DRAFT Contributor Communique SEPTEMBER 2016.pages

A N E XC L U S I V E M O N T H LY C O M M U N I Q U É F O R O U R W R I T E R S
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A Note from Your Publisher
I’ve been busy mailing out copies of my new book, Simply Happy, which goes on sale in a
few weeks. It’s a different kind of book for me, because instead of editing 101 stories
written by other people, I wrote this book from scratch myself ! It’s my first “solo” effort.
The book talks about the crash course in Chicken Soup for the Soul wisdom and advice
that I took when we bought the company in 2008. I read more than 100 of the old books
—10,000+ stories—and they had quite an impact on me. Since then, I’ve read tens of
thousands more, and I’m a changed person—happier, more grounded, more productive,
less judgmental, and a lot wiser, I hope.
Simply Happy shares what I’ve learned, with dozens of easy-toimplement tips that can make anyone happier. This is my pay-itforward attempt to share the Chicken Soup for the Soul wisdom and
advice that I have learned from all of you.
Usually we have 101 people doing PR for our books, but in this case
it’s just me. So I’m looking for “influencers” among our writers—
people who will talk about the book on their blogs, post a review on
Amazon and BN.com on October 4th when the book officially goes on
sale, include the book in their newspaper columns, share it on
Facebook and other social media, etc.
So if you have a blog, a book review column, access to the press, more than 1,000 social media followers,
your own TV or radio show, or any other kind of following that will help get the word out, I’d be happy to
send you a free review copy. Send your name, mailing address in the U.S. or Canada, and phone number
to webmaster@chickensoupforthesoul.com. Your busy publisher, Amy Newmark
@amynewmark
When I write, I share a little piece of my soul. And
nothing makes me happier than giving back to the world
that has already given me so much.
~Racquel Narciso
INSPIRATION for
W riters
Always there for you
®
Lots of Very Cool Coverage in the Media
We’re getting lots of media attention these days. In addition to all the appearances by our contributors (see
the next page for a few examples), Amy is doing a lot of PR, and she’s joined these days by Deborah
Norville, the host of Inside Edition, who is the
coauthor of our lastest book, Chicken Soup for the
Soul: The Power of Gratitude.
Amy was interviewed recently by Parade magazine
where she talked about what inspired Chicken Soup
for the Soul: The Power of Gratitude. She also talked
about Simply Happy ahead of its October 4th onsale date. To read the article, click here.
Amy also was interviewed on WVIT NBC TV in
Hartford, Connecticut about both books and
how to incorporate the power of gratitude into
your life. We don’t have a link, but here’s a photo!
Publishers Weekly, the leading magazine of the
bookselling industry, reviewed Simply Happy and Amy, who had been nervously awaiting the review, was
thrilled. We’re allowed to quote 25 words from the review, so here are 25! “This compilation of lessons
from a Wall Street investment banker turned self-help author and publisher will enrich the lives of its
readers… Sensible and empowering…”
Coauthor Deborah Norville will also be making the circuit to talk about Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power
of Gratitude. Make sure you check out Inside Edition this week to see a feature on the book. You’ll also see
Deborah talking about the book on Good Day New York, WFTS in Tampa, and KNTV in Las Vegas.
Watch Home & Family on the Hallmark Channel the third week of September to see Amy talking about the
Gratitude book and Simply Happy, and then watch Amy on Good Day LA on October 4th. More TV to come
after that, too!
You can also listen to an interesting conversation that Amy and Deborah had about how to incorporate
gratitude into your life by clicking here for that episode of the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast.
The “Next Big Thing”
You’ve probably seen articles or heard about coloring books for adults. Well,
here’s the “next big thing” in publishing—guided journals! And we’re at the
forefront, with the new Chicken Soup for the Soul Guided Journal. It’s a fun
combination of Chicken Soup for the Soul stories, inspirational quotes and
photos, and journal pages that you fill in with observations about yourself,
your goals, and key words and phrases that are important to you. There are
also pages for personal artwork and doodling. The $9.99 journal goes on sale
September 13th. You’ll be able to find it on newsstands and in magazine
sections, or you can order it online at OnNewsstandsNow.com. You can also
listen to Amy’s podcast with Tony Romando, CEO of Topix Media Lab,
which designed the jour nal, starting on Se ptember 16 th at
www.chickensoup.podbean.com.
Your Recent Book Signings!
