How-To Guide
WAVE ONE…The Release
Spreading the Word
Targeted Marketing
Churches
IF YOU ARE A CONTRIBUTOR
Ordering books wholesale

WAVE TWO: The Empowerment and Celebration Tour Aug.- Dec. 06
“Ladies, Can We Talk?” event
Church APPEARANCES
College and Women's OrganizationAppearances
Media Outreach

WAVE THREE: Holiday Season

WAVE FOUR: Black History Month and Women's History Month
Colleges
Media Outreach:
Scripts for Making the Announcement:
When announcing to Bookstores:
When Making the Announcement to Churches:
When Making the Announcement to Schools and Colleges:
Making Your Own Presentations as a Contributor:

Important roles, responsibilities and contact information

Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul Release Party Weekend
Schedule of events:
Helpful information as you plan your trip:
Who Do I Contact If I Have a Question?
Registration Coordinator
Special Projects Coordinator
Where Do I Stay?
When Should I Book My Travel?
Who is invited to join us?
Getting Around Town...
What Should I Wear?
Is There an Additional Discount Option?

Introduction
Thank you for expressing your interest in helping to spread the word about Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul (to be released Aug. 2006) and Chicken Soup for the African American Soul (released September 2004). While we have been charged with delivering these books, we are very clear that they belong to the entire African American community. We not only want and need help, but figured that if we are enjoying bringing these books together as much as we are, others should be in on the process, the learning, the sharing-and the fun! We are pleased if this project is calling to your heart to help. We want you to be able to be involved as much or as little as you are able. Each individual effort adds up to the village required for a project this monumental! While the primary focus of this marketing campaign is to announce the release of the NEW book, Chicken Soup for the African American WOMAN'S Soul, we would appreciate any and all opportunities to simultaneously celebrate the first book, Chicken Soup for the African American Soul, as well. It is equally wonderful and they can effectively support and promote each other.
We are the ONLY Chicken Soup books that have a HUGE SUPPORT TEAM. We are the ONLY Chicken Soup books that have a community of readers as passionate about the topic as we are. WE CAN BE the best selling Chicken Soup books, making a HUGE splash in the literary world…but we definitely need your ongoing support to make that happen!

The Goals:
o To have the Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul be THE best seller among this best selling series. In order to meet this goal, we are going to have to do a lot of talking, as we have to sell more than 8.5 million copies!
o To simultaneously reignite the readership for Chicken Soup for the African American Soul, allowing many more people to experience this wonderful book, as well.
o To inspire and uplift the African American community through storytelling, and our celebration and empowerment tour.
o To bring awareness of the contribution of African American Women (and the men they love) into the mainstream consciousness and to promote cultural understanding through sharing these heartwarming and inspiring stories.
o To have these two books be so successful (selling well over a million copies) that the immediate need is recognized and honored for Chicken Soup for the African American Teen's Soul and CS for the African American Man's Soul as follow ups!

Please remember to keep Chicken Soup for the African American Soul a part of the conversation as well while promoting Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul! Many people never knew about the first one and this is our opportunity to use BOTH BOOKS to UPLIFT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY!

Four Waves of Marketing
Now that the book is being released, MARKETING is the name of the game. We have five waves of marketing that we need your help with (and all need to start immediately in order to make Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul the best selling book of the series!):

Wave One: The RELEASE
This phase needs to be full of spreading the word, making sure everyone knows the book has hit the bookstores. THIS PHASE IS IN FULL SWING NOW! Even though the book was released officially on August 8th, we are making the last two weeks of August (Aug 12-31) Chicken Soup for the African American WOMAN'S Soul EXPLOSION DATES…requesting everyone send friends and family to the bookstore DURING THOSE TWO WEEKS so that the stores are OVERWHELMED with the demand for this book! To get on the best-sellers list, it is important that a volume of books are purchased during a certain period of time. So the more sales we can get immediately, the more successful the book will be over all. Also, the more initial sales they get, the more books they will order for the holiday season

Wave Two: CELEBRATION AND EMPOWERMENT TOUR...Lisa is taking this show on the road starting in August! Since sitting in a bookstore signing books does nothing to empower and uplift the community, Lisa is planning a tour that goes WAY BEYOND book signing! She is going into several cities across the country with a tour designed to do what she does best-celebrate and empower people! The cities that she will be visiting are all listed at www.africanamericansoul.com/calendar. Lisa will be producing the amazing event entitled “Ladies Can We Talk” in many.Our goal is to have 250-300 ladies at each event. This is were we can really use your support. Having 250-300 ladies at this event is VERY possible with your help and the enrollment of others to spread the word and have churches, organizations, colleges and more come out to this FREE and powerful event. We'll be keeping you updated on the tour in case you'd like to join the city volunteer teams and/or be involved with presenting as a contributor at the event. We also REALLY want to target BIG MEDIA with this book-radio, TV talk shows, newspapers and magazines-to minimize the amount of travel required and to maximize the number of people reached.

