HandPrints & PawPrints Story Guidelines

11 Guidelines for HandPrints On My Heart® Stories.

1. Write in the first person.

2. Paint a picture with vivid imagery that touches all the sense in 500 to 1500 words.

3. Provide up to 10 pictures or graphics that clearly enhance the telling and understanding of the story.

4. Make your story, funny, sad, moving and compelling. You want the reader to laugh, cry and get goose bumps.

5. Write from your heart, share all your feelings so the reader can feel them along with you.

6. Start your story with action, include dialogue, that helps other characters come to life. Tell us about a challenge, issue or situation you were help to overcome. You can include a poem or cartoon as part of the story.

7. There must be a clear message, lesson or gift; something the reader will remember.

8. Show how one person has forever changed you and how you have passed on their gift to make a difference for someone else as a result.

9. Show rather than tell your true, personal story.

10. Include succinct biography and a picture of yourself and-or a headshot.

11. Include any links to your published works, website, blog, store or anything else that tells people what you would like them to know about you. Do not include any information you do not want to be available to the public.

Pre-Published Material

We prefer unpublished material; however, we will consider material tht has been tweaked to fit HandPrints Guidelines. We do need to know where and when it was published. Ask us so we can decide, please don’t assume we won’t accept your pre-published story.

What a HandPrints On My Heart® Story IS NOT:

Please Do Not submit; sermons, essays or eulogies, stories written in third person, term papers, thesis, letters or journal entries, poems, biographies, testimonials, political or controversially themed issues. We are not interested in sexually explicit writing, and will not print or publish profanity.

Story Specifications

* Email submissions only, we do not accept, faxes or snail mail.
* The only way to submit your story is on our website handprintsonmyheart.com
* Any problems, question or issues email webmaster@handprintsonmyheart.com
* No anonymous stories or “as told to” submissions
* Must be true, personal short story no longer than 1500 words
* Submit your story only once.
* Keep copies of your story

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