{"id":261,"date":"2014-09-04T18:15:50","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T01:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diannebarker.com\/?p=261"},"modified":"2017-09-29T22:02:36","modified_gmt":"2017-09-30T05:02:36","slug":"reinventing-yourself-for-a-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diannebarker.com\/?p=261","title":{"rendered":"Reinventing Yourself for a Comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was born with a silver pen in my hand, so to speak. The Lord blessed my young life with huge success. I landed my dream job at eighteen, writing for the local newspaper while attending college, and wrote my first book at twenty-four. My 1986 book Twice Pardoned<\/em> (life of Harold Morris) was # 1 on the national Christian best-sellers list.<\/p>\n

Then life took an unexpected turn, taking me out of the publishing loop for over fifteen years to care for my parents and parents-in-love as they declined in health. The Lord shrunk my life to basics-laundry, grocery shopping and cooking, driving our parents to medical appointments, attending church and events involving our children.<\/p>\n

When the Lord led me away from public life, he gave me a promise that someday he would enlarge my life again and confidence \u201cthat he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus\u201d (Philippians 1:6 NIV).<\/p>\n

After our parents were in heaven and our children had left the nest, it was time to reinvent myself. But the publishing industry had changed. I attended a writers conference, hoping to get a foot in the door. An editor informed the non-fiction class our chances of getting a traditional publisher were bleak and grim.<\/p>\n

Getting my name back in the public arena was crucial. I submitted a few magazine articles, set up a website, printed promotional materials (business cards and a one-sheet) about my writing and speaking ministry, and learned to navigate social media.<\/p>\n

The Lord honored my perseverance, opening doors to speak and publish. Joining two professional organizations\u2014Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and Christian Authors Network\u2014provided amazing support and encouragement. All my writing life, I\u2019d been going it alone.<\/p>\n

In 2012 I self-published Cabbages and Kings\u2014Reflections on Living Abundantly in Christ<\/em>, a collection of columns I\u2019d written for the newspaper. It\u2019s a handbook for making Christianity work, suggesting attitudes and habits essential for living in joy, such as moving past failure and learning to put love and forgiveness into practice.<\/p>\n

My eleventh book, I Don\u2019t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! Organizing for the Maximum Life<\/em>, won the Christian Authors Network 2014 Golden Scrolls third-place award for non-fiction book of the year.<\/p>\n

The Lord is full of surprises! In 2013 I began hosting a program on the Christian station WHCB radio, 91.5 FM, Bristol, Tennessee, \u201cAt the Library\u201d on Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. ET www.whcbradio.org.<\/p>\n

Why bother reinventing myself? God gave me a job to do. Giving up isn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n

What about you? Have life\u2019s detours dimmed your dreams? Do you feel drained\u2026empty? Don\u2019t give up! Dust off those dreams. Take your emptiness to the Lord and let him refill your hope!<\/p>\n

Here are twenty steps for beginners or beginning-againers\u2014and anyone else who\u2019s ready to jump into the Reinvention Marathon.<\/p>\n

The starting line\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n\u2022 Absolute requirements: a website; business cards and one-sheet about your life and ministry; a social media presence.
\n\u2022 Attend writers conferences to network with writers and editors.
\n\u2022 Submit articles\/devotionals to magazines so you\u2019ll have clips to show editors; do an internet search for magazine submission guidelines.
\n\u2022 Save everything you write, even personal letters or emails. Consider developing those thoughts into devotionals.
\n\u2022 If your circumstances are too complicated to pursue publishing, accept that you are in this place by God\u2019s design.
\n\u2022 Journal as part of your daily quiet time with the Lord. Later, you may turn those notes into devotionals.
\n\u2022 Write as you go. I make notes on envelopes, receipts, napkins, even my hand so I don\u2019t lose a thought.
\n\u2022 File thoughts topically in folders or computer folders. When you\u2019re ready to write an article or a book, you\u2019ll have ample material. It will be a matter of organizing thoughts. I can\u2019t imagine sitting down to write a book, looking at a blank screen, and having nothing.
\n\u2022 Serve the Lord where you are. During my shrunken-life period, the Lord gave me a mentoring ministry, sending to my own door young women seeking marriage and parenting advice. I shared principles the Lord was teaching me. Those one-one-one teaching opportunities became the foundation for my next two books: Help! I\u2019m Stuck and I Can\u2019t Get Out! The Maximum Marriage Maintenance and Repair Kit<\/em> and Safely Through the Bulrushes\u2014Anchors for Parenting the Strong-Willed Child.<\/em>
\n\u2022 When the dust of life settles, make yourself available for speaking events. Send an introductory letter and your one-sheet to friends and relatives asking them to pass the information on to the pastor or women\u2019s ministry coordinator at their church.
\n\u2022 Watch for opportunities. I saw a small newspaper article about a local library\u2019s monthly book club meeting. I offered to speak. They\u2019ve invited me twice.
\n\u2022 When you speak, take a pad and ask people to sign up for your email updates. I always promise they will rarely hear from me. I will not bombard them with trivial mail. I will let them know when I have a new book available or a book signing or speaking event.
\n\u2022 Make it easy for event planners. Prepare your own press kit with short bio, photo, and news release. Include the five W\u2019s for journalism: who, what, when, where, why. If the event planner doesn\u2019t send this to media, ask her permission to do it yourself. Keep a file with media information\u2014name, phone number, email address, deadline for news.
\n\u2022 Organize your life. My latest book began about twenty-five years ago with a desire that my time on planet earth count for eternity. That meant I had to get organized and stop wasting my life searching for misplaced items and rescheduling missed appointments. I begged the Lord to help and he did an amazing work.
\n\u2022 Stay positive. Don\u2019t let rejection crush you. Discouragement is paralyzing.
\n\u2022 Encourage yourself. When David was \u201cgreatly distressed,\u201d he \u201cencouraged himself in the LORD his God\u201d (1 Samuel 30:6 KJV).
\n\u2022 When others succeed and you seem to be spinning your wheels, remember you are not competing with anyone else for God\u2019s will for your life! So what if someone else writes the book you intended to write? God can give you fresh ways to express his timeless truths.
\n\u2022 Get over your feelings of inferiority and low esteem. Speak truth to yourself. What does God think of you?
\nHe knows you by name.<\/em>
\n He says you are precious in his sight.<\/em>
\n He loves you with an everlasting love.<\/em>
\n He delights in you.<\/em>
\n He has imprinted you on his heart.<\/em>
\n He has engraved you on the palms of his hands.<\/em>
\n He takes care of sparrows, and he considers you of greater worth than many sparrows.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Memorize Scripture. The promises of God will change your thinking, strengthen your resolve, and direct your steps.
\n\u2022 Persevere! God has chosen you for a purpose; your response is obedience.<\/p>\n

The finish line\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n\u201cTherefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith\u2026.\u201d (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV).
\n\u00a9 Dianne Barker 2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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