It's official:
We’re writing a book—and we want you to be part of it!
Releasing Spring 2023 in partnership with Tyndale, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER (working title) will feature motherhood-themed essays from contributors, woven together by the voice of Her View From Home creator Leslie Means.
The book will speak to readers of all backgrounds, experiences, and faith journeys on an emotional level—mirroring the heart of Her View From Home’s thriving contributor website. Readers will pick up SO GOD MADE A MOTHER and feel seen and encouraged. Within its pages, they’ll recognize the strength, beauty, and purpose in their own stories.
The Details:
- Submissions are due no later than September 15, 2021
- We’re looking for content from all perspectives, experiences, and stages. No other mother has a story exactly like yours, and we want to hear it.
- Essays should be approx. 800 words (much like a Her View From Home article). While you may have told your story or written versions of it elsewhere, the specific essay you submit for SO GOD MADE A MOTHER must be unpublished anywhere else.
- Submissions are limited to two (2) essays per author. Please submit each submission individually, in separate emails.
- You will receive a response on your submission(s) by December 1, 2021
- Submissions are not guaranteed to be published until contract is offered and accepted
- Payment for included essays will be $300 each, paid upon manuscript approval (estimated Spring 2022)
- A short author biography will be included in the book for each author selected
- Her View From Home/Tyndale retain exclusive copyright of published essays; you will not be permitted to republish included works on any medium, including social media and personal blogs
Your Submission Should Include:
- Your name in the subject line of the email
- Your name, email address, and suggested title in the body of the email
- Text of article copy/pasted directly into the body of the email (do not attach as a file)
- Please do NOT attach any images
- If submitting more than one piece, send each submission individually, in separate emails.
TO SUBMIT: [email protected]
Here are some writing prompts to get you started. Please remember this list is just to get you thinking—and is not a set-in-stone list of what will be included in SO GOD MADE A MOTHER.
- They really are growing up so fast
- It’s not that I want more kids—I want more time with the kids I have
- My kids need different things from me as a mom
- Tweens: This in-between stage is new for both of us
- I’m not ready for my kids to be almost grown
- I feel my child pulling away and I’m trying to find the balance between embracing independence and wanting them to still be my baby
- Toddlers: This stage of life is hard but wonderful
- No one told me how hard this would be
- Motherhood can be lonely
- I miss my kids when they were little, but I love this part too
- As a working mom, I still battle guilt and feeling like enough at both work and home
- As a stay-at-home mom, I feel isolated and worried I’m not enough
- I love being a working mom
- I love being a stay-at-home mom
- I’m trying to do it all and I’m exhausted
- I love my kids, but sometimes I feel like “Mom” is all that I am
- Moms carry the mental load—but sometimes we need to set it down
- My faith feels hard to define in this stage of life
- I know God loves me, but as a busy mom, He feels distant
- I’m praying my kids will know how loved they are
- I fight for/pray for my kids every day
- Social media only shows the highlight reel, but real life is beautiful too
- As a mom, I always come last and I wonder if I’ll ever find “me” again
- Postpartum emotions and exhaustion are so hard
- I’m full of “mom guilt” and often feel like a failure; everyone else seems to make it look so easy and I’m trying my best but it doesn’t feel good enough
- I’m exhausted by motherhood but it’s still the best thing I’ll ever do
- I want to give my kids what I didn’t have
- Am I the only mom who feels like this?
- How is the work of motherhood holy when it feels so all-consuming?
- I refuse to raise a bully/want to teach my kids kindness
- The friends who show up are everything and we all need them/to be them
- It’s not easy to make friends as an adult and I’m lonely
- Make time in your life for friendship—you need it
- My mom and I aren’t as close as other mothers/daughters seem to be and it makes me sad/jealous
- Dear Mom, now that I’m a mother myself, I get it and want to say thank you
- My family is uninvolved and they’re missing out on great kids
- My grown children don’t lead the lives I may have imagined, but I love them unconditionally
- I wish I could be closer with my siblings now that we’re grown
- My sister is my best friend
- I wish my sister was my best friend
- I prayed for this man before I knew him and he is an answer to those prayers
- Marriage requires sacrifice
- I fall in love with my husband in new ways as the years go by/our love looks different now
- This season of marriage is hard but you are worth the effort
- I want our kids to see a strong and real marriage
- Watching my parents get older is bittersweet
- My mother-in-law raised the man of my dreams
- Learning to set boundaries with family/in-laws is challenging but necessary
- I’ll never get over losing my mom/dad
- Dear mom in heaven, I wish you were here
- Losing a child left a hole in my heart
- Why are you doing this to me, God? My heart is hurting
- My life doesn’t look like I planned
- Being a single mom is harder than it looks
- Our blended family is beautiful
- Adoption completed our family
- Adoption comes with pain and beauty
- Raising a child with special needs impacts our whole family
- My journey to motherhood has not been easy
- I’ll miss the baby I lost forever
Your Submission Should Include:
- Your name in the subject line of the email
- Your name, email address, and suggested title in the body of the email
- Text of article copy/pasted directly into the body of the email (do not attach as a file)
- Please do NOT attach any images
- If submitting more than one piece, send each submission individually, in separate emails.
TO SUBMIT: [email protected]