Wave Three: HOLIDAY SEASON purchases...We want to encourage people to give the gift of encouragement to our family and friends. During this wave we want to be sure everyone knows about the book and is giving it to their children, siblings, cousins, co-workers, grandparents, etc as THE GIFT of the season.... During this wave, we want every family to be sharing these stories around the living room on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukah, New Years.-sharing OUR stories as well as being inspired to share their own.

Wave Four: Black History Month (February) AND Women's HISTORY MONTH (March).... This wave offers outreach beyond the African American community to share these stories with the rest of the world. These two months, back to back, give us an extra opportunity to to be sure that schools are using
Chicken Soup for the African American Soul AND Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul as texts for their classes, and that not only our factual history is shared but also our heartfelt experiences. Both of these months offer an opportunity for wide-spread media outreach as radio, TV and print media honor Black History Month and Women's History Month.

How-To Guide

WAVE ONE…The Release

Spreading the Word

Spreading the word on this project can take many forms from simply telling everyone you know, emailing your address book, posting links on your website, posting announcements on bulletin boards (both physical and electronic), making public announcements and passing out flyers. In order to meet the goal of having this be Chicken Soup's BEST SELLER, we also need to be collecting contact information for announcing the release of the book and special tour events.

How you can help with The RELEASE PHASE of SPEADING THE WORD!!!!!!
We ask that you do any or all:

1) JOIN THE EXPLOSION TEAM AND ENROLL OTHERS......all this means is that you will do whatever you can to spread the word about the book. Enrolling others means that you will grab your best friends and family members (the MOTIVATED ONES) to help you spread the word...invite them to join our next conference call and buckle your seat belts for the BLAST OFF!

Tell EVERYONE that the EXPLOSION DATE begins August 12th … We want the book to JUMP OFF THE SHELVES and hit the best seller list immediately.

2) Send out announcements to your friends, family and email lists. Let them know the book is out, share our vision of making this the best selling Chicken Soup book ever and ask for their support spreading the word and purchasing the book.

3) Add a signature to the bottom of your email so that every message you send about anything promotes the book. Have it say something like: "Make Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul the best in Chicken Soup history! Buy your copy in August along with thousands of other Women and supporters of this book! Be sure to pick up a copy of Chicken Soup for the African American Soul too! ”

If you are a contributor, make sure to let the world know in your email signature as well. “See my story (ADD THE TITLE) in Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul!”

4) Distribute Flyers. The publisher has provided beautiful flyers for distribution at churches, Black bookstores, fairs, conferences and conventions. Most of them have been distributed to volunteers already, however if you feel you can help distribute them, please let us know and we will send them to you.
5) Call your local bookstores! (Especially the independent African American bookstores!) Tell them the book is coming out August 8th and you will be driving people to their bookstores in the last two weeks of August (and on). If there are story contributors in your area, it may be possible to have several of them come into do a signing together. We will be happy to help you coordinate these opportunities if you have bookstores that are interested.

ENCOURAGE them to order it (plenty of it). You may have better luck with this if you ask to speak to the buyer or the manager. Let them know there is a huge volunteer team spreading the word about this book and that they should be prepared!

Ordering information:
Title: Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul
Coauthors: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Lisa Nichols,
ISBN: 0757305202
Publisher: Health Communications Inc (800) 851-9100 ext 228
Retail Price: $14.95

Title: Chicken Soup for the African American Soul
Coauthors: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Lisa Nichols,Tom Joyner
ISBN: 0757301428
Publisher: Health Communications Inc (800) 851-9100 ext 228
Retail Price: $14.95

6) Put announcements in newsletters and bulletins. As the release date nears, put the EXPLOSION DATE of Aug. 12thth in your church bulletin. Let your old schools know for announcements in the Alumni News or current school paper. Send a press release (we'll provide a sample) to your local newspaper. Tell any other organizations you belong to and see if they will announce it in their newsletters

7) Contact historically black colleges, African American studies departments, Women's Studies Departments and school bookstores in your area and request that they use the books for texts and carry them in their bookstores and libraries. Don't forget Jr. and Sr. high schools, too!

