This compilation is currently looking for Christmas
stories for the sequel to Christmas Miracles co-authored by Cecil
Murphey and Marley Gibson. Deadline: May 1, 2010.
Pays $50 + copy. Contributors may purchase copies at a discount for resale.
Submit through their web site.
The Christmas Spirit is a book project we
have contracted with St. Martin’s Press for the fall of 2011, but they
want the completed manuscript by the spring of 2010. Debbie Macomber has
agreed to write the foreword.
We seek true stories that emphasize the significance of the
Christmas season. We get caught up in the busyness of the season—the
shopping, the family drama, and the event planning, and we lose sight of
the true meaning of Christmas. Sometimes, through God's grace or what
some call a twist of fate, we're able to step back and grasp the real
meaning of Christmas and our lives are enriched. These are the kind of
stories we want.
If we select your story, we will edit it to ensure that the
book flows with a single voice. We'll change only the writing voice or
style and not factual information. If you are unwilling to allow us to
edit your story, please do not submit.
This is an excellent opportunity to see your writing in a book with
other outstanding authors.
You must follow these guidelines:
Deadline for stories is May 1, 2010.
All entries must be double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman,
Word document.
Stories may run from 900 to 1,300 words. We will not
consider longer pieces.
We prefer first-person narratives.
Your name will be listed with your story and you'll have a
fifty-word information/resume paragraph at the end of the book.
Every story must have a positive solution that results from events
or timing at the Christmas season.
Every story must have a positive application. That is, you must
tell us what you learned about Christmas or how it changed your life.
You may send an original or a reprint. (If a reprint, please tell
us where it was published and assure us that you own the reprint
rights.)
If we accept your story, you will retain rights. You'll receive a
$50 honorarium and at least one free copy of the book when it is
released in October 2011.
We'll notify you of the results of your submission on or after
September 15, 2010.
We will offer special discounts for contributors who wish to buy
additional books. (We will send that information later.)
If you accept these terms, please fill out the form, attach the
document, and submit it for review.
Pays $100 - $200 + 10 copies. Contributors may
purchase copies at a discount for resale. Submit through their web site.
Deadlines listed below.
From the site:
Dieting and Fitness
Eat less - exercise more! We have all heard these simple words
but, in reality, dieting and staying fit require a lot of work. Tell us
about your commitment to health and fitness. What changes did you make in
your eating habits? What kind of an exercise program did you follow that
made the difference? Were you still able to treat yourself to that
occasional delicious piece of chocolate cake and stay in shape? The true
stories in this book will inspire you, make you laugh, touch your heart, and
let you know that you can do it!
The deadline date for story submissions is January
31, 2010.
New Moms
Becoming a new mom is the most amazing experience, unique and
unlike any other. From the moment that baby is placed in your arms, there is an
incredible feeling only a new mother can know. This book celebrates the
physical, emotional, and spiritual experience of having a child and creating a
family. We are looking for heartwarming, insightful, and humorous stories about
raising babies and toddlers that share with our readers the wonders of early
motherhood.
The deadline for story submissions is February 28,
2010.
Christmas and Holidays - Ho Ho Ho
We love the holidays! They are a
magical time of the year; a time of family, friends and traditions. They can
bring special joy and unexpected blessings into our lives. Please share your
Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa stories with us... stories that will touch the
souls and warm the hearts of our readers. The deadline
date for story submissions is February 28, 2010.
Devotionals for Mothers
Being a mom is one of the most challenging -- and yet rewarding --jobs a woman
can have. With God on your parenting team, the burdens are lighter and the
rewards are sweeter. If you have a brief true story (up to 600 words) that shows
God’s presence during a parenting moment, please share it along with an
applicable Bible verse and a 2-3 sentence prayer. You will receive ten free
copies of the book and $100 for each published devotion.
The deadline date for submissions is February 28, 2010.
Family Matters Do you have a great story about a wacky or dysfunctional family member?
