Chicken Soup for the Soul was a viral phenomenon before "going viral" was a thing. In 1993, the book of aspartame-sweet first-person stories "to open the heart and rekindle the spirit" spread through North American grocery-store checkout aisles, waiting rooms' book piles, bulk stacks in Costco, and via word-of-mouth from teachers, pastors, and moms.
The brand's origin story, which involves two motivational speakers enduring dozens of publishing house rejections, is a bit of a Chicken Soup story in itself. Because while today's viral phenomena come and go, Chicken Soup for the Soul (CSS) is here to stay. The company is diligently still seeking your soul, wherever it may be.
We're not just talking about books anymore. The brand has translated short, saccharine content into multiple offerings, experimenting with magazines, apps, and canned goods (yes, soup). These products weren't all successful, but current offerings are substantial. There's a podcast, a radio network, an extensive series of educational materials for teachers, a pet food, and as of 2016, an entire entertainment company.
This is where Chicken Soup is really simmering.
 Chicken Soup for the SoulFebruary 19, 2019 |
A dependable recipe
Chicken Soup for the Soul was a viral phenomenon before "going viral" was a thing. In 1993, the book of aspartame-sweet first-person stories "to open the heart and rekindle the spirit" spread through North American grocery-store checkout aisles, waiting rooms' book piles, bulk stacks in Costco, and via word-of-mouth from teachers, pastors, and moms.
The brand's origin story, which involves two motivational speakers enduring dozens of publishing house rejections, is a bit of a Chicken Soup story in itself. Because while today's viral phenomena come and go, Chicken Soup for the Soul (CSS) is here to stay. The company is diligently still seeking your soul, wherever it may be.
We're not just talking about books anymore. The brand has translated short, saccharine content into multiple offerings, experimenting with magazines, apps, and canned goods (yes, soup). These products weren't all successful, but current offerings are substantial. There's a podcast, a radio network, an extensive series of educational materials for teachers, a pet food, and as of 2016, an entire entertainment company.
This is where Chicken Soup is really simmering.
Ready to go deeper?
We're tired of all the shouting matches and echo chambers on social media, and thought you might be, too. On the new Quartz app, we've gathered a community of curious thinkers and doers to have high-quality discussions about the most important stories each day. It's like an ongoing conversation with CEOs like Richard Branson, Punit Renjen, Arianna Huffington, and many more.
1993: After being rejected by major New York publishers (who deeply regret the move) the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book is published by a small Florida self-help publisher. It was penned by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, with the idea "that people could help each other by sharing stories about their lives."
1994–1998: The original book continuously holds a spot on the New York Times bestseller list, while Canfield and Hansen go on to publish several more titles.
2008: The company is sold to a new ownership group, Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC. The by-now iconic title formula changes from Chicken Soup for the [blank] Soul to Chicken Soup for the Soul: [blank].
2016: Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) is established as a series of video content networks, aiming to curate, produce, and distribute "uplifting long-and short-form video content."
2017: CSSE goes public, expecting to reach $36 million in revenue in 2018.
2019: CSSE acquires A Plus, a website specializing in positive journalism, co-founded by Ashton Kutcher. A Plus sells for $15 million, and purchases the rights to stream more than 500 movies and TV series, including Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and the Ernest movie franchise.
$1,500: Amount of the advance Canfield and Hansen sought for the first book
33: Publishers who turned them down
20,000: "Commitment to buy" forms Canfield and Hansen collected at motivational conferences before a publishing house would take a chance on the book
400: Number of times Hansen chanted the mantra "mega-best-selling-title" every night while brainstorming
43: Languages in which the book is published, in over 100 countries
88.7: Percent of the US public that recognizes the CSS brand, according to a Harris Poll
30-100: Daily submissions the CSS office received in 1997
>250: Number of CSS books
6: Number of CSS books for Canadians
>$2 billion: Total sales of all CSS-branded merchandise
$200, plus 10 free books: Compensation writers receive for publication in a Chicken Soup title
$44.99: Cost of a 30 lb bag of "Chicken Soup for the Soul Brand Dog Food"
What makes a Chicken Soup story?
The ability of Chicken Soup to continually whip up books is in part because most are filled with submissions from the public. As such, the company has published guidelines that explain the ingredients of a perfect Chicken Soup essay; they are the key to understanding the CSS winning recipe.
