Download PDF, Pointers for Writing Devotionals
Download PDF, Devotional Book Guidelines
Devotional submissions are always needed
Seventh-day Adventist women are invited to submit short devotionals for the 2026 devotional book manuscript by October 31, 2023.
Do you have a personal experience of God's involvement in your life? Can you show how this experience demonstrates a Biblical principle? Can you reveal an application for a reader's everyday life? We need you!
- So, you have an idea for your devotional, but need more guidance for writing. One of our editors provides inspiration and suggestions for writing techniques. Read here.
- Now that you have worked on your technique you need to know how to format your submission and where to send it. Continue reading.
Each submission needs to be about 375-425 words.
Devotional Book Guidelines
We solicit devotionals written by Seventh-day Adventist women based on a personal experience of God's involvement in the life of a woman and show how this experience demonstrates a Biblical principle which readers can apply to everyday life.
Most Important Guidelines
- Word limit is 375-425.
- Type in English.
- Include a devotional title, and a selected Bible verse with its text reference, including Bible version.
- Footnote all quoted sources including E. G. White.
- Biblical text references in the devotional are not footnoted, but but please include the Bible version.
- Always include your name on the devotional as you wish to see in print. Capitalize SURNAME for alphabetizing.
- Include contact information with street mailing address and telephone number.
- Include biographical sketch of four to five typewritten lines or less.
- Devotionals accepted in Word and Pages or typed within the body of an email message.
- Two devotionals accepted per book per author.
- Submit your devotional by email: [email protected]
- Devotionals are accepted at any time.
- October 31, 2023 is the deadline for receiving devotionals in this office for the editor's next book manuscript, but sometimes we don't have enough by the deadline—please submit all year round. (See the production schedule at the bottom of this webpage.)
Additional Useful Details
The Perfectionist's format
- Page size, US letter, 8.5 x 11 inches (not A4)
- Times New Roman, regular font, 12-point type
- Alignment flush left, line numbering turned on
- One-inch margins all around
- Paragraph indention, one-half inch
- Line spacing exactly 20 points or double spaced
- One space after sentence punctuation
- No italics, underline, bold, ALL CAPS, numbered lists, or bullet points.
Important to Know
- If your devotional runs too long, you may be asked to shorten your submission.
- If you quote from another source, please include written permission to use the quoted reference or song lyrics.
- Permission is NOT necessary for quoting E. G. White writings, the Bible, or for two lines of lyrics published in the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal.
- All song lyrics (only two lines allowed) and poetic passages of the Bible are typeset as poetry, taking more space than you may expect.
- Sorry, pseudonyms are NOT permitted; and NO poems will be accepted.
Pointers for Writing Devotionals
Whether or not your submission is accepted, Pointers for Writing Devotionals, will inspire you to write another devotional or to rewrite the devotional in front of you. It was written for our devotional book contributors by a former devotional book editor, Carolyn R. Sutton.
Biographical Sketch
Your biographical sketch—no longer than four or five lines—is submitted each year along with your devotional submission and contact information. You may include what you do for an occupation, what you do for your church or community, what you do in your spare time, and what your additional personal accomplishments are. You may include your ministry website address.
How do you want your name to appear in the book? Please always use that name with your submission and biographical sketch.
Notify Us of Any Changes
If your name, address, contact information, or biographical sketch changes, please notify us promptly. July 31 is the deadline for updating contact information in any year before your devotional book is shipped in September or October. Contact information includes your street address, telephone number, e-mail address. Please notify us if you plan to relocate before the end of the year. We will hold your book to send to your new address when provided the new address.
How to Submit
When you submit a devotional, you will receive a response confirming your submission has been received.
Your devotional may be submitted in one of the following ways:
1. By e-mail: [email protected]
2. By fax: 1 (301) 680-6600
3. By postal mail, send to:
GC Women's Ministries Devotional Book
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600
Tel: 1 (301) 680-6608
Copyright Issues
All submissions become the property of the General Conference Women's Ministries Department. Unused manuscripts cannot be returned.