We know you love them, but it's still great fun to read about all those crazy
relatives and compare them to ours. Chicken Soup for the Soul: All in the Family
has been a big hit, so let's do it again. Send us your stories, funny or
serious. Submit under your real name, but rest assured we expect most of you to
use pen names for publication and change the names of family members to protect
the innocent (or guilty!). The deadline date for story
submissions is February 28, 2010.
Grandmothers
Everyone has a great story about the
unconditional love between grandmothers and their grandchildren. We are
looking for wonderful stories celebrating grandmothers and grandchildren,
written by grandmothers about being a grandmother, and by grandchildren
about their grandmothers. Stories about stepgrandmothers and honorary
grandmothers are welcomed also. We are not looking for stories from children
so please save those for a future book. The
deadline date for story submissions is March 31, 2010.
Grieving and Recovery
Grieving is a difficult process that those who have lost a loved one must go
through in order to get to the recovery phase. This important collection of
stories will be like a support group that will offer comfort and understanding
and show you that, no matter how devastating your loss is, you are not alone.
You can get through the process and, with time, you will regain your strength
and move forward with your life. The deadline date for
story submissions is March 31, 2010.
My Cat's Life
(formerly: Grieving and Recovery for Cat Owners)
As many of you know this title was going to focus on the grieving and recovery
process we humans go through after the loss of a beloved cat. However, despite
the many heartwarming and inspirational stories you have submitted, we decided
that the topic is too narrow. In its new form the book will focus on all the
memorable ages and stages our cat’s lives. Starting with kittens, it will cover
the prime years, aging cats, and finally the twilight and the end, when our dear
friends leave us. We want to capture the experience of living through the
natural life cycle with our cats. Because of the title’s initial form we expect
to have a nice large section on grieving and recovery (which isn’t filled
despite our collecting submissions!). The deadline date
for story submissions is March 30, 2010.
My Dog's Life
(formerly: Grieving and Recovery for Dog Owners)
As many of you know this title was going to focus on the grieving and recovery
process we humans go through after the loss of a family dog. However, despite
the many heartwarming and inspirational stories you have submitted, we decided
that the topic is too narrow. In its new form the book will focus on all the
memorable ages and stages of our dog’s lives. Starting in puppyhood it will
cover a range of middle years, senior dogs, and finally the twilight and the
end, when our dear friends leave us. We want to capture the experience of living
through the natural life cycle with our dogs. Because of the title’s initial
form we expect to have a nice large section on grieving and recovery (which
isn’t filled despite our collecting submissions!). The
deadline for story submissions is March 30, 2010.
Preteens
The preteen years – those years from nine to twelve can be rough from both a
physical and emotional perspective. You are not a kid anymore but you are not
yet a teen. There are so many issues to deal with and sometimes it feels like
you are all alone. You are not! The stories in this book – almost all of them
written by preteens just like you – will prove that to you. We are looking for
stories that will inspire you, make you laugh, make you think and let you know
that life is not as bad as it might seem. The deadline
date for story submissions is June 30, 2010.
Teens
A completely new book on one of our most requested topics – TEENS. The stories
in this book, written almost entirely by teens, will be stories that you will
want to read again and again. They will serve as your guide on topics such as
the daily pressures of life, love, school, friendships, parents and much more.
We are looking for stories that will encourage you, inspire you, make you laugh,
make you cry and show you that, as tough as things can get, you are not alone.
The deadline date for story submissions is June 30,
2010.
Pays $25 to $100 + 1 copy. $500 to best story in
non-Christian books. (They pay less to contributors to Christian books.
Go figure.)Deadline: April 20, 2010.
(I'm unsure if contributors may
purchase copies at a discount for resale.)
Submit through their web site.
From the site:
A Cup of Comfort
®
is a bestselling book series featuring uplifting true stories about the
experiences and relationships that inspire and enrich our lives. These personal
essays are written by people from all walks of life and provide unique personal
insights into powerful universal truths.
