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Poems, prayers, and prose are used on a non-exclusive basis: You retain all
rights. Please see end of section for terms.
We're grateful for every submission received.
The projects for which I'm seeking
submissions are listed alphabetically below. The two projects
most likely to sell quickly are EARTH BLESSINGS and TOASTS, so I
recommend submitting to them ASAP.
BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS: Inspiring Poems and
Prayers to Celebrate all Birthdays This book will feature selections
that can be used to celebrate birthdays of family members and
friends of all ages. Chapters include: Babies and Toddlers,
Children, Teens, Decade Birthdays (21st Birthday, 30th
Birthday, 40th Birthday, 50th Birthday, 60th
Birthday, 70th Birthday, 80th Birthday, 90th
Birthday, 100th Birthday), Friends, Relatives (husband,
wife, mother, father, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and
nieces and nephews), and Anytime Birthdays (general wishes for
anyone's birthday). Please keep in mind that the pieces need to be
universal; imagine the family down the street reading one of your
pieces for their own birthday celebrations. For tone of book, please
refer to Family Celebrations. I need lots of
submissions for all categories. Submission date is open.
EARTH BLESSINGS:
PRAYERS, POEMS, AND PROSE HONORING THE EARTH
Preliminary chapter
titles for EARTH BLESSINGS include: 1) Nature & the Environment; 2)
Honoring the Earth; 3) Healing the Earth; 4) Cycles of Life;
5) Love, Kindness & Compassion; 6) Living Simply; 7) Our
Children; 8) Honoring Animals; 9) Spirituality, Prayers &
Blessings; 10) Community & Worldly Concerns; 11) Praise &
Celebration; 12) Reflections; 13) Joy & Gratitude; and 14)
Inspiration.
I particularly need submissions for chapters printed in bold.
For desired spiritual
tone, refer to my book, Looking for God in All the Right Places
or the previous version of this book, Heal Your Soul, Heal
the World. “Green publishing” is popular right now and focuses
primarily on the nuts and bolts of how to improve the environment.
In contrast, EARTH BLESSINGS is a spiritual book that will reflect
upon the beauty of the earth and remind all of us to cherish the
earth. Two publishers have expressed interest in EARTH BLESSINGS.
Submission date is open.
EVERYDAY INSPIRATION™ Series
I’m creating a gift book series that will function as an
extended greeting card. One mini-book, Because I Love You, Mom,
will celebrate mothers; one will celebrate grandmothers; another
will celebrate the bond between sisters; and the last one will
celebrate the bond between friends. Your submissions should be
short (ideally 12 lines or less) because the book will have a
small trim size. The submissions need to be both universal
enough to appeal to someone other than your own relative or friend
and specific enough that the recipient feels the piece was
written for her or him. Your words should help nurture a strong bond
between the buyer and the recipient of the book. Please mark the
lower left-hand corner of your envelope, "Mothers," "Grandmothers," "Sisters," or
"Friends." Submission date is open.
FAMILY TRADITIONS: THE 100 BEST IDEAS FOR CREATING A LEGACY OF
LOVE Does your family have a certain tradition that you
feel is unique? Something that other families might appreciate
knowing about? Was there a fun or meaningful activity in your
childhood that brings back warm feelings? Here are some categories
of traditions to consider: weddings, anniversaries, new babies,
christenings, birthdays, graduations, family reunions, housewarmings,
memorial services, family vacations, and retirement, as well as
all of the holidays. You can also submit any idea not related
to the above categories, such as a mother/daughter or father/son
activity. The book will likely have the same trim size as Family
Celebrations. I am looking for prose submissions (not poetry), limited to approximately 180-word
selections
and ideally no longer than 360 words, which represents two pages
in the book. If you can limit your description to 180 words (one
page), so much the better! Submission date is open.
GARDEN BLESSINGS: POEMS, PROSE, AND PRAYERS
CELEBRATING THE GARDEN is actually a completed manuscript.
However, since the proposal has not yet sold, I’m opening the
project for added submissions. GARDEN BLESSINGS gives tribute to the
many ways that our gardens, and the process of gardening, enhance
our lives and create a sense of emotional well-being. It is both a
self-purchase and a gift book targeted for gardeners, garden
enthusiasts, landscape professionals, and environmentalists who
appreciate the value that gardens bring into our daily lives.
Chapters include: 1) The Garden; 2) Gardening; 3) The Gardener; 4)
The Seasons (related to gardening); 5) Planting & Harvesting; 6)
Flowers; 7) Fruits & Vegetables; 8) All Creatures (related to
gardening); 9) Reflections; and 10) Inspiration.
Submission date is open.
GIRLS NIGHT OUT: THE WISDOM OF WOMEN
(Previously titled A WOMEN’S BOOK OF POETRY FOR THE SOUL)
Over the past decade I’ve received countless amazing submissions
from female writers that never quite fit the particular theme of my
current project. These are poems and prose about womanhood, stages of life,
memories, and everything in between. I created this
book to feature breath-taking selections that simply would not fit
into one of my typical "inspirational books." I would love to add a few more
high-quality selections--poetry or prose. The content of
GIRLS NIGHT OUT is "edgier" than my
other books. Chapters include: 1) Our Bond; 2) Shared
Experiences; 3) Creativity; 4) Spirituality; 5) Love;
6) Beauty; 7)Heartache and Healing; 8) Aging Gracefully;
9) Partings; 10) Reflections; and 10) Inspiration.
I particularly need submissions for chapters
printed in bold. The submissions should not have an "I am woman, hear
me roar" tone, but more "this is my experience as a woman." The
collection will be for women to turn to when they need hope and
understanding. This book is geared to women forty and older. Please
see the description below for UNAPOLOGETIC WOMAN, which is geared to
women under forty. Submission date is open.
