© 2020 Tracy Crump
What a treat to interview Amy Newmark, author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series! Marylane and I started this newsletter with just nine subscribers at our first Chicken Soup for the Soul workshop in 2008—the same year Amy acquired the company.
Amy gave me so much great information to share (along with some tips you won’t find online!) that I’m going to break my own rule of limiting articles to 400 words. In fact, we’ll split the article between two months. Tracy
Q: Amy, what is the most important thing to keep in mind when writing for CSFTS? What do you look for in a good story?
A: Write your story as if you were sitting across the table from your best friend having coffee. Use a friendly, conversational tone. Think of it as oral storytelling, only on paper. End your sentences with prepositions—that’s how you would tell it. Make it funny or make it emotional, maybe include a huge milestone, but don’t make it generic. Say, “This is how it was for me.”
When editing stories for our books, I delete so many first paragraphs. Either the writer is clearing his throat or thinks he has to tell us what he’s going to say, what he wants to say, and then what he just said. It’s not an essay. We talk about this in the story guidelines we list online [under Books—Submit Your Story—Guidelines]. We also say to make us feel something—I want to tear up, giggle, be surprised. I want to think, “I need to go tell this story to my husband.” Entertain me. Make me want to share your story with someone.
Q:With Internet use tending toward quick reads, do shorter stories stand a better chance than long ones if both are within the 1200-word limit?
A: We’re okay with 1200 words and may even occasionally go over a little if the story merits it, but I’ve found that a lot of time writers are saying the same thing over and over. We all need editing—even I have to ask my staff to look over things I’ve written to see if I’m repeating myself. We can’t see it in our own writing.
Stay true to the central mission of your story. If a paragraph doesn’t advance the story, it’s just a sidebar. Delete it. We do want a more journalistic approach in that we want to know the who, what, when, and where, but I can tell right away if someone has just taken a creative writing class. You end up with a lot of fluff. Take out details that aren’t necessary. If you tell me the child had blue eyes and blond hair and I’m surrounded by family with olive skin and brown eyes, you lose me. Stay with universal emotions that everyone can relate to.
ED. NOTE: Next month, we’ll look at Amy’s take on:
- What she doesn’t want to see in a story
- Most common reasons for rejection
- And what about those deadlines?
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Amy Newmark is the author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Since 2008, she has published more than 160 new books, most of them national bestsellers in the US and Canada. Amy is credited with revitalizing the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand, which has been a publishing industry phenomenon since the first book came out in 1993. Follow Amy on Twitter @amynewmark. Listen to her free podcast, The Chicken Soup for the Soul Podcast.
