Never Count a Submission Out

  • Never Count a Submission Out

    Guest Blogger Nancy Julien Kopp encourages patience and perseverance when submitting writing:

    Some years ago, I had written a personal essay about how my father, who had a problem acknowledging handicapped people, learned to accept his first grandchild born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

    Those two handicaps proved a big burden for our sweet baby girl but also the catalyst for helping her grandfather change his attitude.

    I posted the essay on a website for writers where anyone could post whatever they’d written. I received an email from an editor who had read the piece. She invited me to submit my essay to an anthology that would be published by Guideposts. They accepted my personal essay.

    In mid-summer of 2019, I happened to notice a listing for a magazine called Kaleidoscope published by the United Disability Services. Their guidelines stated that they liked stories written by people who had a disability but would accept stories from other writers, too. I pondered a while and then decided to submit “The Perfect Grandchild” since they accepted reprints.

    Months later, there was no response, so I placed a big NO next to the listing I had made in my Submissions Chart and moved on. After more than a year, an editor from Kaleidoscope contacted me with the news that they ‘might’ want to publish “The Perfect Grandchild.” If interested, I was to fill out a form with information about me. Again, they restated that publication was only a possibility.

    What was there to lose? Nothing. I filled out the forms and returned them, and then waited several more weeks. Hearing nothing, I figured it was a no-go deal. Not long after I had crossed the possibility off my list, I heard from the editor saying he would like to publish my work in their next issue. Again, came the statement inferring it might be pulled at the last minute.

    I felt a little like that donkey and the carrot dangling in front of its nose only to be unreachable. Another lesson in frustration.

    A year and a half after I had originally submitted to Kaleidoscope, I received a link to the new issue of the magazine including my story, and a check arrived shortly after.

    Even though it took some time and a lot of wondering on my part, “The Perfect Grandchild” found a home once again.

    We know very little happens in a quick 1-2-3 fashion in our writing journey.

    My two keywords as I have traversed my writing path are “patience and perseverance.” I had to use a measure of both when submitting to Kaleidoscope. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

    In another instance, I had an email acceptance from Chicken Soup for the Soul for a story I had submitted a couple years earlier. I had long since considered it a NO. Yet, here was the letter saying “The Four-Legged Nanny” would be in the book titled My Heroic, Hilarious, Human Dog to be published a couple months later with a $200 check to follow.

    I learned two lessons through these experiences: Reprints work. Never count a submission out even when more than a year has passed since submitting.

    Nancy Julien Kopp posts book reviews, tips, and encouragement for writers on her blog,  Writer Granny’s World by Nancy Julien Kopp

    “Never Count A Submission Out” was originally published on her blog.

    Nancy writes creative nonfiction, personal essays, a bit of poetry, kid lit and occasionally fiction. She enjoys playing bridge, watching football, and reading.

    Nancy was named Prose Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Kansas Authors Club. A former teacher, she continues to teach through the written word.

    She has been published in 24 Chicken Soup for the Soul books!

    Note from Marlene: Nancy has been my inspiration and motivator to submit my writing to Chicken Soup for the Soul. After ten years and four submissions (revised each time), “You Deserve an Award” is in Chicken Soup for the Soul: That Christmas Feeling. (2026). A dream come true.

    As Nancy says, “patience and perseverance.”

    Marlene C

    , , ,

  • A Special Gift

    Today’s guest post is by Nancy Julien Kopp. I have been enjoying Nancy’s posts on her blog, Writer Granny’s World.

    Nancy writes:

    Here we are in the last month of the year and one of the busiest. I went to a Christmas party Friday evening and a Christmas Tea at my church Saturday. Definitely getting me in the mood for the season.

    One of the things the hostess of the tea did was ask each person to tell about a Christmas gift that was very special. What a delight it was to listen to the 25-30 women share details about the time and circumstance of their gifts.

    Stories ranged from engagement rings to dolls to pets and a few other things. Many prefaced the story by mentioning that there were very few presents given in their family when they were children because money was short. One woman told us about the Christmas her parents had no money for gifts so her mother made each child something from whatever she had on hand. This woman received twin rag dolls that turned out to be one of her very favorite gifts ever.

