214: Chicken Soup For The Soul

Chicken Soup For The Soul  

Chicken Soup For The Soul book has been around for a long time. There have been hundreds of published volumes with stories that speak of wisdom, inspiration, and positivity.  But did you know that a lot of work goes behind making an edition Chicken Soup For The Soul? Today we're blessed to have the book's publisher Amy Newmark who will reveal all that!  

Carrying On The Legacy  

Amy Newmark narrates that like most of us, she grew up reading Chicken Soup For The Soul and it deeply touched her life. So when the opportunity came to buy the publishing company, she welcomed the chance with open arms.   

“I can't take credit for the early books since we bought the company from the founders in 2008. But I carried on the same legacy by putting 101 stories from real regular people in every book,” said Amy Newmark.   

Although the management changed hands, the format remains the same. According to Amy Newmark, the job entails hard work since she has to work seven days a week and 14 hours a day.  However, reading thousands of inspiring stories helps her reduce stress.  

True Health  

I know many of you are wondering why we're talking about a book in a health podcast.  Like I have stressed in past episodes, overall health goes beyond the physical aspect.  True health essentially covers emotional, spiritual and mental elements as well.   

“I don't think you can be healthy if you haven't reduced your stress levels. If you haven't found a way to make your life productive and purposeful, it can affect health,” affirms Amy Newmark.  

How They Evolved  

Amy Newmark reveals that it was insanity when she and her partners bought the company during the most profound recession period in 2008. The situation was worse in the publishing industry.   

However, Amy Newmark decided to take the plunge because she came from the technology side of business and content. And technology is delivering content. So when she saw this content company available, she had no second thoughts of taking over.   

“Chicken Soup For The Soul stood for what we believed in. We could take the company beyond the bookshelf,” said Amy Newmark. “It is about storytelling that improves peoples lives. And storytelling is not confined to the written page anymore.”  

To reach out to more people, they send out daily emails with free stories. And they have leveled up in the technology scene as well! You can now get your dose of inspirational stories from the Chicken Soup For The Soul website, watch TV and link to www.Aplus.com, which is a positive journalism website that the company also owns in conjunction with actor Ashton Kutcher.  

Furthermore, Chicken Soup For The Soul has an amazing podcast where you'll be able to get regular doses of inspirational stories. The link to the podcast may be found at the end of this blog. 

Random Acts Of Kindness Book  

The Chicken Soup For The Soul Random Acts Of Kindness book was launched in February 2017.  According to Amy Newmark, it proved to be such a huge bestseller that they kept having to do emergency reprints.   

“The book contains 101 stories of acts of kindness from strangers. It revives hope in humanity and shows you that almost everybody is a good person,” Amy Newmark said.   

She also says that people inherently want to be good. They want to look out for each other, and they want to take care of each other.   

“People feel good when they do something good for someone else. There's a natural human impulse to do good things for other people. It's like a physiological, emotional need that we have,” said Amy Newmark. “The cool thing about the book is that it tells people they are allowed to do those things.” 

Simply Happy Book  

This edition of Chicken Soup For The Soul, on the other hand, is primarily a crash course for Chicken Soup For The Soul advice and wisdom. Amy Newmark says that the stories in the book inspire people to find their happiness and help them step out of their comfort zone.   

Behind The Scenes  

Much as the team behind Chicken Soup For The Soul work long hours, Amy Newmark claims that the company treats their staff quite well. They are equally wonderful to their writers as well.  

“I think we pay the highest amount to our writers and freelancers. We don't take their copyright because we let them maintain ownership of their story. Primarily, we just get the right to publish it in our book.,” said Amy Newmark.  

However, it's not easy to have your work published in the book.  According to Amy Newmark, they have a team of editors who proofread every story.  Nevertheless, the majority of those whose submitted works didn't get published are still thankful for the chance to be able to write their story.  

Looking Ahead  

Amy Newmark excitedly reveals that since we're in the digital age, fans and followers can look forward to reading more inspirational stories via Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment, as well as TV shows.   

“We're going to continue to cover all of the topics relevant to people today. The way we put stories from people together, really allow us to keep our fingers on the pulse of society,” said Amy Newmark. “Watch out for more stories via TV, online video, and movies. We'll be innovating ways to use the power of storytelling to improve people's lives.

Bio  

Amy Newmark is the bestselling author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Since 2008, she has published 133 new books, most of them national bestsellers in the U.S. and Canada, more than doubling the number of Chicken Soup for the Soul titles in print today. She is also the author of Simply Happy, a crash course in Chicken Soup for the Soul advice and wisdom that is filled with easy-to-implement, practical tips for having a better life.  

Amy Newmark is credited with revitalizing the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand, which has been a publishing industry phenomenon since the first book came out in 1993. By compiling inspirational and aspirational true stories curated by ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences, Amy Newmark has kept the twenty-three-year-old Chicken Soup for the Soul brand fresh and relevant.  

Amy Newmark graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University where she majored in Portuguese and minored in French. She then embarked on a three-decade career as a Wall Street analyst, a hedge fund manager, and a corporate executive in the technology field. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.  

Her return to literary pursuits was inevitable, as her honors thesis in college involved traveling throughout Brazil’s impoverished northeast region, collecting stories from regular people. She is delighted to have come full circle in her writing career—from collecting stories “from the people” in Brazil as a twenty-year-old to, three decades later, collecting stories “from the people” for Chicken Soup for the Soul.  

When Amy Newmark and her husband Bill, the CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul, is not working, they are visiting their four grown children.  

Get Connected With Amy Newmark!  

Official Website

Facebook

Twitter – Amy Newmark

Twitter – Chicken Soup For The Soul

Instagram

Podcast

Books by Amy Newmark

Simply Happy

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

Chicken Soup For The Soul: Think Positive For Kids 101: Stories About Good Decisions, Self-esteem, And Positive Thinking

Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Crazy Family: 101 Stories that Put the Fun Back in Dysfunctional

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