8) Post the announcement on the appropriate bulletin boards and web sites all over the internet! Blast the Net with announcements…From Women's web sites to Black web sites to book clubs, to writer's clubs. Help us to make sure EVERYONE knows it is coming!

9) Announce it on your own web site and link your web site to ours....www.AfricanAmericanSoul.com !!!!! Our web site will have updates, announcements, tour information and African American resources so please tell people about it! We will also be posting information about future books and calls for stories.

10) Contact your local radio, TV and print media and let them know that Lisa Nichols is available for interviews. Tell them that for the first time in history, like this, women of all cultures will be coming together to take the “S” sign off of their chests and step out of their armor to have candid, honest-even spicy- conversations. Lisa is dynamic and offers an unforgettable interview. If it is national media, we may also be able to get , Jack Canfield and/or Mark Victor Hansen to join us so keep us posted on your contactsA press release is available that you are welcome to use.

11) If you are a story contributor, feel free to share your story with clubs, associations, churches, etc. in your community. Rotary clubs are always looking for speakers. Tell them your story....tell them the story behind getting your story in the book....SHARE from your heart what this project means to you. Enroll them in the importance of this project in uplifting, inspiring and educating those that read it. Later in this document, we will be providing you with information about the selection process your story went through so you can incorporate it in your presentations.

12) Go to Oprah's web site and send in the show suggestion of having all 75 contributors to Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul and the 85 contributors for Chicken Soup for the African American Soul on her couch at the same time! She could do a follow up to her show on "Everyone Has a Story" in that every African American has a story-here are ours! Now THAT would be a party!

13) Order the book on Amazon.com and Link your web site there:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0757301428/qid=1088987018/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-3281831-9099058?v=glance&s=books
When you have had a chance to read the book, be sure to post a review encouraging others to purchase it!

Targeted Marketing

Want to be a bit more involved on the EXPLOSION Team?! Here are some possibilities:

Churches

1) Identify the geographic region and number of churches you are willing to contact. Utilize the Yellow Pages, the Internet and word of mouth to locate the churches.

2) Ask church officials if you can (or if they will) make an announcement about the book's release and its importance to the community. You will find a page in this packet titled “Making the Announcement” that you can read, or use as a guideline for making the announcement.

3) Ask church officials if they would be willing to either put an announcement in the church newsletter/program.

4) Ask church officials if Lisa can speak to the congregation when she is on tour in your area.

5) Email Afamsoul@aol.com and let us know who/what/where you have contacted so we can keep track of your efforts.

6) If churches or church bookstores would like to sell the book as a fundraiser, they can order their books wholesale from the publisher, HCI. Please contact Doreen Hess, 800-851-9100 x 264 or DoreenH@Hcibooks.com.

IF YOU ARE A CONTRIBUTOR

We encourage you to help us promote the book in a number of ways-join Lisa at tour events, use the “spreading the word” guidelines to let your community, organizations, associations and alliances know about your involvement in the book.

o PLEASE BE SURE that you ONLY refer to yourself (verbally or in writing) as a CONTRIBUTOR to Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul (NOT a co-author, co-writer, author, writer, etc.) and ONLY a Contributor or Story Contributor. THANK YOU! We are trying to avoid confusion for bookstores and organizations between the co-authors (Mark, Jack and Lisa) and the contributors (you).

o Please be honest and realistic when presenting information about the book to media and bookstores. ALSO, please be respectful of the fact that you are unofficially representing a VERY highly respected brand when you speak to people about the book. It is very important that you are a respectable representation. ALWAYS use your head and your heart to make the best, most respectful pitch possible.

o Notify your local newspaper, your alumni or school newspapers, and any organizations or associations that you may be affiliated with. Ask if they will announce your involvement.

o Carry the book with you…! Show it to people!

TO ORDER YOUR COPIES of Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul as a contributor:
Since you are now part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul family as a contributing author, Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprises is pleased to provide you with a 50% discount off of Chicken Soup for the Soul books when you buy them through the Costa Mesa office. If you wish to order copies of the book that your story appears in (or any other Chicken Soup for the Soul book) to give as gifts to family and friends, please call 949-764-2640 and ask for Joel in Customer Service. Be ready to fax him a copy of your permission release for your story if he needs it for his records.

For churches, organizations, etc to order books from HCI for resale. Please contact Doreen Hess, Doreen Hess - 800-851-9100 x 264 or DoreenH@Hcibooks.com.

