HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN SOUP

I. GETTING STARTED

1. Identify a person who will function as the database administrator. He/she needs to be well

organized, be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel (or other similar software), Email and Internet.

• He/she will be the point person for story collection. Some of the responsibilities will entail compiling databases, being sure acknowledgments are sent and emails answered as well as backups of the data. It's ideal if this is the same person over the life of book development.

2. Identify someone who will function as the story editor (this may very well be the same person who maintains the databases).

• This person will read every story that comes in to determine whether it is worthwhile to send on for further review.

• The volume of stories you receive will depend upon the universe of potential contributors you have contacted and the effectiveness of your story call-out. In a typical Chicken Soup book, the story editor will read 1500-2000 stories and select about 250-300 for review by other readers. The final content of the book is chosen from that small group of stories.

• This person should be familiar with the market of the book and its demographics. They need to have word processing skills and some creative writing ability .They will do some light editing and interact with the contributors on re-writes to strengthen the story before it goes to anyone for review.

3. Identify a person, preferably a marketing person, who will handle all the writing of promotional copy, cover letters sent to potential contributors, email communications and press releases, the web site copy, chapter outlines, etc. A personal touch is needed as well as a consistent tone that resonates with your market.

4. Identify the people who will be evaluating the 250-300 stories your story editor feels have merit.

• Preliminarv reader panel.  Historically the preliminary reading panel will see and score about 250-300 stories in a 2-3 month period. Batches of 30 stories seem to work well.  This group should be small, 4-5 people, and it should include your story editor and co- author(s). Have each reader score the story according to guidelines you establish (see the example being used  in the US) and send the best 125-150 pieces on for more review.
• Secondary reader panel.  This second group of readers will be evaluating the 125-150 of the best pieces from the first group. The secondary reader panel should be a new group of 5-10 people. From their scores, select the top 100-125 stories.
• Final reader panel.  This group will choose the final content for the book, which is usually from 95-101 stories.

In addition to the scoring of each story , the comments these readers give you are important to consider in each stage of re-write on the stories.

5. Decide on the Title, Sub-title & cover design and use it to develop your story call-out material.

6. Determine 7-8 chapters for the book and write a brief description of each chapter. The final chapters may be different and fewer.  The content that comes in will shape what actually ends up being used, but you need to give people some guidelines to follow for what you're looking for in the book.

7. Develop your story call-out material which will be the basis for the solicitations you mail or email as well as for your website.

8. If you will be utilizing the Internet for your story collection, find a web designer and host for the website. A functional website will include:

• a home page
• about the authors bio page
• the chapters
• story guidelines
• story submit form page (optional)
• contact page for info or to send a story

II. FINDING STORIES - THE STORY CALL-OUT

1. Your marketing person and database administrator should begin compiling a contact database of potentia1 story contributors; professional writers who may have an interest or affinity for your book, influential media and organizations that can help spread the word about your project.

The database should include full name, address, email, phone, fax plus some kind of identifier you use to know whether this person is an individual, media, etc. It will become a vital source of information and continuously be updated and expanded throughout the project.  Once the book is published, it is also a source of potential leads for sales and marketing.

2. Develop your story call kit; which should include at least

• a cover letter introducing the co-authors and the book. It should direct people's attention to the other enclosures and your website

• a description of each chapter

• bios of the authors

• guidelines for the stories (see section IV)

3. Print and mail your story call kit to your contact database. Use email addresses whenever possible for story solicitations as well. It can reinforce your print solicitation very economically .

4. Document activities and interactions with contributors very well -especially with respect to editing.

5. Network: Issue press releases, post on bulletin boards and in news groups, get free listings, radio interviews -as much exposure for your story-call as possible, as quickly as possible

Continue to email and mail story call kits as you get more information on potential contributors. It's an ongoing process that really doesn't stop until you feel you have enough good material for the final reader's panel to evaluate.

III. EVALUATING WHAT YOU RECEIVE

The author/co-author(s) and publisher will always have the strongest affinity for good content, but the

readers you engage in this process will provide a time-tested method in evaluating material for a book that will appeal to as broad an audience as possible. The process of having three groups evaluate an ever- smaller collection of material has proven to work well over the life of the Chicken Soup series and we encourage you to try it.

Each person reading the material should work within the same guidelines for scoring. We use the following:

• .Ask your readers to read each story only once and mark their score as soon as they have read the material, while their 'gut reaction' is still fresh.
• Provide your readers with a list of the stories and authors they are evaluating and include a column to mark their score and make any comments.
• .Ask each reader to "score" based on this criteria :

QUALITIES OF A "10"

• .Inspires or encourages the reader.
• Evokes emotion and engenders empathy from the reader.
• Teaches a lesson by showing us the situation, not telling us what happened and what the lesson is supposed to be.
• Gives the reader a clear picture of the characters in the story through details.
• Is believable.
• Ends with a bang, not a whimper.

