Category Archives: essay

Chicken Soup call-out: The Cat Did What?

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Did What?
101 Amazing Stories of Magic Moments, Miracles and… Mischief

We are so excited about Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Did What? We know you’ll have many great stories for us, and that you rejoice in the simple absurdities, funny habits, and crazy antics of your cats. Our cats make us smile every day, but sometimes they really outdo themselves. Whether they came up with the idea themselves, or you put them in a situation that caused them to do something unusual, we want to hear about it! Tell us what your cat did that made people want to ask again and again, “The Cat Did What?”

We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. We can’t wait to read all the heartwarming, inspirational, and hysterical stories you have about your cats!

Here are a few suggested ideas but we know you will come up with your own:

• Has your cat ever done something that made you laugh out loud?
• Has your cat ever demonstrated a surprising degree of empathy or comprehension of a     situation?
• Have you ever taken a trip with your cat? Did s/he do something funny?
• If you have more than one cat, have they ever done something together that you can’t     believe?
• Does your cat do something that no other pet of yours has ever done?
• Does your cat act a certain way with a particular family member?
• Has your cat ever gotten stuck somewhere?
• Has your cat ever done something extremely embarrassing?
• Has your cat ever done something that you only heard about from someone else?
• Do you sometimes think your cat is human?
• Has your cat done something heroic?
• Has your cat “two-timed” you with another family?

Please remember, we no longer publish “as told to” stories. Please write in the first person about yourself or someone close to you. Do not ghostwrite a story for someone else unless you list that person as the author. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published in the “Comments” section of the submission form. If the story was published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it.

If you submitted a story or a poem on our website to a book entitled “Stories About Cats” within the last few months please do not submit that same story or poem to us again. We have it in our database. We have tweaked the title of our cat book just a little and we have extended the deadline date for submissions but other than that the database remains the same and your story is in there and will be considered for the book.

If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO OUR WEBSITE. Select the Submit Your Story link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS JANUARY 5, 2014.

CONTACT US
Please do not reply to this email address. You will NOT receive a response. For any further questions or correspondence, contact webmaster@chickensoupforthesoul.com.

Chicken Soup call-out: Reboot Your Life

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Reboot Your Life
101 Stories about Finding a New Path to Happiness

Were you in a rut? Was your life boring and dull? Hopefully you did something positive about it. Just as we reboot our computers to start them over and solve problems, so too can we reboot our lives. What did you do to bring back your purpose, passion and joy?

We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words about how you changed the direction your life was taking or how you got out of your rut. Was is a major change or was it an attitude adjustment? Did you change your life overnight or did it take you a while? Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. Your stories should inspire our readers to take a chance and give them the courage to reboot their own lives.

Here are a few suggested ideas but we know you will come up with your own:

• Starting all over again
• Changing jobs or careers
• Having an epiphany
• Changing your personal relationships
• Taking a chance on love
• Travel adventures
• New hobbies, volunteer work, or passions
• Overcoming challenges that caused you to rethink your life
• Helping someone else reboot his or her life
• Adjusting your attitude

Please remember, we no longer publish “as told to” stories. Please write in the first person about yourself or someone close to you. Do not ghostwrite a story for someone else unless you list that person as the author. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published in the “Comments” section of the submission form. If the story was published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it.

If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.

If you already submitted your story for this book, please do not submit it again. We will get confused and delete both. If you want to revise it, just let us know when we send you our initial request for your permission form.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO OUR WEBSITE. Select the Submit Your Story link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS JANUARY 30, 2014.

CONTACT US
Please do not reply to this email. You will NOT receive a response. For any further questions or correspondence, contact webmaster@chickensoupforthesoul.com.

Chicken Soup call-out: The Dog Did What?

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dog Did What?
101 Amazing Stories of Magic Moments, Miracles and… Mayhem

We are so excited about Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dog Did What? We know you’ll have many great stories for us and that you rejoice in the simple absurdities, funny habits, and crazy antics of your dogs. Our dogs make us smile every day, but sometimes they really outdo themselves. Whether they came up with the idea themselves, or you put them in a situation that caused them to do something unusual, we want to hear about it! Tell us what your dog did that made people want to ask again and again, “The Dog Did What?”

We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. We can’t wait to read all the heartwarming, inspirational, and hysterical stories you have about your dogs!

Here are a few suggested ideas but we know you will come up with your own:

• Has your dog ever done something that made you laugh out loud?
• Has your dog ever demonstrated a surprising degree of empathy or comprehension of a     situation?
• Have you ever taken a trip with your dog? Did s/he do something funny?
• If you have more than one dog, have they ever done something together that you can’t     believe?
• Does your dog do something that no other pet of yours has ever done?
• Does your dog act a certain way with a particular family member?
• Has your dog ever gotten stuck somewhere?
• Has your dog ever done something extremely embarrassing?
• What happened when you tried to train your dog?
• Have you ever brought your dog somewhere you really shouldn’t have?
• Do you sometimes think your dog is human?
• Has your dog done something heroic?

Please remember, we no longer publish “as told to” stories. Please write in the first person about yourself or someone close to you. Do not ghostwrite a story for someone else unless you list that person as the author. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published in the “Comments” section of the submission form. If the story was published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it.

If you submitted a story or a poem on our website to a book entitled “Stories About Dogs” within the last few months please do not submit that same story or poem to us again. We have it in our database. We have tweaked the title of our dog book just a little and we have extended the deadline date for submissions but other than that the database remains the same and your story is there and will be considered for the book.

If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO OUR WEBSITE. Select the Submit Your Story link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS JANUARY 5, 2014.

CONTACT US
Please do not reply to this email address. You will NOT receive a response. For any further questions or correspondence, contact webmaster@chickensoupforthesoul.com.