Have a book release party for your family and friends-if other contributors from either Chicken Soup for the African American Soul or African American Woman's Soul are in your area, coordinate your efforts! (Eve can give you the info of who is in your area.)

WAVE TWO: The Empowerment and Celebration Tour Aug.- Dec. 06
Lisa is planning a 21-city National Empowerment and Celebration Tour. We will definitely need your help with this awesome undertaking! Here is how you can help:

1) Let us know of any contacts you have to MAJOR corporations that would like to target their advertising to the African American market AND the women's market. We are seeking sponsors for the tour who will gain national attention from their support and association with the Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul brand. There is even a finder's fee invlolved - doing well by doing good.

2) Join the City Volunteer Teams and help us with outreach in your city. Keep an eye on the web site for the tour dates and schedules.

“Ladies, Can We Talk?” event
Help us to make the Ladies Can We Talk event a huge success.

This event is an amazing evening where women from diverse backgrounds will experience 2 _ hours of inspiration and leave feeling rejuvenated, educated, honored and celebrated. Women from different cultural backgrounds, economic status, and geographic origins will come together, connect and celebrate the spirit, essence and resilience of women.

We would like to invite you to serve as an essential piece in the puzzle called City Host Team that will help to make this event a HUGE success in your city. Chicken Soup for the Soul has become a household name and has a track record of serving stories that heal and inspire the heart. We will bring to life for the attendees a real experience full of love, laughter, healing and joy.

The task of City Host, though not super difficult, will require a certain level of commitment and a team effort. The following coordination will need to be managed:

o Secure a team of at least four other committed people in your local area, designate a person to serve as team leader (they are responsible for the team communication and communication with the national team. (This system and clarity is key to avoid breakdowns)
o Assist in securing a venue for Ladies, Can We Talk? evening. This venue can be any of the following: A free public facility, a church, a restaurant, college or a privately owned bookstore, etc. This location should be nice in presentation and decent in location (remember we will be asking ALL women to join us-Black, White, Latino, Asian, etc)
o Drive the marketing and outreach campaign as a team. Get flyers placed in multiple churches (at least five and, ideally, to be placed in their bulletins), local grocery stores, day spas, department stores, nail salons, etc. The locations for marketing should be as diverse as our audience goal. (Here we ask you to engage people to assist that you can TRUST will deliver on their commitment-an organized volunteer team, college students, church groups and youth ministries)
o Local Media - You have a national and international bestselling book hosting a FREE evening where women from all over will come together, let down their hair, put down the briefcase or broom, and have a candid honest-even spicy conversation. The press will LOVE IT! Get the newspapers involved, the radio and local TV. Lisa is even willing to give away free books when she does her interviews.
o Give away hundreds of free tickets, they will have the $$ value clearly printed on each one so the recipient will know the value of attending.
o Email campanies, local women's organizations-Google women's groups in your local area-and do a blast to each of the organization with a personalized invite to the event.
o Don't forget our young princesses. Ages 16 and up are welcome! Go to the colleges and high schools. See if they will give extra credit to students for attending. Be creative!! They will thank you for it later.
o Adjust your schedule as much as you can around the events in your city so that you can be on hand to support and be blessed as well.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING A CITY HOST, PLEASE LET US KNOW ASAP! We will send a CITY HOST MANUAL out to those who are interested.

Church APPEARANCES
Lisa is experienced in giving special messages and sermons in churches.
After checking the tour schedule on the web site, please seek out opportunities for Lisa to speak at the mega churches. While Lisa is the coauthor of the Chicken Soup for the African American Soul books, she is also a seasoned motivational speaker and has a powerful, uplifting message applicable to the faith community.

College and Women's OrganizationAppearances
As you know, Lisa is a dynamic, uplifting motivational speaker. On her tour, (if the group is large enough) Lisa will be available to speak.
o Well in advance of Lisa's visit to your community, contact church and organization officials to see if there is a possibility of her addressing them on her tour.
Even if it is not possible for her to speak, ask if it is possible to have an announcement about the book in their newsletters, on their web sites, etc.

Media Outreach
One of the best ways to get the information out is through media coverage. Lisa can be available for interviews-radio, TV and newspapers-by arrangement. For national media opportunities, we may also be able to get Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield for an interview. What we need help with is letting media know about the project! The goal in contacting media is to either secure an interview for Lisa or to get a public service announcement.