Scoring a story is somewhat subjective individuals will score a story differently, based upon their life experiences, preferences, etc. Readers should not worry about being 'objective'. The grade is determined by the readers’ reaction after they read the story. Readers can grade on the 1/4 point if they choose:

Example #1: You feel the story was more than a 9, but less than a 10, so you score the story a 9,25 or a 9,50, depending upon your enthusiasm for the story.

Example #2: The story you just read was over-the-top incredibly good. You can grade up to a 10,50. You can give this story a grade of 10,25, 10,50, depending upon how you feel.

Compile all the reader's story grades in the database and average them Drop the lowest or the highest score in averaging the scores when you get to the secondary and final readers level.

At each stage of evaluation, the stories that average at least 8,5 or higher are retained for the next round. When selecting the final set of stories use as many of the highest scoring stories, as your page count will

allow. Sequence them within chapters beginning and ending each chapter with your strongest material and alternating from a lower, mid to high score within the chapter.

IV.  SEASONING THE SOUP

Since most of the contributors to a Chicken Soup book are not professional writers, the vast majority of stories received are not chosen for publication. but those that are will follow these guidelines. Include the following information in your story call-out and on your web site so contributors have some idea of what a Chicken Soup story is

Recipe for Great SOUP Stories

• Take a non-fiction story about ordinary people doing ordinary or extraordinary things and fold in a beginnitig, a middle and a strong ending.
• Mix in a heaping cup of inspiration that facilitates change, teaches a lesson or illustrates a value.
• Gently add a simple, personal message that touches a reader's emotions like happiness, sadness, fun, excitement or one that affirms values such as honesty, hard work, kindness or generosity.
• .Do not overcook. You want to create and feel emotion, not talk about it.
• Season to taste. A great story has heart and something extra, an element that makes us all feel more hopeful, more connected, more thankful, more passionate and better about life in general.
• Like a great meal, a great story will leave you feeling satisfied.  It will elicit tears, laughter, goose bumps or any combination of the range of human emotions.
• Enjoy balanced portions, but if you have room for dessert, the most powerful stories are about people extending themselves, performing an act of love, service or courage for another person.

Writing a CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL Story

• Think of an exciting, sad or funny story about something that has happened to you that relates to your experiences in recovery. Be sure to introduce the character( s ). To honor desires for privacy and anonymity, names should be changed.

2. Tell your story in a way that makes the reader feel strong emotion. Use descriptive adjectives, describe details, describe how the characters feel.

3. The story should incorporate some action; perhaps you're solving a problem or describing a situation as it unfolded. Include dialogue, have the characters express their feelings throughout the conflict or situation.

4. Weave a tale, leave the reader guessing, anticipating more.

5. The story should end with a lesson learned, a positive change or a resolution to the problem. However, a good story should not require explanation or summarization of its message at the end. It should not leave the readers saying "So?"

What a CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL Story IS NOT

• .A sermon, an essay or eulogy, term paper, thesis, letter or journal entry.
• About politics or controversial issues or a testimonial stating the obvious.
• A magazine article or story written in a journalistic style or interview format.

V. STORY SPECIFICATIONS

Give potential contributors as much information as you can in your story call-out and on your website. You can quickly become overwhelmed by questions once the word gets out about the project and it is helpful to have given everyone the following basic information.

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL Story Specifications

1. Deadline for story submissions is________________________________________ .

2. How you prefer submissions be sent using

Website submission (if you have chosen to incorporate this into your website design )

Emailing (highly recommended since it requires a copy and paste to save as a document, without having to retype the piece. )

Faxing or Mailing ( this will require typing or copying the piece for distribution to readers for evaluation. )

3. Stories should be non-fiction and range in length between 500-1800 words. Allow people to submit more than one story

4. If someone is not the original author of the piece, but are submitting a piece they would like you to consider, have them provide information on where they saw the material and/or who the original author is. If that information is not known, ask them to refrain from submitting the material as you will be unable to get permission to publish from the copyright holder.

5. Submissions will not be returned, so ask contributors not to send the originals.

6. Submissions must be typed.

What Happens to a  Submission?

Give people an idea of what the process entails. We acknowledge every story received with something like this:

« Each story received will be evaluated by several groups of readers that include people interested in the topic, professional editors and writers and people who have worked on previous Chicken Soup books. The readers "score" each story for how it makes them feel; its humor or emotional content, interesting development of characters and story line, the values taught or lessons learned. This process will take several months.

In a typical Chicken Soup project thousands of stories are submitted and it is impossible to notify everyone whether or not the piece will be published. Only writers of stories being considered for publication will be notified and their permission to publish will be requested at that time. »

Compensation

Let contributors know how you intend to compensate them.

Most contributors will be happy to receive for free 2 or 3 copies of the new book which contains the stories they have provided plus maybe a collection of some existing Chicken Soup for the Soul titles.

The names of the contributors along with some description should appear at the end of the new book as they do in the original Chicken Soup for the Soul titles.

Happy contributors will make happy promoters of the new book.