Laurie Winslow Sargent

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  • Writing for Chicken Soup for the Soul

    Writing for Chicken Soup for the Soul

    Authors, one way to get your true personal stories published is through Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC. Here’s a list of benefits in writing for that company, plus details about a few prolific Chicken Soup story writers.

    Chicken Soup for the Soul books with stories by Laurie Winslow Sargent

    A Chicken Soup for the Soul story is an inspirational, true story about ordinary people having extraordinary experiences. It is a story that opens the heart and rekindles the spirit. ”  ~ chickensoup.com

    I recently was published for the fifth time by this company, including back when the imprint was HCI (Health Communications, Inc.) with Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield. Now CCS (Chicken Soup for the Soul, Inc.) is headed up by Amy Newmark.

    However, I “ain’t nuthin’ ” compared to other prolific Chicken Soup writers in my one small North Carolina critique group. Our group has so many published stories (29 stories, so far, with more in the works) our group has been dubbed “The Chicken Coop”.

    The decided winner so far, in number of published stories from our group, is Nancy Emmick Panko with 14 CSS stories. The other 15 stories are spread out among five more of us: Terry Hans, Barbara Bennett, Dea Irby, JoAnne Check, and myself. (I’ll share a list of their stories in a moment and links to books they were in.) But part of that success is our group’s familiarity with what “makes” a Chicken Soup story, and what doesn’t.

    Be sure to read at the chickensoup.com website their writer’s guidelines for submission. They receive so many submissions, competition can be tough. In our group we’ve also submitted other stories that didn’t make it. Only 101 stories are chosen per book, after many other submissions are weeded out so it’s truly an honor to be included. The stories go through selection rounds until it gets down to the final 101.

    Here are some advantages to writing for this publisher:

    • It’s a great way to be in a book without having to write a whole book, and you get into print fairly quickly.
    • Author bios at the end of the book are generous, and can include author book titles and contact info.
    • Payment is nice: $200 for stories (up to 1200 words long). They also currently send 10 free copies of the book, plus discounts on more to sell if you like.
    • The company is great about suggesting ways to promote the books and engaging their authors in that. One current way is through Twitter parties. The also have a digest just for their authors to spotlight how some are helping promote the books.
    • It’s a great way to get a story of yours visible by many more readers than one of your own books might generate — stories you want to encourage as many people as possible. (This has been my favorite benefit, because I love to share stories about amazing ways God has answered prayers.)
    • It builds your author credits and helps readers become familiar with your author name.

    How to submit to Chicken Soup for the Soul:

    Check out Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Possible Book Topics page with current titles the publisher is seeking submissions for. It’s kept updated, with deadlines and usually has 3-5 books in the works. There’s an additional tab to submit your story right there online. (Edit it first –maybe with your own critique group!)

    But WAIT! Bookmark this page so you can check out these Chicken Soup titles, some you may already own, and read stories by my group members who I’m so proud of.

    By the way, another book, The Ultimate Dog Lover (2008) was a spin-off book by HCI, so not technically a Chicken Soup book. It’s worth mentioning because another terrific thing this publisher does is send requests to their existing authors for more material. Sometimes that’s an email with more detail about needs for upcoming books. However, in this case, it was a request for photos. My beloved dog Nikki earned a full-page in the book; her photo happened to be on my computer desktop the day I got the email request. Very serendipitous.

    You might enjoy our joint Bio at the end of that book, which became its own story:

    Laurie Winslow Sargent is an author specializing in family play–including play with her four-year-old miniature American Eskimo Mix, Nikki. Nikki loves soccer (catching the ball in the air with her front paws, dribbling, and blocking on command) and bounce-passing a basketball. She wipes her feet on a mat (for a treat!) and hops into her crate when she hears the AOL “Good-bye!”. Best of all, when her family returns from work or school, Nikki greets them with and excited “Hi!” The sound initially occurred as a yawn, that coincidentally sounded like the word.

    That AOL reference is a clue to how long we ladies have been writing!

    Your turn! Write On.

    Laurie Winslow Sargent

  • 1918: A Day She Beat the Boys

    1918: A Day She Beat the Boys

    IMG-3222
    1918 Swimsuit Styles. Image: Library of Congress

    In 1918, Gladys was not to be deterred from winning the race against the frat boys, so she ditched her cumbersome ladies’ “swim dress”.

    Gladys, whose diary entry One Less Crocodile (one of her jungle adventures) I previously posted, was always gutsy and athletic.  In high school (1911-1915) she played basketball and other sports, and at the University of Washington in Seattle (until 1919) she studied physical education.