GOOD DOG! BAD DOG! FUNNY DOG! A compilation of "funny dog"
stories. Two publishers have
expressed interest in this project. At this early stage, I don't
have a word limit, so just send me what you have. My goal is to
create a book as humorous as Marley and Me by John
Grogan. Please put
"FUNNY DOG STORY" on the lower left-hand corner of your
envelope. Submission
date is open.
JOY
My editor at Andrews McMeel has expressed an interest
in a compilation about "joy." I have no added
information, so simply send me anything related to joy.
Submission
date is open.
MORE THAN JUST A DOG: Tributes
to Our Dearest Friends One publisher has expressed interest
in this idea. The title is a response to those who might have
said to you (or thought) upon your dog's death, "Well, she
was just a dog." At this early stage, I don't have a word
limit. I anticipate that most of the book will consist of
stories rather than poems or prayers. Please put "DOG TRIBUTE" on the lower left-hand
corner of your envelope. Submission
date is open.
PARENT BLESSINGS (previously titled
PARENT PRAYERS) is geared specifically
for parents and will have the same spiritual tone as BABY BLESSINGS.
The intention of the book is to provide insight, joy, and support
for parents throughout their parenting journey. Parents will read
PARENT BLESSINGS when they feel like celebrating the simple joys of
parenting and will also turn to the book for comfort and insight
when they feel discouraged in their role as a parent. The primary
market will be a gift book for new moms and dads. The secondary
market will be parents buying it for themselves for encouragement
and inspiration. The chapters include: 1) Pregnancy; 2)
Babies; 3) Toddlers; 4) Children; 5) Teens; 6) Leaving Home;
7) Adulthood; 8) Reflections; and 9)
Inspiration. Please avoid standard "Please help me be a better
parent" submissions. I particularly need submissions for
chapters printed in bold. As always, I appreciate freshness and
originality. The selections will reflect upon the spirituality of
parenting and day-to-day family life. Parents whose children have
passed beyond the first few chapters will enjoy the book for the
emotional recollection of the precious early years in a child’s life
and appreciate the later chapters that pertain to them.
Submission date is open.
TOASTS:
WORDS
for Every Occasion
Preliminary categories include: Anniversaries; Award
Presentations; Birthdays; Blessings; Bon Voyage Parties, Business
Events; Children; Class Reunions; Family; Family Reunions;
Fortune & Prosperity; Friends; General Toasts; Graces; Graduations;
Guests; Happiness; Health; Host and Hostess; Housewarming;
Memorial/Funeral Gatherings; New Babies & Christenings; New
Job; Patriotic Toasts; Retirement; and Wedding Toasts. Plus, Holiday
Toasts including New Years, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day,
April Fools’ Day; Passover, Easter, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day,
Father’s Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving,
Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. This is a new
project and HarperOne is VERY interested in publishing this book!
I need submissions for all
categories. Toasts
submitted should be short, about 4-6 lines. Submission date is
open.
UNAPOLOGETIC WOMAN: POEMS AND REFLECTIONS
The idea for this book came from a 20-something friend of mine.
She wanted a book that she could relate to and that would draw on
the popularity of the Andrews McMeel book Believing in Ourselves.
The preliminary chapters include: 1) Love; 2) Relationships; 3)
Ordinary Life; 4) Children; 5) Friendship; 6) Image; 7) Strength; 8)
Self-Discovery; 9) Heartache and Healing; 10) Reflections; and 11)
Inspiration. UNAPOLOGETIC WOMAN is a new
project, so I need submissions for all chapters. I picture a
smaller format for this book, so it would probably be best to keep
poetry submissions under 20 lines (including stanza breaks) and
prose pieces under 120 words. This book is geared to women under
forty but you do not need to be "under 40" to submit for this book.
Please see the description for GIRLS NIGHT OUT for a book
geared to women forty and older. Submission
date is open.
WHAT IS LOVE? This is a prose collection
of short thoughts, submitted by people of all ages, answering the
simple question, "What is love?" For those who are 19 and under,
please list your age. Adults: Feel free to ask this question to
children of all ages, then write and submit their answers. The
first book in the series will likely be selections written by
elementary school children. If you are a parent, an elementary school teacher
(or a parent volunteer),
I'd be happy to email you a handout that describes this project,
gives examples, and ideas about how to collect submissions.
Submission date is open.
365 BLESSINGS:
A Year
of Inspiration, Comfort, and Gratitude
(previously titled 2007 EVERYDAY BLESSINGS Calendar).
Sourcebooks published my 2006 EVERYDAY BLESSINGS Calendar. They have
decided not to publish a 2007 calendar because the market for
boxed calendars is "trending down." However, my agent thinks we
could take the same concept and make it a book. I
cannot pay a permission fee for this particular project, but you would receive one book for each
piece published. Since I need 300+ pieces for the book vs. 100+
pieces for one of my regular anthologies, your chances of being
published in this book are a good 300% higher than in one of my
other books. When writing submissions, picture a 365-day book with
the title "Everyday Blessings" - how would you like to be inspired
throughout the day? Keep your submissions to 24 lines or less
including stanza breaks. If your submission would work for a specific
date (such as a holiday) or seasonal match, please mention this in
your cover letter or attach a sticky note to your selection.
Submission date is open.
*TERMS: Terms are generally $25 + one
complimentary copy of the book for each piece published for one-time
rights. You retain all rights. If the book's advance is small, I
can't always guarantee $25/piece, but I do my best! At the minimum,
you will receive a complimentary book for each piece published.
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