PURPOSELY SAID - Dr. Linda F. Beed

A Method to the Madness
By Dr. Linda F. Beed

My writing career was not one that developed from a seed of careful development. Honesty compels me to tell the whole truth. The truth is that I entered a short story contest in 1998. To date I’m still waiting for a response to that entry. LOL

While waiting for the honor of WINNER to be bestowed upon me I was encouraged to turn the 2,500-word entry into a book. Those words of encouragement opened the door to the creation of On Assignment Publishing and the release of my first book—Business Unusual.

The journey from concept to completion was not without a myriad of obstacles. Those obstacles ranged from being told what I could not do to the negativity from some peer authors and condescending attitudes of public relations marketers who felt I did not have the financing or name recognition to be worth their time.

What I want to relay to you in this post is this—An obstacle is just a testimony waiting to be told.

You have a full-time job, a family and maybe a few social/professional obligations and you now have the audacity to add the pipedream of writing to your already full plate. Yet when you announce the fact that you are going to write a book the negative responses from some will come. There are those (possibly you included) believing that your entrance into the literary world is madness.

Let me clarify what I mean by madness. Madness—the condition of being insane or a lunatic. Loosely used, madness is a condition to be positively embraced when needing to move beyond the confines of expectation. Within the embrace of your alleged delusional state should also be the presence of a method. Method—a way of doing something, especially in a systematic way. For the sake of this post I would like to define method as—an act that causes the illusion of being mad to become the reality of purpose fulfilled.

Lack of finances or knowledge cannot become your obstacle to achievement. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is doing what it is I hope to achieve?

• What draft have I drawn up for the promotion of my book?

• What is my current and ongoing budget for marketing?

• Where do I begin gaining information about marketing strategies?

• Have I considered cross-promotions with others writing in my genre?

• Have I considered working with a PR professional who fits my needs?

• What trade magazines and/or online groups will help me with my need?

No one person can accomplish this feat alone. What each must understand is that there is a method to the madness that it uniquely yours. Do not shy away from it. Embrace it and work until something happens.

Dr. Linda Beed is an educator, speaker, children’s minister and author of Business Unusual and co-moderator of BWChristianLit an online writing and mentor group. She is also review editor for KDgospel Media Magazine.

You can find her on the web at:

http://www.lindabeed.com/ / MySpace / On Assignment Reviews / R U Living On Purpose