    As the memories came alive, I couldn’t help but wonder if any of these women had written the story somewhere for her family. Had she ever even told her own children or grandchildren about that special gift? It’s precious memories like this that should—no, must—be recorded. As we moved from woman to woman and listened to their memories, I thought that many of them could turn into a story for a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. But would they? Most doubtful.

    I wanted to tell each one that they had a great story and I’d write it for them. But, no, that would not be the thing to do. She should do it on her own.

    How about you? What Christmas or Hanukkah memories have you written about for your family or for publication? Why or why not? There are reasons for both sides. I did write a memory of a special gift I received when I was six years old. It was published in one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas books quite a few years ago. I’ll post it below. Maybe it will trigger a holiday memory for you and give you something to write about for your own family or for another Christmas anthology.

    Note from Marlene: Please do write your story . . . for fun or for someone to read. Just Write!

    My Special Christmas Doll

    A special doll named Katherine lives in my four-year-old granddaughter’s room. The doll perches on the window seat, arms out and head cocked a bit. Muted red polish covers her fingernails, and a few of her fingers and toes are chipped. The doll’s dark blonde hair could use a bit of attention, for it looks limp and badly in need of a stylist.

    “This was my mommy’s doll,” Jordan tells me.

    I pick up the doll, smooth the flower-print flannel gown she wears. “A long time ago, she belonged to me.” I give Katherine a little hug and place her on the window seat again.

    Jordan grasps my hand. “I know that, Grandma. Will you tell me about her?”

    I scoop Jordan into my arms. “Time for bed now, but maybe tomorrow we’ll talk about Katherine.” I tuck her into bed and kiss her twice.

    Later that evening, I sip a cup of tea and think about the doll Santa brought me more than sixty years ago. The decades slip away like quicksilver, and I am six years old again. My parents and little brother are asleep, still snuggled under warm comforters, but I’m tip-toeing down the hallway early on Christmas morning. It’s so quiet and very dark in the hallway, but I know my destination and continue on.

    When I reach the living room, the early morning light filters through the windows. I kneel in front of the decorated Christmas tree, and a little shiver runs up my spine. It’s cold in our apartment, but the shiver comes from what I spy next to the gaily wrapped packages. Santa left me a beautiful doll looking very much like Shirley Temple. She’s dressed in a bridal gown made of a snowy, gossamer material. Tiny satin rosettes run from waist to hem, and lace adorns the neckline and sleeves. The matching veil, trimmed in lace, surrounds her head like a billowy cloud. A white nightgown and soft blue robe lie beside her. It’s the kind seen only in the movies. So pretty! Her dark blonde hair curls to perfection, and her eyes appear to glow. I inch as close as I dare, for I know I should not touch her yet, not until Mommy and Daddy wake up. For now, the anticipation of holding her seems to be enough. I name her Katherine while I wait for my family to wake up.

    Years later, I learned that my mother had made the bridal gown and night clothes for the doll in the late hours on December nights. My grandmother was the one who took hair she’d saved from my mother’s first haircut to a specialty shop where they created a wig for my doll. Hearts and hands joined in this special gift.

    I played with Katherine for many years, then saved her in hopes I might pass my special doll to a daughter someday. My daughter, Karen, loved the doll too, even though she no longer had the original clothes. Once again, Katherine made a little girl happy. Karen secreted the doll away in hopes that she, too, could pass her on to her own child someday. Now, Karen’s daughter, Jordan, is the keeper of the doll. Though a bit tattered, Katherine’s smile is just as sweet, and her blue eyes still appear to shine. Even her wilted curls are precious to me and to Karen.

    I think one day Jordan will feel the same, for she is our special family doll and always will be. I will tell my granddaughter about the Christmas I found Katherine under the tree, and later, when she’s older, I will relate the part of the story about Jordan’s great-grandmother who made special clothes for Katherine, and about her great-great-grandmother who saved her child’s hair to make into a wig for a doll.

    This one cherished doll holds five generations of my family within her heart. Two created her, three have played with her, and all have loved her. I hope Jordan will have a daughter one day so that this chain of love might continue.

    Marlene C

    ,