blog aware of deadlines coming up for specific titles for this publisher. You do not have to be a professional writer to submit a story. Anyone is eligible to do so.

I was made aware only days ago that October 30, 2015 is the deadline for a book titled The Joy of Less. I broke one of my own rules and hurriedly dashed off a first draft of a story I'd been thinking about but hadn't gotten around to writing. Next, I sent it to my online critique group with a plea for a quick response due to deadline situation. Five people came through in a hurry and today, I will edit and polish and send it. I received a good response from the writers who critiqued the story so am feeling alright about doing this quick submission. I don't intend to make a habit of doing this, however.

It does pay to keep a check on the deadlines for each of the titles in works. Do that at the 

Possible Book Topics page on the Chicken Soup website. 

It's most likely too late for you to begin a story for this book now. However, there are other books with later deadlines which you might consider. The books with a November 30, 2015 deadline are:

•  Angels and Miracles
• Military Families
• The Spirit of America

December 15, 2015  deadline:

• The Power of Gratitude

March 31,2016 deadline:

• The Spirit of Canada
• Dreams and Synchronicities

June 30, 2016:deadline:

• Blended Families
• Stories About Teachers and Teaching

Remember to check the Guidelines page to see if your story fits what the editors are looking for. This is so important that I could repeat the previous sentence three times but I'd be accused of being redundant! Did I mention how important this is? I did and I will again in the future, I'm sure.

Aim For The Heart For This Anthology

I'm a big fan of Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I've submitted stories for many of the titles in this anthology series. And I've been very fortunate to have my work in 17 of these books. I've also had plenty of submissions there that have not made it. Competition is fierce with sometimes thousands of stories submitted for one book.

One reason I've had success is that I keep up with the latest book topics on the Chicken Soup website. Every now and then, I go to the Possible Book Topics page to see what new topics have been added and what others are gone because of the deadline being past.

Another reason is that I follow the guidelines. There are quite a few do's and don't's so I check the guidelines page before submitting a new story to make sure I've followed the guidelines and that there have been no changes made since my last submission.

I also revise and edit the story I send several times before hitting that Submit button on the submission page. I never write the story and submit it right away. I let it simmer for a few days before revising and editing. It helps me submit the best story I can write.

I try to make these creative nonfiction stories full of sensory details and attempt to bring emotion to the reader, whether it is a laugh or a tear. Aim for the heart might be a good motto when writing a Chicken Soup story. I know that the editors also like to see some dialogue in the stories so I include it in my submission.

Looking at the list of possible book topics today, I found a real variety and numerous titles. You can read more details for each by looking at the Possible Book Topics page. On some, there is a list of suggested topics for a particular theme. Even reading through the suggestions might give you an inspiration.

The main themes and deadlines for the present book topics are:

1. Alzheimer's and Dementias Family Caregiving   October 30, 2015

2. Angels and Miracles   September 30, 2015

3. Military Families November 30, 2015

4. My Very Good, Very Bad Cat  August 31, 2015

5. My Very Good, Very Bad Dog  August 31, 2015

6. Random Acts of Kindness  July 31, 2015

7. The Joy of Less October 30, 2015

8. The Spirit of America  November 30, 2015


Don't be afraid of submitting to this anthology series because of the competition. You might have the perfect story, one that touches the editor's heart. You won't know unless you try and if your first story doesn't make it, don't give up. Just remember to aim for the heart.