Forming Great Teams

by Michael Elmore

Many people who read this blog are interested in writing. I know I am. Writing takes talent, practice, learning and encouragement. Perhaps you are not an accomplished author yet. But God has this in mind for you because he has put the desire in your heart. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Recognize that the dream to become an author is not just your aspiration but it is a desire that God has purposely placed within you to glorify His name and fulfill your destiny.

Regardless of the genre you are interested in, God can use your gift to touch countless lives. I don’t know if you realize this or not but the Bible includes a variety of writing genres. For example, you may not be aware of this but about 60% of Scripture is written as poetry. Poetry touches the inner life like few genres can. God also used prose, history, accounting and record keeping, prophecy and storytelling to communicate to humanity. So be encouraged, regardless of the genre you are interested in God can use you!

The question remains for most of us, “How can I hone my skills, connect with literary agents, market a product and sell it successfully?” That’s where learning how to form a great team comes in. Zechariah 4:10 states, ”Do not despise the day of small beginnings.” You probably know someone who has an interest in writing like yourself. You may belong to a writers association, perhaps you’ve attended a conference or workshop or two. Great! That’s how you begin to form a team.

When forming a team pray for divine connections. If you are serious about writing God will put you in touch with just the people you need to serve on your team. One way to help you form a team is to remember that serving others is an excellent way to form a team. Volunteer to help an experienced author. Learn from them, let them mentor you, assist them with their projects and you will be surprised at how rapidly a network of possible team members will soon cross your path. This is called the Law of Association. If we want to be successful then we need to spend time with people that we want to be like. Jesus said, “I came to serve not to be served.”( Mk. 10:45) If serving was good enough for Jesus, then it should be good enough for us.

Finally, be selective who you allow to be part of your team. Look for quality not for quantity. Learn from the best people you are able to connect with. One way to do this is to build networks through conferences, workshops, and seminars. These types of places are chock-full of published authors, promoters, marketing people and literary agents. But when you network with other people I use one word of guidance: listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and let His Voice guide you to the right people. Be aware of the agendas that others may have. What are their motives, character, lifestyle and spiritual life? Do they honor God through their work? I have found a good rule of thumb for hearing from God is stopping long enough to hear the Shepherds Voice. Jesus said in John 10:27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Welcome to the concept of forming a writing team. I believe as you work in this direction and in the way God leads you, you will find good success! (Joshua 1:8).