Having our own book published is a dream for most, if not all, writers. But I’ve heard the advice
a few times about the benefits of writing short pieces first or also. At the InScribe Fall
Conference 2022, I chatted with our keynote speaker, Grace Fox. She shared a number of things
with the group about the benefits of writing those short pieces and gave examples from her own
personal experience. One of the things I spoke to her about was using what we’ve written and
recycling it to different markets.

What would that look like for me? What could it look like for you? I have written short stories
and had them published in eight Chicken Soup for the Soul books over the years. At least one of
these stories fell into the category Grace Fox talked about. I took one part of my book, Amee’s
Story, and expanded on it to submit to Chicken Soup. It was not a copy and paste from the book,
which they didn’t want, but it elaborated on some bullying issues Amee faced. Grace told me this
is what she meant when she said to break up books or rework short pieces and resubmit to other
publications such as anthologies and magazines.

It gave me time to think of what else I could pull out of something like Amee’s Story since it is a
memoir. Could parts of it be packaged and shared in other ways? What would I gain by doing
that?

Here are some of the tips and reasons I learned at the conference:

• More people will read it than the number you can market the book to.
• There won’t be any extra costs for publishing, printing, and shipping.
• You’ll work with professional editors and learn tips and techniques to improve your
  writing.
• There’s usually a payment involved.
• It can open other doors to share your writing and your story through interviews, blog
  posts, and speaking engagements.
• Publishing credits.

One example from my personal experience has been writing devotionals for The Upper Room.
This magazine offers great tips on their website for writing a devotional in the style they are
looking for. One thing they want the writer to keep in mind is that their piece, if it is accepted,
will be translated into many languages. So, you need wording and content that lends itself to be
understood in different cultures.

This little publication goes to 100 countries around the world, and they estimate their readership
is over two million people. To quote them from an email I received on a devotional of mine they
published in the March/April 2023 magazine, “Just think: Over two million people in more than 100 countries will read or hear your witness. To put that in perspective, if a preacher addressed a congregation of 2,000 new people each week for 20 years, that preacher would still not have addressed as many
people as will read your contribution in The Upper Room.”

What a wonderful opportunity to share about our amazing God and what He is doing in our lives!
The personal testimony and story are a powerful witness.

I have also had stories accepted by Chicken Soup for the Soul and have received emails from
readers about what the story meant to them, how it impacted them. One reader from Saudi
Arabia translated one of the stories I wrote into Arabic so his wife could read it and be
encouraged.

The impact of writing for anthologies and magazines goes beyond what it does for us. We need
to look at the benefits for those who read it as well.

Submitting to anthologies and magazines means following the guidelines set out, being patient
while waiting for an answer, and being able to share with many others when your writing is
accepted. We can begin with our own InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship magazine, FellowScript, and
anthologies and branch out from there.

Carol Harrison, a Saskatoon speaker, published author, and storyteller, is passionate about mentoring people and helping them find their voice and reach their full potential. She shares her heart through real-life stories and God’s Word to encourage people and give them a glimmer of hope. Visit her website at www.carolscorner.ca or email her at carol@carolscorner.ca