    One of her favorite college stories was about the day she beat the boys in a swimming race. My hubby guesses the race was at the Montlake Cut channel, but my bet is on Green Lake (equidistant from the frat and sorority houses).

    Screenshot 2020-04-28 at 12.02.37 PM
    Google Image Green Lake Park, Seattle WA

    Women’s swimsuits in 1917-1918, called “swimming dresses” had too much fluff to be practical. So naturally, Gladys being Gladys, put on a men’s tank-style suit so she could race the boys.

    I suspect many of her Phi Mu sorority sisters thought that scandalous, but men’s swimsuits then covered more than many women’s suits do nowadays.

    Gladys went on to teach P.E. and Zoology at Roosevelt Middle School Junior High in San Diego.  She then lived in India for seven years as an expat with husband Ken. She enjoyed spending one year supervising physical education programs in various Indian schools, assessing Phys Ed teaching methods. She also swam with her toddler in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, when the family lived in the Andaman Islands.

    Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea
    Google Earth Image: Andaman Islands, India

    Gladys never stopped swimming, even in her 90s! Her love for the sport has been passed down to her children, grandchildren (including me), great-grand children (my kids) and now her great-great-grandchildren (my grands) — with swimming instructors, lifeguards, and even a stunt-woman in the family.

  • A Naughty Baby Elephant

    When elephant Kitty gave birth to the first baby elephant born in Nedangayam lumber camp in S. Malabar India, Kitty’s Baby became a beloved pet to all — until she outgrew her welcome.

    Image by Dusan Smetanta

    Gladys Gose Pearce, October 1926

    Dear Diary,

    I was told a story about when logging elephant Kitty gave birth to the first elephant baby born in Nedangayam, to great excitement.

    It automatically became “Kitty’s Baby” and was the pet of the camp. The Indian Forest Guards encouraged it to reach its little trunk into their pockets for bites of sugarcane. The old shopkeeper fed it sweetmeats when it favored him with a visit. Kitty was docile and benevolently watched the spoiling of her offspring.

    When dry season came and fodder in the vicinity insufficiently sustained the herd, the elephants were moved to greener pastures. When they returned with the rains, Kitty’s Baby had grown enormously but had not forgotten her old friends. She’d again feel in a pocket for sugarcane. But if there was none, a resounding tug tore off the pocket and occasionally part of the coat, to the consternation of the wearer. The friendly tug-of-war games in which many had previously engaged with her now became dangerously unequal.

    Worse yet, when she called on the shopkeeper, she had grown too wide for the doorway but went in anyway, taking the door frame and part of the wall with her! The shopkeeper was in a quandary. What should he do? He finally moved his shop to a new location, where he hoped Kitty’s Baby would not find him.

    Since then, no one has played with baby elephants.

    [Excerpt from Tigers, White Gloves and Cradles, coming soon. Copyright 2020, Laurie Winslow Sargent]

    This post is from a collection of diary entrees and letters written in the 1920s by Gladys Gose Pearce, an American expat. Her husband J. Kenneth Pearce (Ken), a logging engineer from Seattle WA, worked in British Raj India for ten years. After a jungle honeymoon touring elephant lumber camps, the couple lived in Ooty, Madras, and the Andaman Islands.

  • 1929: Dearest Funny Baby

    1929: Dearest Funny Baby

    Kenneth — 91 years ago — wrote this note to his wife and new child when all were confined to home. He was ill, so couldn’t be in the same room with them. He “mailed” it from one end of their house to the other. Ken and Gladys, Americans, were expats in Ooty, India and their home called Braemar.

    Southeast Corner of Braemar
    6:25 PM, to Pamela’s Mother
    N.E. Corner of Braemar

    Dearest Funny Baby,

    You know I’d give you anything on earth you wanted, so here’s a letter since you wanted one.

    But what can I say? Except that I love you, and you already know that, and besides no letter can tell you that as my lips and arms and all can.

    As to what I’m thinking, my mind has been more or less of a blank the last two days. I know you and the baby are getting along alright and that’s the most important thing, and I miss you enough without thinking a lot about you and then missing you more.

    The Dr. says there is nothing wrong with my lungs and I’ve had not fever today (only had 99 degrees yesterday, which is nothing for me) so I hope to be OK tomorrow. With acres of kisses and oceans of love,

    Your very own, Kenneth

    [Excerpt from the historical memoir Tigers, White Gloves and Cradles, coming soon. Copyright 2020, Laurie Winslow Sargent]