In brief, a Chicken Soup for the Soul story "is an inspirational, true story about ordinary people having extraordinary experiences." They often involve courageous or loving acts and are written in the first person. The stories are meant to convey feeling and drama, and "often close with a punch, creating emotion, rather than simply talking about it." Guidelines state that the stories must be true.
Chicken Soup essays can also be defined by what they are not. In particular, the stories are not meant to be sermons, eulogies, "as told to" stories, term papers, journal entries, biographies, or news articles. Perhaps most telling, a CSS story is not "about politics or controversial issues," which may partially explain the wholesome and sanitized worldview generally propagated by the books.
Pop quiz Which of these is not a Chicken Soup for the Soul title? |
Chicken Soup isn't just a North American salve. In China, the books gained such popularity that the term "chicken soup" has become synonymous with motivational, positive content.
Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Chicken Soup for the Soul?
Who's who in Chicken Soup
It's hard to overstate what a phenomenon the books were. They became so immediately popular that celebrity names were happy to contribute. The very first Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul, published in 1996, included stories from Oprah, Dolly Parton, Maya Angelou, and Kathie Lee Gifford. 2009's Chicken Soup for the Soul: Story Behind the Song was populated with essays by Joan Jett, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, and Kanye West. Bruce Jenner, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Anna Kournikova also appear in various editions.
As is hardly surprising anymore, the Trumps were also involved. Donald Trump, Jr. wrote a short essay in 2009 for Chicken Soup for the Soul: Extraordinary Teens. The eldest son of the US president penned a few words about growing up with a demanding father, the value of hard work, and how nothing (nothing!) was handed to him. Extraordinarily, he wasn't a teen at the time; he was 32 years old.
And here's something to put on the list of things that don't age well: Bill Cosby wrote a short story for the 1999 edition of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul titled "Detention Can Be Fun."
"My dad has made it clear to me that if I don't do my job better than someone else he can hire, he will replace me."
—Donald Trump Jr., in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Extraordinary Teens
"To read them is to surrender to that part of the reading self that longs to believe someone is writing with you in mind. You, the Indian teen. You, the fisherman scrapbooker. You, the indescribably specific, individual spirit. When the stories are doing their job, behind them seems to float an intelligence that fervently wants the best for whomever we happen to be. Who cares how silly that intelligence is? Martin Amis doesn't care if we thrive. Chicken Soup for the Soul just might."
Is there a Chicken Soup for you?
More than a quarter-century after the initial release, there are now at least 276 editions of tear-inducing, cheesy essays covering all manner of souls. There's a book for the cancer survivor's soul, one for the scrapbooker's soul, one for the Nascar fan's soul, and one for the soul of Hawaii.
A Quartz analysis of all the titles found that nearly one in five books is family-themed, 10% of all collections are written for teens or preteens, and 12% of books are faith-focused. All are united by an air of wholesome optimism.
Readers might be forgiven for thinking the series had a religious agenda. Despite assertions from current publisher and editor-in-chief Amy Newmark that Chicken Soup has no religious foundation, the company doesn't shy away from a primarily Christian-centric outlook. Faith-focused titles make up the second-largest portion of Chicken Soup books; many focus on miracles, dreams, messages from heaven, and angels. Its most recent publication is 2019's Chicken Soup for the Soul: Messages from Heaven and Other Miracles. There are single Jewish and Latter-Day Saint volumes, but nothing specifically for the Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhists souls.
The same focus is seen in the company's foray into other mediums; its brief journey into the world of apps produced Angels Around Us, which featured stories of faith and divine occurrences. And late last year, CSSE acquired Truli.com, described as a "global family-friendly as well as faith-based online video channel."
And despite the micro-precision with which it targets readers, Katy Waldman wrote at Slate in 2014, there are no Chicken Soup titles for the LGBT audience—which remains true today.
Poll Do you sip the Soup? |
In Friday's poll about mixtapes, 52% of you said that you still listen to mixtapes because nothing beats a handmade mix.
🤔 What did you think of today's email?
Today's email was written by Amanda Shendruk, edited by Jessanne Collins, and produced by Luiz Romero.
No comments:
Post a Comment