1) Your story is written in the first person and is a story with a beginning, middle and an ending that is inspirational.

2) Your story is a true story about you– an “ordinary” person who has had remarkable experiences.

3) You use all of your senses to give the reader the opportunity to feel they are right there with you in the story —create vivid word pictures using sight, touch, taste, smell and sound.

4) Your story has emotion and perhaps even a sense of drama – there is something about your story that will make it memorable and something that other people can relate to or learn from.

5) The best stories make us cry, make us laugh and make us think.

6) The most powerful stories are about people going outside of themselves to do for someone else – performing an act of love, service, kindness or courage. If we publish your story or poem, you will receive two free copies of the book your story or poem appears in. You will also become part of the Baby Hearts Press family and you will be entitled to buy books from us at a discount.

1) Remember that this is a book for the congenital heart defect community so the story needs to have something to do congenital heart defects or living with a congenital heart defect. You should tell your story in an exciting, tender, heartwarming or funny way.

2) People need to be able to relate to your story – it should make them cry, laugh, feel inspired, surprised or educated.

3) Write in an active tense; start your story with what is happening and do NOT tell us what you’re going to tell us and then summarize what you said; make every word count.

4) Make it personal; your story should be from your heart for the heart of your reader.

​If you are concerned about mentioning certain places or names, you may change them and you may use a pen name.

5) All stories should be 1200 words or less. Be concise and make sure your writing is tight. Edit, edit, edit.

The best writing is rewriting.

6) Your story needs to be as true and as factual as possible. No fiction or creative writing. Stick to the facts.

1) Poems are another way of telling a story. Make sure your reader has learned something about you through the poem.

2) The poem may or may not rhyme; what’s important is the story.

3) The poem needs to be 500 words or less.

1) Participation in Scribophile Heart to Heart Writing Group and Memoir-Writing Workshops:

All authors must join the Scribophile Heart to Heart Writing Group (accessible at https://www.scribophile.com) as part of the anthology project. Within this group, we will collaboratively work on individual pieces before compiling them into a cohesive first draft.

To enhance the quality of the anthology contributions, Anna will be offering exclusive Memoir-Writing Workshops specifically for Scribophile members. These workshops aim to help authors produce their best work for inclusion in the anthology.

By participating in the Scribophile Heart to Heart Writing Group and attending the Memoir-Writing Workshops, authors will have the opportunity to refine their writing and contribute to the collective success of the anthology.

2) Communication with the Webmaster:

Please note that responses from the webmaster may take several days. We kindly ask for your patience in awaiting a response. It's important to understand that our webmaster cannot assist with personal computer problems. If you have technical questions such as how to attach your story to the submission form, we recommend reaching out to a friend or relative for assistance, rather than contacting our webmaster.

3) Submission Guidelines for Stories and Poems:

a) We only accept stories or poems that have not been previously published, with the following exception: If your work has been published in a small local publication with limited circulation or on your personal blog, you may still submit it for consideration. However, please ensure that you have obtained permission from the publisher if your work has been previously published.

4) Exclusion of Book Manuscripts:

Please note that book manuscripts should not be submitted using this form. Our submission process is specifically designed for stories and poems. If you have a book manuscript or novel-length work, we kindly request that you do not send it through this form.

Please be patient after you press the SUBMIT button. Wait for the next screen to come up with a message that says: Thank you for your submission to Baby Hearts Press! This is your confirmation that we have received your story or poem and that it has been entered into our database. This is the only confirmation you will receive. There is no separate e-mail message from us.

​A very obvious “error” message comes up if your submission does not go through.

We will send notification to each author prior to the publication date via email; therefore it is extremely important to make sure your email address is typed correctly in the submission form. You may wish to also include a phone number.

It takes years to put these anthologies together so please be patient.