Now,
Cup of Comfort
has once again joined hands with REDBOOK magazine to sponsor a true story
contest!
Enter the Cup of Comfort/REDBOOK Your
Love Story Contest for a chance to win $1,000, have your story
excerpted in REDBOOK magazine, and publish your story in
A Cup of Comfort for Couples!
A Cup of Comfort® for Couples:
(Call for Submissions)
Stories that celebrate what it means to be in love
It is said that love works in mysterious
ways. This anthology will reveal the many mysteries of true love. Of course,
being a "happy couple" involves more than being in love, and making a
romantic relationship work takes more than romance. And our readers want to
know all about it.
This book will feature uplifting true stories with a balanced mix of
tones—romantic, poignant, humorous—on a wide range of topics: From falling
in love to the secrets of lasting love. From celebrating special moments as
a couple to overcoming bumps in your relationship. From experiences that
brought you closer together to experiences that threatened to tear you
apart. From endearing rituals to challenging changes. From sparkling new
love to glorious golden love. From finding your first love to finding love
again after divorce or widowhood. From keeping the love fire burning after
having children to rekindling the romance after the fire has all but gone
out. Or any theme that speaks to the joys, challenges, and/or secrets of the
lasting and satisfying love between a couple.
Stories must be positive and about adults. First-person narrative essays
preferred (that is, your love story, written as a story, not an article).
Third-person narratives will be considered (for example, a true story about
a couple you know intimately, such as your parents).
Story Length: 1000–2000 words
Call for Submission Deadline: April 20, 2010 Finalist Notification: June
15, 2010
**Call for Submission deadlines are sometimes
extended. Any call for submission deadline extensions are posted here, in the
Cup of Comfort News forum, and in the
Cup of Comfort Blog.
From their e-mail November 1, 2009
with updates as I know them
on January 30, 2010:
NOTE: Update January 30,
2010: There is supposed to be an update e-mail sent this weekend. I'll post it
when I receive it.
The e-mail attachment from November 1,
2009:
Dear Valued Writer,
We are now in phase two of the Extraordinary Answers to
Prayer (formerly Incredible Power of Prayer) series and I welcome you to join
us. Guideposts is launching a series of 12 books on various aspects of prayer
and how people from every walk of life have been transformed through God’s
response to their prayers. These books will be available by mail only, sent
monthly as part of a book series promotion.
You may have contributed to the first three titles in this
series (Praying from the Heart, The Healing Touch, and Expecting
Miracles) or perhaps to my Cup of Comfort, Life Savors, or Love Is a Verb
brands. Or perhaps I’m contacting you for the first time. Whatever the case, I
eagerly seek your participation in this next phase of prayer volumes.
Ibelievethisbookisnow
closed,but if you have a story checktomakesure:
Book four, From Tragedy to Triumph, deals with
the pervasive issues related to our trials, hardships, and suffering in life,
whether physical, emotional, relational, financial, etc. The focus should not be
so much on the trials or the stress they cause, but on how the power of prayer
eliminated or helped you deal with these trials. What lessons did prayer teach
you through these ordeals and how did God use them for good for your life or
others?
This book is still open:
Book five, Refreshed by the Spirit, focuses on
prayers we send to God when we are spiritually dry; when situations might be
okay but we don’t feel His presence; or during a dark night of the soul when
life is difficult. The fault may be our own because we’re not walking with the
Lord, or He may seem distant because of struggles in our lives. As we
continually pray for His presence, suddenly things change and we are refreshed
and filled with his reassurance, peace, and joy. How did God visit you in a new
way that caused praise and thanksgiving and may have even changed your life?
Book six, Love and Forgiveness, deals with
relationships that have been strained or broken due to offenses against us, or
our own faults. When we pray for love for those who mistreat us and pray for the
willingness to seek restitution and restoration we regain our families and
friends and change the hearts of our enemies. How was prayer the determining
factor in a renewed love, forgiveness, and eventual restoration of
relationships?
