Cold Soup

Do you mean the deadline for the story to be submitted to them?
Chicken Soup can take months (possibly more than a year?) to get back about a submission. But as I recall from when I submitted something online in the summer, they do let you know if they're no longer considering a piece.
Keep your chin up! Good luck!

P.S. they do get a ton of submissions

I've submitted online, and haven't heard from them at all. Ever. <sigh>
Oh well. Onward!

Arisa81 said:

But as I recall from when I submitted something online in the summer, they do let you know if they're no longer considering a piece.

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They do? I've heard from them when they wanted to publish a piece, never a rejection. In fact, they say in their guidelines that if it doesn't fit in one book, they'll keep it under consideration for others.

I wonder what their rejections look like. Maybe I'm better off not knowing.

I just wait a few weeks and submit elsewhere. Even if they're interested later, they do buy reprint rights, so it shouldn't really affect the sale.

*scratches her head* That's what I thought I read. I could be wrong. Maybe. hehe. Well, no harm in submitting it elsewhere then, as long it's a reasonable amount of time. I guess I can go ahead and resubmit my piece somewhere else.

I'd like to know what an acceptance looks like, lol.

me too. th ose grapes are starting to taste really really sour

I've had one piece accepted by them, and several that I submitted for which I never received any news at all.

A friend had the same experience, and then quickly had 2 accepted almost simultaneously (for two different editions). We decided we think this is part of the trick: Avoid just submitting to the editions on the website that do not yet have a deadline posted. Submit, instead, to the books that have been given definite deadlines. You can be fairly certain those books are moving forward in the not-too-distant future. Both my friend's and my acceptances were for books that had a looming deadline.

Also Google the title of an upcoming Chicken Soup book with a deadline and see if an editor for that edition has a website up. They will sometimes list sample stories, chapter titles, and an email address where you can submit your story rather than just submitting it to the regular Chicken Soup website. That's how mine got in CS Shopper's Soul -- I didn't send it through the regular website.

My friend and I could be wrong about this, but that's the way it seems to us based on our experiences . . .

Yep, makes more sense to submit to a book that has a deadline, also because the wait won't be forever. Within a few weeks/months, you can move on. The one I had accepted was also for a book that had a deadline (I sent it on the last day of the deadline), but I sent it through their website. I'm pretty sure they read all the essays that come through.