Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Penny Hoarder.
We all have a story (or two) to tell. Yours can make you money.
Chicken Soup for the Soul, a self-help and consumer goods company, is accepting stories and poems for future publications. If yours is selected, you will receive a $250 check.
Back in the early 1990s, two motivational speakers put together a book full of motivational stories.
“They call it ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ because they want it to soothe and comfort them, like their grandmothers’ cooking,” according to the company’s website.
The company eventually expanded its selection and has since published over 275 titles in the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series which has sold over 500 million copies worldwide. The books focus on specific topics such as faith, parenting, and cats.
How to Make Chicken Soup to Feed the Soul
Currently, the publisher is soliciting stories and poems for books from these subgroups:
- Cat stories (deadline: Nov. 30, 2024)
- Change your habits and your attitude / change your life (deadline: Nov. 30, 2024)
- Dog stories (deadline: Oct. 31, 2024)
- Holiday celebrations (deadline: Dec. 31, 2024)
- Miracles, messages from heaven, angels (deadline: Dec. 31, 2024)
If you have personal information to share that fits one of these topics, here’s what you need to know.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Guides
Your story should:
- Write in the first person.
- Be a true story that happened to you or someone you know. If you are writing an essay for someone else, that person’s name should be listed as the author (they can acknowledge your help in the bio section).
- Have a clear beginning, middle and end.
- Create emotions in the reader.
- Get out of the heart.
- No more than 1,200 words.
- It can be a biography, term paper, thesis, letter, or journal entry.
- Not about politics or anything controversial.
The stories posted must be true. The publisher does not accept creative or creative writing articles.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Guides
The guidelines for submitting poems are a little looser. Your poem should:
- Choose a story that helps the learner to learn about your event but make it a poem.
- Don’t focus on consistency or sound like a greeting card.
Chicken Soup for the Soul only accepts previously unpublished story and poem submissions.
How to Submit Your Form
Submitting your content is easy. Simply fill out this online form, add your essay or poem to the appropriate paragraph, and press “Submit.”
After submitting the form, you will see a confirmation message on your screen that the publisher has received your entry. That’s all there is to it!
Well, of course. There is one more thing left to do, and it may be very difficult.
Be patient.
It may take a long time for the publisher to get back to you. The website explains: “We receive thousands of submissions for each book and only have room for 101 pieces, so please don’t take our silence for granted!”
If your essay or poem is selected, you will receive an email asking for express permission to publish your work.
One month after publication, you will receive 10 copies of the book and a check for $250.
If you have information you want to share, fire up your computer or pull out your notebook and get to work.
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