1) Identify your target areas and geographic regions. Keep in mind that if you choose “radio stations” or “Newspapers” you will be OVERWHELMED by the task. Choose instead, “College Newspapers in Southern California” or “Radio Stations in Chicago.” You can always add more target areas when you are ready to tackle more, but if you take on too much, too soon, …well, you know…! In the first wave target Black media and Women's media outlets. In wave three, target ALL media outlets!

2) Send Press Release (included)to media outlets via fax, email or mail. It is helpful to call ahead and find out the name of the specific person most likely to be interested and to follow up with a phone call. Utilize the Internet and/or phone books to find the media outlets. The press release will direct them back to us to request media kits.

3) Request a media packet from AfAmSoul@aol.com and supply an email address we can send it to (hard copies can also be sent if necessary). This contains information about the project, Lisa's bio, sample stories, the list of contributors and media questions. If they request a media kit directly from you, we can provide you with them, or have them sent out for you. BE SURE TO GIVE OUT THE WEB SITE WHENEVER POSSIBLE AS A PR PACKAGE SUBSTITUTE as the pertinent information is there, and it is FREE for us to share. In many cases, this will be sufficient.

WAVE THREE: Holiday Season
1) Give Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul to all of your women friends and Chicken Soup for the African American Soul to everyone else!! We are holding the vision of millions of families sitting around the table or living room on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Years reading stories and laughing, crying and getting goose bumps. According to the 2000 Census Reports there are 36.4 million African Americans in the United States. In order to reach our minimum goal of 10 million copies sold, 1 in every 3 African Americans must have this book in their hands! THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF BOOK GIVING AND A LOT OF TALKING ABOUT IT!
2) Put an announcement in your Christmas Cards making sure they know the book is out! If you are a contributor…make sure EVERYONE knows your story is in the book!
3) Continue with the Spreading the Word steps above.

WAVE FOUR: Black History Month and Women's History Month
To branch this book out of the African American community and into the hands of those of other cultures who will benefit from learning about us and our experiences, we need to out reach beyond the African American community. Both of these history months offer us that opportunity. Black History month is when EVERYONE ELSE learns about our place in history and Women's History month honors ALL women in history. This is an excellent opportunity to reach out to mainstream media, schools and colleges. Encouraging Black Studies Teachers and Social Studies Teachers to use the book as texts. This step must start EARLY while teachers are planning out the year. Let's NOT wait until January to tell them about this book- Let's start now!

Colleges
Colleges are a great place to announce the release of BOTH Chicken Soup for the African American Soul and Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul. Black Studies classes should be adopting this book as a text.

1) Identify the geographic region or type of college that you will contact: African American schools, community colleges, private colleges, etc. Utilize phone books, library resources, and/or the internet to find the contact info. In many cases, you will need to contact the information receptionist for the appropriate names of Black Studies/African American Studies Department Chairs, Social Studies Depts., English teachers can also use it to inspire students to write their own stories, etc.

2) Determine who, within the college, you'd like to focus on contacting: student clubs, student newspapers-submitting press releases, student radio stations-offer interview, campus bookstores and libraries, Black student organizations/clubs-ask for help posting flyers, etc.

3) Either call, fax, mail or email the appropriate contacts. Keep in mind that while email is usually the easiest, phone calls are usually the most effective. Any time you can combine by emailing/faxing and following up with a phone call-great!

4) Announce to African American Studies and Social Studies teachers that these books would be great texts for Black History Month, 2007! It would be AWESOME if this book were adopted by schools all across the country!

5) If you plan to post flyers on campuses, you may need to get permission first. Please check with the office. (Let us know if you want flyers.)

6) Black Sororities, Fraternities and Clubs can use the book as a fund raiser for Black History Month reaching out to the rest of the population with a hearty helping of Chicken Soup-Women's studies groups, too!

Media Outreach:
During this Wave of Promotion, we can target all media outlets as this is the time of year when Black History in honored on a much wider scale than just through Black media outlets.
Send out the Press Release several months ahead so that national media outlets can plan ahead!
o Lisa will continue to be available for radio and newspaper interviews (over the phone) and National Television opportunities even after the initial book tour is over.

