Learning to Play the Publishing Game

I met with a youth pastor this week and it was a great time of getting to know each other, hearing how God has worked in his life to this point and looking forward to our friendship growing deeper. ?As we were wrapping up our time together he mentioned wanting to be published and asked for andy advice. ?I shared some things with him but today I updated these previous thoughts and thought I’d share it.

This is not false humility but reality, if I can do it, anybody can do it! So be encouraged.

If being published is your goal you have to keep a few things in mind. It’s not impossible, it’s not easy and it can be rewarding.

When I decided I wanted to begin writing for the little niche of youth ministry world, I decided that my measure of success would be Producing and not being Published. The only part I could and can control is if I try to get my thoughts down for others to see. I couldn’t control if an editor liked my thoughts and published them but I could control if I produced my thoughts for them to see.

My goal, until recently, has been to be published once a year in some youth ministry venue.

So the first thing to do is decide to produce your ideas and then, unlike most resolutions, to actually do it!

Everything Counts

Whether you are published in a local newspaper for a story or Backpackers Monthly, the important thing that editors like to see is that others have used you. And no, church newsletters don’t count.

Those that succeed at writing take it seriously

This was the advice that I took to heart. I started treating writing like a part-time job. I’d try to put about 5 hours a week towards writing, research or improving my writing. It didn’t always happen but it helped me to remain focused.

Pay Your Dues

Maybe you’ll live the dream and your first book will be a runaway success but don’t plan on it. Write what you can and where you can. The very first time I was published was because of my seminary prof who was able to let us write some “filler” for a Chistian Education magazine. It was small but it was a start. I then wrote occasional “Tool Reviews” for Youthworker Journal for a couple of years and then my first sidebar back in 98 for Youthworker.

Then no other articles until 2001 but a good streak started then with Youthworker Journal. During this time I also sold the concept and all of my archives to Youth Specialties for the “Student E-Newsletter”. After that was completed I put off sending my idea for a Creative Bible Lesson book for about a year but I finally sent the proposal and Waa Laa!! I became an official author back in August of 2004. It was a long road for me to go from wanting to write to being able to write a book.

I had a chapter in The Youth Workers Book of Hope that was edited by Tim Baker and published by Youth Specialties. The last few years have been one of “those seasons” where there was little normalcy. We’ve been in Lubbock for almost three years now and things are progressing on the fund-raising aspect of my job and finally it seems I’m in a good place to begin writing semi-regularly again.

Everyone has a Story

This is my primary conviction that drives me to try and write. Everyone has a story to share. The key is to think of the unique stories in your life and extract the principles from them that can help others. There is nothing new under the sun. My classic story is when I worked for a large church, a leader came in and told me that the church wanted 200 students at church every Sunday and it was 100% my responsibility to make it happen. I listened to him, asked defining questions and later than night updated my resume. What I shared with others as a result of that experience are these two main points:

1. Expectations determine your experience and your exit in youth ministry.
2. Expectations that hurt you in youth ministry are either Unspoken, Unclear or Unrealistic.

I had more details for each of those points but both principles were learned from one experience. Look for the principles in your experience and paint a picture of what that looks like for others.

Paint a Picture

I took a basic speech class in college and never took a homilitcs class in seminary. I’ve only read one complete book about the art of preaching and it was the “Preaching and Teaching with Imagination” by Warren Weirsbe. He made a very strong case that God wired us to think in pictures and pictures are what people really remember. ?This is why you can remember illustrations from years ago but can’t remember the three point outline from last weeks sermon, even if you gave it.

Since that is case, we have to lean to paint pictures with our words. My dream work title for a future Tax Return is “Artistic Wordsmith”.

Find Your Voice

Be yourself with your own unique quirks and views. As the old country preacher used to say, “You gotta be who you is. Cause if you is who you ain’t, then you ain’t who you is.” No one else has your view or experiences, learn how to share those views and experiences with others, as only you can.

One thing I hear consistently from friends who’ve read things I wrote goes something like this, “I could hear you talking to me when I read it.” ?That is what it means to find your voice, you are the only one with your unique perspective and ability to share the insights you find so share them as only you can.

People, who don’t even know you yet, are waiting to hear your voice and you never know, you just might impact someone’s life beyond what you can imagine through the power of words.