Aimee DuFresne (pictured left above)
appeared on Virginia This Morning in
August in Richmond, Virginia. Aimee
talked about Chicken Soup for the Soul: The
Joy of Less. That same day, Aimee hosted
a book signing at the Fountain Bookstore
in Richmond. Click here to watch the
segment on CBS. Aimee did a great job!
Dynamic contributor Kay Presto hosted a book signing at
Barnes & Noble in Montclair, California. She autographed
copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of America and
Chicken Soup for the Coffee
Lover’s Soul. “I talked to
every customer I could,”
Kay said. “They were
great and pleased to hear
that the book was helping
veterans through the Bob
Woodruff Foundation.”
In the photo at right, Kay
(in white) is signing a copy
of Chicken Soup for the Soul:
The Spirit of America for
Bill and Mary Anne
Cortus.
Contributors Jeanie Jacobson, Kim Stokely, and Lee Warren
(pictured left to right) joined other writers at the Ralston Library’s
Author Extravaganza in Nebraska. The event celebrated National
Book Lover Day and Operation Paperback. A tub of books was
collected and donated to Operation Paperback, an organization that
sends books to American troops overseas.
“I shared about the podcasts and Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Hidden
Heroes,” Jeanie said. “I also shared about how a portion of the
revenues are donated to charitable organizations. That’s a big reason
I’m excited to be part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul family!”
Good friends Christie Coombs and Michele Christian
(pictured right), hosted a book signing fundraiser at Trucchi’s
Supermarket in Abington, Massachusetts. Christie’s story is
published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of America.
Michele has four stories total published in Chicken Soup for the
Soul: It’s Christmas, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Matters, and
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Twins and More.
Christie and Michele raised over $600 from the event for the
Jeffrey Coombs Memorial Foundation. The foundation was
created in response to the incredible outpouring of support
Christie and her family received after her husband was killed
on American Airlines Flight 11 in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Christie and her three children wanted to find a way to “pay
it forward.” The foundation has assisted numerous families
facing challenging medical and financial circumstances as well
as providing college scholarships to Abington students.
We’re Looking for Your Stories about Dreams!
We’re officially doing another book about dreams, premonitions, and
“synchronicities” in 2017, and we’re looking for your stories!
Sometimes magic happens in your life. Perhaps you had a dream that revealed a
truth or a course of action to you. Maybe you met someone at just the right time
and you couldn’t believe the coincidence. Or you had a premonition that
changed your behavior and saved you or a loved one from disaster or created
something new and good in your life.
We’re collecting stories for a second book on this topic, following our bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul:
Dreams and Premonitions. Share your stories about the amazing things that have happened in your own life.
The deadline for submissions was May 31st but it has been extended to November 30, 2016 because we are
not publishing the book till Fall 2017. Click here to submit your story and read our story guidelines.
FUN
FACTS
Did you know
that people are
listening to our
podcast all over
the world?
We hope you’ve been able to tune in to our podcasts with our publisher, Amy
Newmark. New episodes are posted every weekday, and once they are up, they
are available forever, always for free. We’ve already had almost 600,000
downloads of the podcast!
We have listeners in almost every country. Our top five countries for
listeners are: USA (71%), Canada (6%), Phillipines (3%), India (2%), and
Australia (2%).
The Monday–Thursday podcasts focus on one or two Chicken Soup for the
Soul stories and last about five minutes. On Fridays, Amy
brings in a special guest from the Chicken Soup for the Soul
family, often a celebrity, for an interesting 15-minute chat.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Podbean, or other podcast apps. Click here to
listen to all of the latest podcasts online or go to www.chickensoup.podbean.com.
Another easy way to get the podcasts every day is to sign up for our newsletters. Each
newsletter includes a description of the latest podcast and a play button to click on so that you
can listen on your computer, tablet, or cell phone. To get the daily newsletter or any of our
weekly newsletters, sign up here!
Last year we were able to buy
b o o k s d i r e c t ly f r o m t h e
Chicken Soup for the Soul
office in Connecticut. Are
those books still available for
holiday shopping?
Absolutely, and with a bonus gift
now! We still have too many books in our storage
room, so you can buy any six of them for $7.50
each. That’s $45 for six books. We’ll ship them
free in the U.S. by Priority Mail, and we’ll include
a surprise Christmas gift for you as well!
We can fit as many as four of our cute hardcover
Christmas books
in the box as part
of your six titles,
so you can even
order those.
They’re the
f a n c y, “ g i f t y ”
ones (at right)
that we made for
Walmart and Barnes & Noble.
Contact blomonaco@chickensoupforthesoul.com
to see if the titles you want are available and to
pay via PayPal, which now accepts credit cards.