Blogger: Rachel Kent
It’s almost summer! Many of you have children starting summer break already. The beginning of summer is a great time to talk about reading since we’ll all be taking books with us out to the pool and on our vacations. Right?
A favorite book led me to my position as an agent at Books & Such. I’m asked at writers’ conferences about the journey to my job all the time, so I’m happy to share it with all of you, too…
Waterfalls by Robin Jones Gunn is a story about a woman who works as an editor. There’s much more to it, of course, including that she falls in love with a movie star and talks to her goldfish, but the editor part is the most important for my journey.
I decided after reading Waterfalls that I wanted to be an editor. The main character of Robin’s book, Meri, got to work from home in her pj’s and read all day. Sounds pretty nice! She did have to speak at a writers conference, but I was going to pass on that part. 😀 So at 16-years-old I knew that I wanted to get an English degree and become an editor. Just about everything I knew about publishing at the time came from that book. I didn’t know anything about literary agents.
During college, I was looking for an internship anywhere because all of the first-time jobs for assistant editors require at least two years of publishing experience. I didn’t really want to move to New York for a summer to work for free as an intern at a publishing house, but that was looking like my best option. I asked a few women at my church to pray for an internship for me, and within days Michelle from our agency contacted me. Michelle goes to my church and was told about me by one of the women I talked with. As a writer herself, Michelle was trying to take off the summers to write; so Janet was looking for someone to fill in for Michelle. Janet was willing to call my work an internship, it was 10 minutes from my house, and she was going to pay me! I still had no idea what a literary agency was, but the job sounded good to me.
I worked at Books & Such as an intern for two summers and then for a year after I graduated. At that point, Janet offered me a job as an agent. I guess she liked me. 🙂 She had been training me during that time for my agenting job and continues to help out when I have questions. Agenting is different from my original “dream” of being an editor, but I think it’s a great fit for who I am. I love my job!
And there was frosting on the cake: Janet represents Robin Jones Gunn! I’ve been able to work with Robin on some special projects and we’ve formed a friendship.
God sure knows what he’s doing, and I’m grateful to know he’s in control of my life.
And speaking at the conferences isn’t so bad either!
What about you? Did a book influence you toward wanting to be a writer?
Is there a special book (other than the Bible) that has shaped your life in some way?
I began writing long before I ever picked up this book about a boy who discovers he is a wizard, but somewhere around ‘The Order of the Phoenix’ my desire to write novels was sealed. The universe Ms. Rowling created inspired me to want to create my own fictional worlds, despite difference in genres.
Thank you for sharing your story to becoming an agent, Rachel! It’s great to read how God works in people’s lives for their good.
I’m reading the Harry Potter books again since my sons have just started them. They are so fabulous. It is amazing how books inspire us to be more.
The Harry Potter books and the overall story arc have such good messages and themes. In addition, the characters are so well-drawn. It isn’t a simple case of good versus evil. The characters are complex so that so that someone like Draco Malfoy can’t be dismissed as just a rotten bully who should get his just desserts. Rowling has made him someone readers can feel compassion for and can hope for his redemption (what a Christian message!). Also, Harry, while fighting for the side of goodness and choosing in the end [Spoiler Alert!] to die in order to keep evil from taking over both the wizarding and muggle worlds, has to battle the darkness within himself as well as the battling Lord Voldemort. He has to deal with his anger, his desire (at times) for vengeance, his impatience, his fears, and his pride–all of which make him very human and easy to relate to. The important thing is that he always ultimately chooses the good and chooses to do the right thing. I think that is such an important message: that we have a choice and that it is the choices we make that define who we are and that impact our world for good or for ill.
Also, it’s hard not to love an author who got an entire generation into reading books. 🙂
Isn’t it amazing how a book can completely alter the course of our lives? There are two books which have had a dramatic impact on the choices I make and the way I view the world. In fourth grade I picked up Farley Mowat’s ‘A Whale For The Killing’ off the shelf at school and it opened my eyes to the fact that we as humans often misuse the beautiful creation God has given us. That one book was the start of a lifelong interest in the natural world and in making kind, sustainable decisions.
Around the same time I read Tennyson’s ‘Idylls Of The King’ for the first time (yes, I had weird literary tastes for a fourth grader!) and it sparked a fascination with medieval history which remains to this day. My unfinished degree is in Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and my current WIP takes place in Anglo Saxon England.
Love this question, Rachel, and I’m really looking forward to reading everyone’s answers!
I LOVE Idylls Of The King! The description of Bedivere’s farewell to Arthur has stayed with me for decades.
Andrew, it’s a wonderful little book! I’ve always liked the story of Enid and Geraint–there aren’t many female charactees out there who exemplify wifely submission so well.
I would assume you enjoy Ulysses as well? Hands down my favorite piece of poetry in the English language.
Ulysses is one of my very favorites!
Thank you for sharing your journey to agenting, Rachel! I love how God had His hand in all this–from reading Waterfalls to praying with church ladies to working with Robin! Pretty amazing!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Richard Bach’s ‘Biplane’ gave me a dream of wings that I never lost, even among the killing fields and mass graves (I have that dream-memory way too often) of a gentle and martyred land. Bach gave me hope; I wish only that I might do the same for others.
First, Andrew, I think you already do give hope to others–on this blog and I’m sure elsewhere. Secondly, since you have such a strong desire to give hope to others, the ground of that hope is surely God, and if He is the ground of your desire, He will certainly fulfill your that desire.
It is indeed God…flight is a metaphor, a la John Gillespie Magee’s poem High Flight.
I think Life of Pi influenced me to want to tell stories. I lived in India, and the fact that the author could give me the flavor of the culture without actually being FROM there, made me want to try it, too. On a traveling note, I’m headed to Africa today. I would appreciate prayers from those of you who “chat at the sky.” 🙂
Oh, Hannah … Africa. I’ll be praying for you. I know your time will be blessed.
Hannah, sending prayers up for you now. 🙂 Have a wonderful visit to Africa.
Journey mercies, Hannah–geographic, cultural and spiritual.
Thanks to all of you!
Prayers for your safety and health!
When I was in 7th grade I read a book that I really enjoyed. I of course can’t remember the title or author. All I remember was that the girl who wrote the book was published when she was only 17. I had always liked writing. This girl’s success gave me hope that I could be a real writer. God has lead me down a very different path, but I still keep writing. I guess that book gave validation to my dream of being a writer. Thanks for sharing your book that set up your dream. Wendy
That sounds like The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I believe she was sixteen or seventeen when she wrote that book.
In fifth grade I bought, with my own money, Satchell Paige’s autobiography, Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever, which opened my eyes to the realities of racial prejudice. It was a life changer.
As far as books that spurred me to writing, the ones that did the most toward that are Michener’s Centennial and Wouk’s The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. The level of storytelling in those is incredible. They made me want to be able to tell stories like that.
I am amazed as I read the times that each of these comments came in. I wonder if writers ever sleep. Melinda Ickes, what were you doing up at 3:57 am? Obviously you were reading blogs.
Wendy, I’m from the land of the Buckeyes. It was nearly 7:00a.m. when I commented. 🙂
And I have a baby at home, Wendy, so you will frequently see me comment at odd hours because that’s how I keep myself awake during night feedings 😉
When I was in third grade I got very sick and had to miss a lot of school. I picked up “Mrs. Mike”, my first BIG book. That turned me into a reader and from then on, so many books affected me. In Jr.Hi, “That Was Then, This Is Now” by S.E. Hinton showed me how an author can make you almost “become” the main character.
Wendy A., I am guessing that the book you read way back then may have been “The Outsiders” since S.E. Hinton was only 16 when she wrote it. Those books are still checked out of libraries by kids today.
For the record, Rachel has an excellent editorial eye.
It’s been terrific having her as a colleague all these years–especially when it meant I could take off for the summer to write! LOL.
Beautiful story, Rachel. I love it when everything works out better than we thought it could. Doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen. It was like that when my husband and I were asked to work at the camp. We didn’t think it was going to work, but God changed everything around so that it was perfect. Although right now our house is being invaded by carpenter ants, so even the perfect job has its tough spots.
Oh Kristen, carpenter ants! My home was invaded by ants at one point and it was so difficult to get rid of them. II hate killing things, but I turned into a zealous ant killer during that time.) You and your husband are in my prayers. Hopefully the invasion will be short-lived.
Thank you, Rachel, for your story. It is beautiful how God led you to Books and Such and to a slightly different life than you had planned, but one that you love.
There isn’t a specific book that led me to want to be a writer. I have been telling stories since before I could write sentences and I just always wanted to be a writer, but there are books that have given me the hope that it is possible to become a writer and books that have made me yearn to give to people the joy that certain authors have given me. James Herriot (real name James Alfred Wight) is at the top of that list. His stories are so filled with humor, poignancy, and humanity that I continue to read his novels over and over even though I know the stories by heart. I’ve also studied his work as a writer to discover what he does to engage the reader and what it is about his voice that makes it someone I want to spend time with. One thing about him as author that I always loved and that now gives me hope is that he didn’t write his first book until he was fifty–then he became an international best-selling author whose first book sold 206,000 hardcover copies and 4.1 million in paperback as of 1992 (www.jamesherriot.org). I’ve been rather slow at getting around to fulfilling my dream by seriously focusing on trying to get my work published, but now in my middle age, I’ve started working at it and Alf Wight’s own publishing story gives me hope that I’m not “past it.”