We would be pleased to consider as many stories for these
three volumes as you wish to submit. We’ll look at stories of up to 2,000 words
and prefer that they be at least 1,000 words. The stories should have a creative
title, an attention-grabbing introduction, main body with a conflict or
challenge, and a clear, satisfying resolution. They need to be descriptive,
rooted in time and place, compelling personal experience stories with a
realistic portrayal of the people involved. They need to be stories rather than
testimonies, Christian living articles, and shouldn’t focus on mere feelings or
mental states.
Most important, they need to revolve around prayer itself
and not the circumstances of the story. These are themed books but the purpose
is to convince the reader of the power of prayer in these situations.
We prefer original stories but you may also submit
previously published stories that you have full rights for and are not currently
in print with a major publisher. We pay $25 for stories under 1200 words, and
$50 for stories over 1200 words. You may retain the right to publish the stories
in magazines and in books with less than national distribution and not carried
in nationwide bookstores.
We are accepting manuscripts for Tragedy to Triumph until
Nov. 15 and all three volumes until December 15, but the sooner you submit the
better your chance of acceptance. We will notify you by February and send you a
permission form if your story is a finalist for any of these volumes.
Please send your manuscript attached to the e-mail rather
than pasting text in the email
Window. Feel free to send your manuscript in normal
manuscript formatting, with your full contact information—name, address, phone
number, email address—and whether you’re offering First Rights or Reprint Rights
at the top of each manuscript. Please include a biography of 30 words or less at
the end of each manuscript.
Please direct all inquiries and manuscript submissions
to my colleague, Jeanette Littleton, at incredibleprayers@earthlink.net. If this email has been forwarded to you and you can’t submit to this call,
but would like to hear about other editorial needs as they arise, please send us
your email address and we’ll add you to our notification list. Also please pass
this along to any writing or praying friends who might be interested.
Blessing to you and yours,
Jim
James Stuart Bell, Compiler, Guideposts Incredible Prayer
series
Pays $50 + 1 copy. Deadline:
December 1, 2009. Check web site for new opportunities or extended deadline. If
you have a story, write and ask if they are still accepting. Unsure
if contributors may purchase copies at a discount for resale. Submit through
their web site.
From the site:
HURRAY GOD! is all about lifting up the name of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son,
through true and authentic answered prayer stories. We know God still answers
prayer today, and we are dedicated to publishing stories about real people who
have experienced real life answers to prayer. Stories that will bring hope,
inspiration, and encouragement to people the world over.
If you have such a story, we want to hear about it. Check out our
Writers Guidelines.
Pays $25 to $100. Deadline:
December 31, 2009. If you have a story, e-mail and ask if this is still open.
(Purchase copies at a
discount for resale?) Submit by e-mail.
From their e-mail December 11, 2009:
Hi Writers,
Sometimes book projects evolve as they go along. That's what's happening
with Love is a Flame. While we do want
stories of rekindled and dramatically changed marriages, the shift has changed
a bit to be more inclusive on the topic of What
Makes a Marriage Work.
We'd like to hear
a story about something you've learned works in marriage. Tell us about a
time when you faced a challenge or conflict and how that was
resolved, or a story from your life that illustrates what makes a marriage work.
You don't have to talk about an experience of bringing your marriage back from
the brink of disaster (although we'd like some of those, too), but we're
looking for slices of married life (again, a story about something that
happened--not an article or words of marital advice or Bible study, though
scripture use is fine), that are focused on one lesson or incident.
Here are ideas of some of the specific topics that we'd love to see covered,
too:
*dealing with spouse's pornography
*remarriage--can
old dogs learn new tricks?
*marriage in senior years
*dealing with infidelity--physically or emotionally
*dealing with child issues (loss of a child, differing discipline styles,
stepchildren, combined front with children, etc.)