If your devotional has previously been published elsewhere, you must notify us for copyright purposes. Please include a letter or forward an email from the previous publisher granting us permission to use your devotional.
If your submission is accepted and published in the Women's Ministries devotional book, it cannot be used in another publication without written permission from General Conference Women's Ministries.
Statements of permission from you or from us are also needed for self-published devotionals, including your own Internet blog.
About Your Contributions
We solicit contributions from women on a wide variety of spiritual topics. Each devotional should be based on a personal experience of God's involvement in the life of a woman and show how this experience demonstrates a Biblical principle which readers can apply to everyday life. Please, no sermons or doctrinal studies. This book will be marketed to Christians of all denominations; therefore, terminology should be used that can be understood by all Christians. We encourage global participation which contributes a varied cultural and ethnic flavor to each book.
Authors are encouraged to submit no more than two devotionals in any one year unless notified otherwise. If you have been notified that a devotional of yours was not accepted, please do not resubmit it unless you have made significant changes which more accurately reflect the devotional book guidelines and the list of pointers for writers.
Those who contribute to this project agree that all royalties of the devotional books will go to the Women's Ministries Scholarship Fund of the division in which the book is published. They further agree that they will receive no payment for any contributions submitted or accepted for publication. However, each author will receive a complimentary copy of the book from Pacific Press Publishing Association.
Book royalties fund scholarships
Thank you for contributing to our women's devotional book, which has been published annually since 1992. The royalties from book sales have contributed significantly (more than 1.4 million US dollars) in funding 2,789 scholarships awarded to Adventist women from 145 countries who are enrolled in Adventist higher education .
Submissions that are not accepted
If your submission was not accepted, it may be for the following reasons:
- It is too long or too short.
- It is a tribute to an individual.
- It is not a personal experience or insight that applies to women.
- Do not include a personal experience that promotes a project, book, or accomplishment.
- Do not summarize someone else's experience that you found printed elsewhere.
- It is not fully showing God's presence in the experience.
- It is not uplifting or encouraging; it is too depressing or sad in nature or message; is not dealt with in a devotionally redemptive-spiritually redemptive manner.
- It is similar to other submissions already accepted or on a topic addressed many times.
- It covers too many topics, none of which has enough information to be developed into a complete devotional.
- It might be offensive to someone of other religious, cultural, ethnic, or racial background.
- It degrades men.
- It is more of a sermon or doctrinal study, not a devotional in tone.
- It is too controversial in subject theme.
Production Schedule for the current books: 2025, 2026, and 2027
- Collecting submissions begins three years in advance of the reading year.
- Editing begins two years in advance of the reading year.
- Pre-press work begins one year in advance of the reading year.
Current production year
September-October 2023: The press addresses and ships the 2024 devotional book.
October 2023: The editor completes the 2025 book manuscript and sends it to the press.
October 31, 2023: Deadline to submit devotionals needed to fill the 2026 book manuscript.
Next production year
November 2023: The pre-press cycle begins with the 2025 book manuscript.
November 2023: The editorial cycle begins for the 2026 manuscript.
November 2023: The collection of submissions cycle begins for the 2027 manuscript.
January 2024: Contributing authors of the 2025 book are notified of the acceptance and placement date of their devotionals.
May 2024: Editor proofreads galley prints for the 2025 book manuscript.
June 30, 2024: Deadline to update biographical sketches for the 2026 manuscript.
July 31, 2024: Deadline to provide address changes for the complimentary 2025 devotional book mailing. Please notify us if you plan to relocate before the end of the year. We will hold your book to send to your new address.
August 2024: Book printing is completed for the 2025 devotional book.
September 2024: The press addresses and ships the 2025 devotional book.
October 2024: The editor completes the 2026 book manuscript and sends it to the press.
October 31, 2024: Deadline to submit devotionals needed to fill the 2027 book manuscript.
November 2024: The pre-press cycle begins with the 2026 book manuscript.
November 2024: The editorial cycle begins for the 2027 book manuscript.
November 2024: The collection of submissions begins for the 2028 book manuscript.
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