© 2017 Andrew Breeden
Part of my job as acquisitions editor for The Upper Room magazine is to travel across the country teaching workshops. 
The approach I take is pretty cut and dry. I thought I would take a similar approach here. For anyone interested in writing for The Upper Room, you will find below what we are looking for, how to write it, and how to submit it.
The Upper Room has more than three million readers across the globe. Our daily devotional guide is published worldwide in 75 editions, translated into 33 languages, and reaches over 100 countries. Each meditation we publish is written by one of our readers, someone just like you. Meditations should be 250-300 words in length and written at about the eighth-grade reading level.
We like for each meditation to contain three elements: a personal story, a connection to scripture (theology), and universal application for the reader. It is the application, or “takeaway,” that is most often missing from the submissions we receive. When you are writing your meditation, think about what you want the reader to take away from your piece. What do you want the reader to do? What insight did you glean from your experience that can be applied to the reader’s life?
As you think about submitting to The Upper Room, I would encourage you to look over our writer’s guidelines. I also recommend reading some of the meditations in our archives that we have published in previous issues. This tends to help writers—new writers especially—get a sense of the form and style of writing we typically publish. The one piece of advice that I give to writers, whether they have been writing for a long time or are just starting out, is to read what you want to write. Whether it’s The Upper Room or some other publication, familiarize yourself with it before submitting your work.
When you are ready to submit, use our online submissions page. Click “Submit a Meditation” and the online submissions form will walk you through the steps.
At The Upper Room, we count it a special joy to publish the first piece a writer has ever sold. We welcome all submissions, and we are always looking for new names. We look forward to reading your work! Moreover, we are always happy to answer questions or help you in any way we can, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Happy writing!
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Andrew Garland Breeden is acquisitions editor of 
The Upper Room magazine in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a graduate of Lipscomb University and Vanderbilt University Divinity School, both in Nashville, Tennessee. He lives in Charlotte, Tennessee.
Dear Mr. Breeden, I apologize for this not exactly being the format I had hoped for to contact you. However, after much searching this seemed to be the best alternative. I felt compelled to reach out and let you know how very much I appreciate your writing of the Prayer Workshop in the Upper Room Devotional. I have been a loyal reader of your articles, being one of the highlights of the magazine for me and one I greatly look forward to with each new issue. I appreciate what seems to be the careful introspection that goes into your writing and have often come away from your piece inspired and with renewed vigor to face my faith journey. In the world of social media there is a lot of negativity, I felt compelled to reach out to you and offer you my thanks and appreciation for sharing your talent with the rest of us, and to let you know that you are touching the lives of others. God Bless and I wish you continued success in the future. Sincerely, Mrs. Cherie M. Heimberger Maryland
Dear Andrew,
hope this gets to you! I am in Arkansas, but I can’t just jump over the river and a few mountains, at least not yet. Not a super cat. Between January 2021 and Feb 2021, just day before yesterday, in the Upper Room, you wrote of the the three Sillies and referenced the book of Numbers. I am so happy and thankful to you for writing all that exactly the way you said it! I needed to hear that VERY THING this very week, and pray nearly every day that I will not fall to the level of the Sillies and be a victim of my own stupid fears. Oh, I am so glad you wrote that piece for the Upper Room. I thought of it this morning when I first awoke. It is a necessity for me now to read the Upper Room every day and to read further and deeper into the scriptures that your writers provide as guidance. It is the Holy Spirit working through you and your writers’ stories, and it is a very good way to receive information from God, and it sometimes sounds like, “Uh, yeah. For your information,” coming from the Lord. Thank you for providing guidance for people like me who need help every day, who do not want to be a silly. Thanks to you from me and my friends at Amboy United Methodist Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas!