Welcome to the first in a series of interviews with wisdom entrepreneurs, innovators doing good and doing well, by transforming an idea into a movement. With each interview, we'll explore what it takes to go through the phases of A Bigger Voice–whether it's Crystallizing, Building Community, or Sustaining. If you know of a wisdom entrepreneur who I should consider interviewing for this blog, please contact me, carol [at] abiggervoice [dot] com.

Patricia Ryan Madson is the author of Improv Wisdom, a gem of a book that I fell in love with as soon as I read the subtitle: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up. I particularly wanted Patricia for this first interview because of her interesting journey in crystallizing her wisdom, over a 20-year period. In this first part of a three-part interview, Patricia gives us a glimpse of the serendipitous path that resulted in her book. You'll also hear why less is more when it comes to crystallizing and how it's okay to ask for help during this phase.

Recording is less than 10 minutes. Let's listen in….

Patricia and I went on to talk about the process of publishing a book. A few lessons learned:

• Publishers want to see book proposals, not full manuscripts, when you are pitching them. People have time to read a book proposal that provides the concept and enough of your writing to know who you are as a writer. They don't have time to read a full manuscript when considering a book.  
• Don't be shy about getting professional help.  As a result of hiring an editor to help shape the book and an agent, Patricia went from initially intending to self-publish to having thirteen publishers bid for her book.
• Don't give up. In Part 2 of this interview, Patricia will tell us the payoff in spending time crystallizing her wisdom to get it just right. As she says, "It's not enough that we just put some good ideas out there. It's worth it to make them just right."

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this interview with Patricia Ryan Madson.

Contact information for Patricia:

www.improvwisdom.com (a chapter of her book is available at this site)

email: improvwisdom [at] comcast.net

Twitter: patryanmadson

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciaryanmadson 

Facebook: Patricia Ryan Madson