*overcoming step family challenges
*learning to forgive your spouse
*what happens when beauty fades
*how does a marriage survive addictions
*overcoming the little vines that spoil the vineyard
*not everyone we're around respects marriage, so dealing with temptations
*being nice to your spouse
*keeping flames alive when boredom sets in
*setting boundaries in marriage
*spiritual life of a married couple; growing together spiritually, dealing
with one not being at the same spiritual level, etc.
(using pseudonyms is fine! just put the pen name you'd like to use on the
byline below your title)
--Changes you might want to be aware of:
* The powers that be have decreed that besides the payments on the guidelines
(attached), stories of over 2000 words (after editing) will net $100
each for the author.
* Since we know you have a busy holiday season, the deadline's been changed to
Dec. 31 (although we're delighted to receive them sooner).
To give you an idea of the kinds of thing we're looking for, I've attached a sample story (with the author's permission).
All that said, I hope to hear from you, and hope you get a fresh glimpse of
Christ during this fun Christmas season. =)
Thank you!
Jeanette
The e-mail attachment from December
11, 2009
Dear Contributor,
You
may recall my role as editor for story collections in the Cup of Comfort series
or the Guideposts series on prayer. But one of my most impactful story projects
was Love Is a Verb: Stories of What Happens When Love Comes Alive. In the
spirit of The Five Love Languages, this volume explored how learning to become a
more loving person invigorates relationships. We are following this with Love
Is a Flame: Stories of How Marriages Regain Their Passion, and we would like
your exciting story to be included.
Even the best marriages today are under
stress. Financial pressures to retain the same lifestyle or achieve important
goals take their toll. Changing sexual mores and alternative lifestyles, with
an emphasis on self-fulfillment, undermine commitment and fidelity. There is
less quality time and less ability to communicate with so many obstacles
bombarding couples who really do want to keep their love and commitment alive
and thriving. Some marriages just can’t survive and end in tragic
divorce. Others limp along with conflict, other priorities, or just
indifference.
Love Is a Flame will be a book of marriage
success stories with lasting results – it may involve deeper understanding and
acceptance, exciting new romance and intimacy, or how to triumph together over
trials. Whatever the benefits, each story will demonstrate the diversity of joy
and fulfillment that marriage brings to our lives.
To qualify to write your story you need to
have this vibrant relationship with your spouse right now. But you also must
have grown in your marriage somewhere in the past and be able to articulate that
growth. This should not be a story of how your spouse changed but how you
changed for the better first. How did you grow in being a loving person that
caused your spouse to respond, even if he/she might be the primary challenge?
We’ll look at stories of up to 2,000 words
and prefer that they be at least 1,000 words. The stories should have a
creative title, an attention-grabbing introduction, main body with a conflict or
challenge, and a clear, satisfying resolution. Please include a biography of 30
words or less at the end of each manuscript. They need to be descriptive,
rooted in time and place, compelling personal experience stories with a
realistic portrayal of the characters involved. They need to be substantive
stories rather than mere testimonies or teachings, and the focus should be
relational rather than spiritual.
The book will be released by Bethany House
Publishers in 2010. Your manuscript will be due no later than December 15, but
we would prefer it much earlier. Please send your manuscript attached to the
e-mail rather than pasting text in the email window. Feel free to send your
manuscript in normal manuscript formatting, with your full contact
information--name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. We are offering
a one-time fee of $50 for stories over 1,000 words, and $25 for stories under
that word count.
We will send you contracts upon the
publisher’s acceptance and would need them back promptly. Payment will be made
after all contracts have been received. Please direct all inquiries and
manuscript submissions to my colleague, Jeanette Littleton, at loveisaflame@earthlink.net If
this e-mail has been forwarded to you, and you can’t submit to this call, but
would like to hear about other editorial needs as they arise, please send us
your e-mail address and we’ll add you to our notification list.