Scripts for Making the Announcement:
Some of you requested a “script” of sorts for telling people about the book so here are some simple options for you-feel free to personalize them and make them your own!:

When announcing to Bookstores:
“Hi, my name is ________ and I'm part of a HUGE national volunteer team spreading the word about Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul which has just been released and Chicken Soup for the African American Soul-which is already out. These book have been some of Chicken Soup's most requested titles and the community is very excited about it.
Part of what the volunteer team is doing is driving people to your bookstore to purchase it, so we want you to be prepared! The book is coming out on August 8th and we have chosen Aug, 12thth as the day we are driving buyers to the stores to purchase the book. Here is the purchasing information so that you can be prepared!” (Hand them a flyer with ordering info. If you don't have a flyer, just have them look it up in their computer…they will have the information.)
Ordering information:
Title: Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul
Coauthors: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Lisa Nichols,
ISBN: 0757305202
Publisher: Health Communications Inc (800) 851-9100 ext 228
Retail Price: $14.95

Title: Chicken Soup for the African American Soul
Coauthors: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Lisa Nichols, Tom Joyner
ISBN: 0757301428
Publisher: Health Communications Inc (800) 851-9100 ext 228
Retail Price: $14.95
If you have flyers, encourage them to post them in the front window. If they are willing to do a book signing or post a flyer, be sure to get their contact information and let us know. We will share their store with our coauthors and contributors for personal visits when in their area.
Be sure to thank them for their help with getting the word out!

When Making the Announcement to Churches:
“My name is ______________ and I am part of a huge national volunteer team spreading the word about Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul by Lisa Nichols, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen and nearly 100 contributors.” (If you are a contributor, be sure to tell them your story is in it!) “This project is far more than a book. this is a collection of stories-our stories-guaranteed to make you laugh, cry or get goose bumps, but it is also an opportunity to educate, uplift and inspire both the African American community and those of other cultures who want to know us. This book is an opportunity to celebrate our strengths, our trials, our families and most importantly, our hearts.
“We have a goal of making this book THE BEST SELLING Chicken Soup book of the series and we need your help. Please tell everyone you know that the book is coming out and purchase your copy on or after Aug. 12th …and get a copy for someone you know could use a lift up. We know you will feel blessed as you read these heartfelt stories and share the inspiration with others. Thank you!”
If Lisa is coming to their city and a date is still available, see if they would be interested in having her speak either at a Sunday service or on a week nite. Check with the coordinator in your region to see what dates are available.

If you want to have a Ladies Can We Talk? event at your church please email Sharon at JarrettAffairs@aol.com for the PREFERRED script to use.

When Making the Announcement to Schools and Colleges:
“Hi, my name is ________ and I'm part of a HUGE national volunteer team spreading the word about Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul. We feel this book is extremely important for sharing and celebrating not only our factual history, but our personal stories. It will add spice and personal interest to any African American Studies, Women's Studies or Social Studies program causing your students to FEEL what it means to be an African American-and specifically, an African American Woman. We want to encourage you to adopt this book as text (especially for Black History Month or Women's History Month) and require that your students read it. (Hand them a flyer with ordering info. or give them web site information.

Ordering information:
Title: Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul
Coauthors: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Lisa Nichols,
ISBN: 0757305202
Publisher: Health Communications Inc (800) 851-9100 ext 228
Retail Price: $14.95

Title: Chicken Soup for the African American Soul
Coauthors: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Lisa Nichols, Tom Joyner
ISBN: 0757301428
Publisher: Health Communications Inc (800) 851-9100 ext 228
Retail Price: $14.95

If their school or college is on our tour list, there is a possibility that Lisa will be able to come speak to their students and faculty. If this is of interest to them, please get their contact information and make sure we add them to our city destination list!

Making Your Own Presentations as a Contributor:
The most powerful presentation you can make is that of sharing your own story…not just the story that is in the book, but the story behind the story. What was it like for you to submit your story? Did you have to overcome self-doubt? What does it mean to you to have a story in the book? This is were people normally speak way too long, you want to be mindful of that - remember, powerful can be shorter, rather than longer

Below is the process these two books have gone through and the process that each story had to go through before being selected. If it serves your presentation to share this information, please feel free to share it.

