These days you don't need to be in a big church if you want to be taken seriously as a youth worker. Better yet, you need to be a authored “youth worker”. To help you achieve this goal Think Youth Mininstry has spent countless hours researching and interviewing youth ministry industry folks about the secrets of getting a book deal. Here are never before released “Five Easy Steps To Become an Authored Youth Worker”:
Step 1: Grow a fohawk - This is a must-have for all aspiring youth workers. If you can’t do it, consider shaving 
your head as a second option.
Step 2: Grow a goatee – Complete step 1 before step 2. This is important. If you can’t grow a goatee, grow some other facial hair. Just Google “cool facial hair” for inspiration.
Step 3: Dress like a star – You must invest some money into buying some vintage shirts and jeans with rips in them. If you want to be a an authored youth worker, start dressing like one. We would recommend you start here.
Step 4: Have a Blog – It is no mystery that there is a formula to the top 10 youth ministry books. They all started out as blogs and usually talk about how after being tested in their local youth ministry it warrented a book. Writing time for your blog does count as ministry time because you are resourcing other youth workers "around the world."
Step 5: Write a book and tweet about it – As you’re in the process of writing a book, you must tweet & facebook about how you are so excited to be in the writing process and that this is going to be the best book you’ve ever written (even if this happens to be the only book you’ve ever writen). If you’re on staff at a church, it is encouraged that you count your writing time as a part of your work hours. After all, you are about to reach thousands of people with this awesome resource – that’s real ministry!
Bonus Steps:
Step 6: Grow your online fan base – If you want to get a book deal, you must have a large following in social media. These days it’s all about the 3 F’s: # of Friends (on Facebook), # of Followers (on Twitter), and # of Fans (on your Facebook page).
Step 7: Contact book companies – Once you’ve completed all of the above steps, you can start contacting publishers. Publishers just love to get emails from youth workers asking them to read the manuscript of their new book. Better yet, call them. If you can’t find their phone number, send them a message on Twitter or Facebook.
Step 8: Repeat Step 7 – So you’ve completed all seven steps and didn’t get any response from any publishing companies? What are you waiting for? Contact them again! In fact, if you’re a full-time youth pastor, do it during your office hours at church. After all, it all counts as ministry, doesn’t it?
Step 9: Finally, after months of contacting publishing companies, giving your book to youth ministry authors at conferences, and being unsuccessful in getting a publishing deal (or any kind of response), you must have a Plan B. Start your own independent publishing company! You can now claim to be an Authored Youth Worker. All you need to do is get a business name. For example, you can start a publishing company called “Excellent Youth Ministry Resources, LLC”.
Hope these never-before-seen secrets will help your dreams become a reality. Oh, by the way, pray for God’s blessing if you’re not getting anywhere on your own. He loves you, so He’s going to bring a book deal to your door. After all, isn’t that in the Bible?
ht: All About Worship for this idea. Youth Workers and Worship Leaders are more alike than we thought!
