A N E X C L U S I V E M O N T H L Y C O M M U N I Q U É F O R O U R W R I T E R S

INNER CIRCLEthe

INSPIRATION for

ritersW

Here’s a wonderful story about how two women met and became friends because of one of our books!

Jean Ferratier wrote an uplifting story for Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive about accepting her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease and even embracing the new perspective it gave her on enjoying life in the moment. Kathleen Wheeler read the book and contacted Jean when she realized they both lived in Springfield, Illinois.

They corresponded and eventually met at an author lecture. And then the two friends submitted stories for Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregivers, Kathleen about her own mother’s Alzheimer’s disease and Jean about how she and her ex-

husband cared for their daughter together after she broke both arms in a work accident.

We had no idea they knew each other, but we are so happy that we selected both their stories for the book!

Jean and Kathleen had a book signing together at their local Barnes & Noble in March and, as you can see from the photos, they were quite a draw. Congratulations to both of you, and thanks!

M A Y 2 0 1 2

~Mark Twain

A Note from Your Publisher

Truth is stranger than Fiction,

but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities;

Truth isn’t.

Your publisher, Amy Newmark

Kathleen H. Wheeler (left) and Jean Ferratier

Dialogue can be really boring to read! Here’s an example:

Dan called and said, “Hi Kathy.”“Hi Dan,” I said.“Would you like to go to the movies with me?” Dan asked.“Yeah.”“Okay, why don’t I pick you up at eight o’clock then?”“That would be great. See you then,” I said.

Here is what we would rather read:

Dan called and invited me to a movie. He was picking me up at eight.

Editor’s Tips

Counting Our Blessings

Changing the world one story at a time™

Being a contributor has been a blessing in my life because through

my stories about depression and stuttering published in Chicken Soup

for the Soul: Find Your Happiness, I have been given a platform in

which to share my experiences to hopefully help someone.~Lisa McManus Lange

Being a Chicken Soup contributor (just sold my seventh story) has been an enormous blessing to me! After my second story, I went down to my local newspaper office and requested a weekly column. They hired me right away, and I’m

convinced they were impressed by the Chicken Soup for the Soul details on my résumé.

~Terrie Todd

Being a Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor has been a blessing

because it brought me into contact and conversations with people I

probably never would have connected with... Just chatting with other dog

lovers and Christmas celebrants was rewarding. Books are still a great way

to make a connection.~Janet Hartman

I have been backpacking around the world for more than two years, and as you might imagine, funds were low. I was hovering painfully close to

that magic number (representing my start-up costs) in my bank account. I wasn’t ready to

return, but how was I going to continue? That afternoon, Amy sent me an e-mail saying that my story, ironically about money, had been selected. I could stay in Nicaragua at least another month. Then I found other ways. My Chicken Soup for

the Soul book now travels with me, giving inspiration to fellow travelers.

~JC Sullivan

More grateful words from our contributors about how Chicken Soup for the Soul has made them feel blessed.

When I mention that I am a Chicken Soup writer, eyes light up and people are

impressed. Instant friendships are formed.~Judy Lee Green

How not to usedialogue

We received this festive Easter photo from Donna Teti, who held a book signing recently at her neighborhood Barnes & Noble in Exton, Pennsylvania and plans to do another one on May 5th. Donna sold 29 copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Messages from Heaven and 7 copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Book of Miracles.

Donna reports: “A moment that stands out for me that day is meeting a 60-year-old woman named Electra who walked over to me with a cane and an oxygen mask on... she is suffering from cancer. She could barely speak but her smile matched her name. She told me she loves Chicken Soup books and that she writes a journal.”

When contributor Carol Forrest was diagnosed with breast cancer, she looked to her idol, Canadian professional golfer Lorie Kane (a 4-time winner on the Ladies Professional Tour) for inspiration. In 2007, Carol’s husband John arranged a meeting with Lorie, who brought Carol along with her inside the ropes, going above and beyond to make Carol feel welcome. Carol wrote a story about this day, “A Stroke of Inspiration,” for Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada.

Since then, Lorie and Carol have stayed in touch, and at a recent tournament Carol was able to give Lorie a copy of the book, thanking her for her kindness.

A Golfer Gives Back

Carol (left) with Lorie.

Shawnelle and four of her five boys

Five Sons, Five Stories

Baskets of Books

Donna Teti (left) with her aunt, Bette Zencak

Shawnelle Eliasen is a busy lady, with four sons at home and one away at college. She homes teaches three of the boys, volunteers, and works as a freelance writer as well. We have published 16 of her stories in the last year and a half, and we noticed that she has five stories in our May books: one in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Here Comes the Bride, one in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Boost Your Brain Power!, one in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to Back Pain!, and two in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Married Life!

When will I hear if my story is accepted for publication? Do you send rejection notices?

We receive thousands of submissions for each book so we do not send rejection notices. You

will usually hear if your story has been accepted two months before the scheduled on-sale date, which you can find on our website under Coming Soon, or by checking the websites of online booksellers such as Amazon or barnesandnoble.com.Please do not use the submission deadline as any indication of when the book may be published. Sometimes we are on a tight schedule and are still reading stories right up to the time we go to the printer, even if the stories

were submitted a year or two earlier. In addition, even if your story doesn’t appear in the book that you submitted it for, you may eventually get an e-mail from us asking if we can publish it in a completely different book!If your story is selected, you will be notified by e-mail and asked to sign a permission form. After you sign that form, you will receive another e-mail asking you to approve any edits that we have made, and also the quote at the beginning of the story.

AQ&

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FUN FACTSabout

Chicken Soup for the Soul Health!

We have a variety of digital catalogs you can download!

We are no longer printing a paper catalog. We have gone digital and it gives us the flexibility to mix and match our books and make a variety of digital catalogs configured by release date, topics, and seasons. Take a look and feel free to download and pass on whatever you’d like. You may see your books in more than one catalog, so have fun!

http://www.chickensoup.com/cs.asp?cid=catalogsDid you know...

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Hello to a Better Body!

Weight Loss and Fitness for Women

Over 50

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to Stress

Manage Your Problems, Big and Small, Every Day

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to Back Pain!

How to Handle Flare-Ups, Injuries, and

Everyday Back Health

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Boost Your Brain Power!

You Can Improve and Energize Your Brain at

Any Age

The first four books from our Harvard Medical School series go on sale May 22nd in print and e-book format