Christine, I lived on James Herriot’s stories growing up! I re-read them frequently now as an adult and am looking forward to sharing them with my daughters. You’re right, they are wonderful.
It’s wonderful that you’re planning to share them with your daughters. The world of his books is such a delightful place to play in.
The book of Isaiah inspires me: the poetic imagery, the quotes directly from God, the ongoing saga of God and his chosen people. One of my sons is also writer, and I often pray that he will write “in the spirit of Isaiah.” Come to think of it, that’s my hope for my own work.
For the majority of my life I didn’t want children. I like kids but had absolutely no desire to have any of my own. When I married (almost eleven years ago), I told my husband if he wanted children, he better marry someone else. Then, a couple of years ago, I reviewed IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity which is published by Master Books. One chapter was dedicated to biblical child training. Although I’ve read many books on biblical child training (odd for someone who didn’t want them), this book opened up my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities, and I fell in love with God’s plan for the family. I now have one child in heaven (we lost our first one a few weeks ago while still in the womb), but I’m looking forward to the others that are to come. Thank God for life-changing books and the authors who are willing to write them. 🙂
Rachel, I’m so sorry that you lost your first child. You and your husband are in my prayers. You do have an angel now in heaven though to pray for you. I’m sure since you feel God changed your mind about having a family that God has another child in mind for you. Many blessings!
Thank you for your encouraging words, Christine.
You’re welcome, Rachel. 🙂
Jane Eyre. It was a delicious read in high school. The blend of history, romance, suspense and an independent woman with spirit just slayed me. I knew then all those elements would be the heartbeat of my stories. A darkness in the suspense and yet the glimmer of hope in romance and that brooding hero whose ability to love far surpasses his own black moment. AHHHH! must. go. read. it. again.
Jaime, your description of Jane Eyre is spot on.
Oh I wish I had gone to your high school (though the Count of Monte Cristo still haunts me) because I would have loved to discover Jane Eyre in my teens. And I agree with Jenni about your description!
I’m glad you’re an agent, Rachel! 🙂 There are several books that have influenced my life, but one stands out most of all. The title is Joy Sparton of Parsonage Hill. I read this book when I was ten years old and accepted Jesus as my Savior right along with the quirky, hilarious main character. I know my love of middle grade books stems from this reading experience.
I loved Waterfalls! Didn’t that character also have a big inflatable man that led to several hysterical moments? I love how Robin uses humor to soften her reader’s hearts. She’s a gifted writer.
Oh my gosh, what a great story! I love when books impact people’s lives like that! God is so awesome. I always wanted to be a writer, but I never imagined that I would use my writing as a marketer, (WHICH I LOVE!). It also is my passion to help others, I get to do both.
A few young adult titles come to mind when I consider what gave me the writing bug. A Lantern in Her Hand, The Root Cellar, Christy, I Capture the Castle, & The Velvet Room. Also, I read a series of sweet, historical romance books in Junior High that expanded my delight in this genre. The Sunfire Romance series was written by a variety of authors about distinct times in American History. I bought all 32 titles with my allowance money and loved them all.
Brock and Bodie Theone’s entire collection, pre-1995. I had 2 kids by then, buh bye reading time!
Jeanette Windle’s Crossfire, The DMZ and Firestorm
Bonnie Leon’s Touching the Clouds
I would say The Hiding Place knocked me on my butt when it came to God ordained times of taking chances and living like I had nothing to lose by being obedient.
I don’t think I realized it when I was reading her books, but looking back later I realized that Bess Streeter Aldrich’s books had a profound influence on me in my pre-writing life in the way she held out hope in difficult circumstances. The quiet faith underpinning her plots also impressed me. She also encouraged me as a young mother–her books The Cutters and Mother Mason remain great favorites of mine.
Rachel, I’m glad to know “the rest of the story.” Thanks for sharing an inspiring post!
For me, it was “Talk Before Sleep” by Elizabeth Berg. I was so jealous of the way she wove insight into women’s relationships into a fictional narrative. I told myself I could never write like that! But it stayed with me until my own story started to unfold on the page. I retired from the practice of medicine for the sole purpose of dedicating myself to writing. That was seven years ago. I have never regretted my decision.
I can’t think of book that influenced my desire to be a writer, but I do have a special book that has shaped my life.
Christy by Catherine Marshall.
I was sixteen and not a Christian when I read it. I had been dabbling in New Age stuff and contemplating other religions, looking for for some meaning to life and solution to my inner turmoil. I had wanted what that book had, but no one I knew had read the book. Thus started my journey toward knowing Christ. It had such an impact on me that I did not pick up another book until almost ten years later. And up until that point, books were like a drug for me. 🙂