Difficult Path to Story Selection…
We began working on Chicken Soup for the African American Soul in March 2002. We had to submit a proposal along with 10 stories to the Chicken Soup for the Soul office. Once they accepted the proposal, they put us on “probation” in which we had a certain amount of time to demonstrate that we could do the job by delivering 20 more really high quality stories. Once we passed that part of the test, we were contracted to complete the book gathering over a 100 really high quality stories.
Chicken Soup stories must pass through a grading process in which they are graded on a 1-10 scale with a 10 meaning that it made the reader laugh, cry or get goose bumps. A “9” means that it is a really good story with an inspiring message. An “8” means that it has potential but may lack emotional punch, or need some editing and rewrites. A “7” means “no real story” and anything rated a “7” or less is obviously not appropriate or considered. No story gets in the book unless it is rated a 9.25 or higher (by a LOT of readers!) We quickly realized, as the stories came in, that few and far between rated a 9 or higher. We found that about 5 out of 100 stories had potential and 2 out of 100 stories rated a 9.5 or higher. It became quite obvious that to overcome those odds, we needed a lot of help in calling out for stories, so we started the volunteer team in which over 200 volunteers helped us spread the word that we were seeking stories. AND IT WORKED!
Stories began pouring in. As senior editor, Eve Hogan did the first readings and read all of the 3000 stories that came in. She committed to reading every story all the way to the end just in case the “Chicken Soupy” part was hidden at the end…. She then compiled the stories that met the Chicken Soup requirements of a good story and forwarded them to coauthor Lisa Nichols to read and rate. After Lisa read and rated the stories, we compiled a “reader's batch” of stories that were scoring an 8.75 and higher and sent the stories out to a reader's group of approx. 5 African American readers. The stories that made a score of 9 or higher from the reader's averages were put in batch of stories that was sent to the Chicken Soup office where a team of approx. 5 readers read and rated the stories again. Only the stories that were still averaging a 9 or higher then made it into a Final Reader's Manuscript (made up of 150 stories) that was sent out to 40 mostly African American readers for rating again. At this point, (June 2003) we thought the book would be released in Feb. 04….but when the scores came in…they weren't quite high enough. (HUGE SIGH OF EXASPERATION!) We were then charged with the task of collecting 75-80 more great stories and the release date was postponed until Oct. 04. (Keep in mind that if only 5 out of 100 stories are good enough for consideration, that meant we had to collect and read 1500 MORE STORIES! Another exasperated sigh!) Once again we turned to our volunteer team and asked them to renew the call for stories. And (THANK GOD, literally!) the stories came flowing in.
We put out a second Final Reader's Manuscript of 150 stories (made up of 75 of our previous finalists and 75 new stories) and sent them out to another 40 African American readers for rating. This time the scores came in much higher and the selection was narrowed from those 150 stories to the final collection of just under 100 stories. That means that 3% of the stories we received made it into the book! Many stories that were really good, didn't make it in the book solely on the final reader's scores. Even stories we DEEPLY loved and stories from contributors who were personal friends, didn't get in the book unless the scores merited that result. All of the stories in the book scored a 9.25 or higher. The result is a wonderful collection of stories that share, inspire, uplift and celebrate the African American spirit-Chicken Soup for the African American Soul.
The book was so well received, the publisher asked us to compile Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul. We went about collecting and reading nearly 2000 more stories in an effort to find 75 stories for the book. These stories went through the same rigors that the stories for Chicken Soup for the African American Soul book went through. They first had to make a rating of 9 or higher from a small group of readers, then they had to go through a more rigorous rating process from nearly 50 additional African American readers. The result-a powerful second book by and about African American women-Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul.

Important roles, responsibilities and contact information

Eve Hogan, Senior Editor - AfAmsoul@aol.com 808-280-5294
Lisa Nichols, Co-Author Lisa@Lisa-Nichols.com 858-864-5472
Nancy Gilliam Project coordinator nancy@africanamericansoul.com
Sanyika Calloway-Boyce -National Tour Director Sanyika@AfricanAmericanSoul.com
Sharon Jarrett-East Coast Tour Coordinator jarrettaffairs@aol.com
Gayle Lucas lucasLafrance@aol.com

WEB SITE: www.africanamericansoul.com

For a candid conversation that is sure to celebrate you journey visit:
www.Ladiescanwetalk.com

To join Lisa's online community and stay connected visit: www.lisa-nichols.com!

To Order Books:
For churches, organizations, etc to order books from HCI for resale. Please contact Doreen Hess, Doreen Hess - 800-851-9100 x 264 or DoreenH@Hcibooks.com.

For Contributors:
Since you are now part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul family as a contributing author, Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprises is pleased to provide you with a 50% discount off of Chicken Soup for the Soul books when you buy them through the Costa Mesa office. If you wish to order copies of the book that your story appears in (or any other Chicken Soup for the Soul book) to give as gifts to family and friends, please call 949-764-2640 and ask for Joel in Customer Service. Be ready to fax him a copy of your permission release for your story if he needs it for his records.

Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul Release Weekend

Friday, August 25 to Sunday, August 27, 2006

...in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Schedule of events:

* Friday, August 25, 2006: 7PM to 10PM Release Reception Party Atop the Luxurious Staples Center
* 1111 S. Figueroa Street
* Los Angeles, CA 90015

* Saturday, August 26, 2006:
o 6PM to 6:30PM Networking with Contributing Authors
o 6:30PM to 10PM Dinner & Story Recitations in the Amazing Atrium of the Embassy Suites Los Angeles International Airport - North
o 9801 Airport Blvd.
o Los Angeles, CA 90045

* Sunday, August 27, 2006: 9AM to 1PM Guest Message Delivered by Lisa Nichols and Contributing Authors Book Signing at Agape International Spiritual Center
* 5700 Buckingham Parkway
* Culver City, CA 90230

* Sunday, August 27, 2006: 2PM to 4PM Contributing Authors Closing Lunch (location TBD)

Please note, our celebration hotel is the Embassy Suites LAX which offers complimentary breakfast to its guests. If you are interested in attending the Contributing Authors breakfast and are not staying at the hotel you will be required to cover the fee for your breakfast on your own.

* Saturday, August 26, 2006: 10AM to 12PM Contributing Authors Breakfast at Embassy Suites Los Angeles International Airport - North
* 9801 Airport Blvd.
* Los Angeles, CA 90045


Additionally, you will have the chance to enjoy some of L.A.'s beaches, boardwalks, shopping and famous sightseeing on your own or with friends, so please make plans accordingly.

* Saturday, August 26, 2006: 12PM to 5PM L.A. site seeing and shopping

Helpful information as you plan your trip:

Who Do I Contact If I Have a Question?
Registration Coordinator
Carolyn E. West
Email: carolyn@africanamericansoul.com
Contact phone: 267-307-3161

Special Projects Coordinator
Nancy Gilliam
Email: nancy@africanamericansoul.com
Contact phone: 267-847-5110

Where Do I Stay?
Embassy Suites Los Angeles International Airport - North
9801 Airport Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
310.215.100
www.embassysuites.com

**Use discount code CSA to book your rooms at the special rate of $119 per night**
If you have any problems registering for the discounted rate or have questions, please contact Rose Watson, Senior Sales Manager directly at 310.337.6031 or email her at rwatson@sunstonehotels.com

How much does it cost?
The whole weekend is only $90 (excluding travel and hotel.) If you just want to attend the release party on Friday night, $50.

When Should I Book My Travel?
As soon as possible for the best rates, plan to arrive mid-afternoon on 8/25 as hotel check in begins at 1PM. The celebration events will end at 4PM on Sunday, August 27th but feel free to stay a while (please note: the hotel discount rate is only valid for the 8/25, 8/26 and 8/27/06)

For "book-it-yourself" airfare options visit: www.orbitz.com or www.travelocity.com or for full-service travel assistance you may contact our travel agent, Joan at All Seasons Travel 800.435.1077 be sure to mention Chicken Soup! (a $25 service fee per ticket applies)

Who is invited to join us?

* Contributing Authors for Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul
* Contributing Authors for Chicken Soup for the African American Soul
* Volunteers for both books
* Invited friends of Lisa Nichols
You may bring up to three guests (individual registration fee must be paid for each guest)

Getting Around Town...

We are working with a car/van service to arrange group transportation from the celebration hotel to each event for which you will be responsible for arranging pick-up and payment. More details can be sent to you about this option via email at your request to carolyn@africanamericansoul.com or nancy@africanamericansoul.com with "CS Weekend Transportation Options" in the subject line.

If you prefer to drive hotel parking rates have been discounted for Chicken Soup guests to $6.00 per day. Or, to rent a car there is a Budget Rental Car facility adjacent to the hotel at 98th & Airport Blvd., reservation number 1-800-527-7000

What Should I Wear?
Friday evening will be a star studded VIP event so plan to wear whatever makes you feel glamorous!

Saturday for the breakfast and sight-seeing plan for casual and comfortable. We will have a photographer capturing the recitations and the dinner event so be ready for your close up!

Agape International Spiritual Center has a wonderful and relaxed atmosphere, plan to wear something that makes your spirit happy and your soul smile!

It Never Rains In Southern California! But just in case, get up to the minute weather details at www.weather.com

Is There an Additional Discount Option?
We have worked with our event vendors to get the very best possible prices which we have passed on to you. Therefore we are not able to offer any additional discounts or honor any requests for complimentary event access.

We're glad you'll be joining us and look forward to seeing you in August!