Sometimes A Writer Just Gets Lucky

Author: Renie Burghardt

My favorite writing genre is writing inspirational stories, written from personal experience. Over the past few years, my stories have been published in over 50 anthologies, which include the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Chocolate For Women, Cup of Comfort, numerous anthologies published by Guideposts, God’s Way books, Whispers from Heaven, God Allows U-Turns, Rocking Chair Reader, Soul Matters series, and many others. I have also written inspirational stories for magazines like Angels On Earth, Mature Living, Mature Years, Missouri Life, Reminisce, and others. (I’m a Dabblin’ Grand-Mum, after all!)

Like most serious minded writers, I have studied the genre I like to write for. I have read many stories published in successful anthologies. And, I always read the writers guidelines, follow the rules and word count, adhere to deadlines, and read the publication’s hints and suggestions. (It’s important for any writer who wants to be published to do all these things.)

Then I write my story and re-write it and re-write it again; until I am satisfied that my work is as good as I can make it. Finally, I submit my story, always saying a little prayer of thanks to the Lord for giving me the inspiration to tell my story in the best way I know how.

Finally, I muster up as much patience as I can (and the waiting requires a lot of patience) until I get word whether my story made it into the book or not.

Two thousand and five has been a good year for me. In fact, it has been an especially good year! After over a year of waiting, three of my stories made it into Chicken Soup for the Soul. There was the story in Chicken Soup for the Father and Daughter Soul, then Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul, and finally, one of my cat stories made it into Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul.

But wait!

I sent two stories for the Cat Lovers book. Did my second story get rejected? Well, not exactly...

First, I received a phone call from Laurie Hartman of Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprises. She told me that my second cat story, The Wild Beast, was chosen to be published on thousands of bags of Chicken Soup for the Soul Adult Cat Food!

Wow, really? I didn’t even know Chicken Soup made pet food.

The follow up email said in part:

"Dear Renie: Congratulations! Your story, The Wild Beast, has been selected by our licensee Diamond Pet Foods to inspire and uplift buyers of our Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul brand dog food. Diamond loved your story and felt that it perfectly exemplifies the warmth and comfort of the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand."

So, beginning in October of 2005, my cat story will be printed on thousands of cat food bags. The payment will be the same as for a story published in one of their books. Plus Diamond Pet Foods, who makes the Chicken Soup for the Soul pet food, already sent me a complimentary, 18 pound bag of the cat food.

Laurie Hartman’s email concluded with:

"Thank you for sharing your wonderful story with us and all the animal lovers who will soon read it! We are so excited to see it in print, and I know that you will be too."

Yes, indeed, I am very excited about this. And thinking about it, I have decided that sometimes a writer just gets lucky. Thank you, Lord!

After 50 published anthology stories, I’ve learned a few things along the way. If you’d like to see your name in an anthology book, try these tips for writing successful anthology stories:

Tell a personal story about something exciting, sad or funny that has happened to you.
Make the reader laugh, cry or feel inspired.
Put your emotions into the story; make the reader feel everything you felt. For example: Suppose you see a cat walking on the thin ice of a pond, how do you feel when the cat has fallen through the ice and is struggling to get out? As you try to rescue the cat, are you asking God to help you? Is your heart beating fast?
Make the reader feel your thankful sigh, at the end. For example: Once you have the cold, dripping cat in your arms, and are running with it back to the house, what goes through your mind? And how thankful are you that you were able to rescue it? Put all your feelings and emotions about the ordeal into your story.
Begin your story with an action or a problem that has to be resolved? Hook your reader with your first sentence. For example: My Russian Guardian Angel, published first in Angels on Earth, begins like this: "The first time I laid eyes on my Russian guardian angel, he was pointing a machine gun at us." The editor told me she was hooked instantly, by that first sentence.
The story should include lots of dialog. Your characters should express their feelings to help move the story along.
The story should end with a resolution of some kind, such as a lesson learned, a friendship formed, or a life saved.
And finally, always tell your story from your heart. Give your reader goose bumps, lots of emotion and drama, and make your reader feel as if he/she is there with you. If your reader comes away from your story feeling better about life, in general, you have written a successful story for the anthology market. Send it off and write another one.

The more you write and send off, the better your chances will get to be lucky, too.

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