Ever wonder what a literary agent wishes for? Let me tell you a few things I wish for on the last star of the morning or when I blow out the candles on the birthday cake.
Wish #1: That I could get every single client placed in their perfect forever publishing home. I’m getting closer every day but I must continue to work to make this wish come true.
Wish #2: That publishing companies would pull back from the belief that social media numbers equal book sales. One of my 2022 goals read as follows:
“Continue to seek quality projects that honor Christ and have real substance, regardless of author platform. (Integrity)”
Another one was this:
“Stop seeking potential authors who are “influencers.” (Our industry needs more humble servants, fewer big personalities.) Follow this path even if this means missing out on big sales. I’m getting closer and closer to the time when I’ll stand before Christ to give an account. Yikes!”
Happily, the Lord has blessed this intention. After this week– the second week in October– I’ll have already exceeded my ambitious sales goal for 2022, without one single “influencer.”
Wish #3: That I could keep on finding brand new voices and help them grow careers of substance and real influence. When I think back on some of the unpublished writers I introduced into the book world, I’m humbled. Writers like Tessa Afshar, Lori Benton, Amanda Dykes, Cynthia Ruchti, Jill Eileen Smith and Sarah Loudin Thomas. Not to mention the authors I represented early in their careers, helping them to reach the next level.
Wish #4: That I could get back to everyone who ever contacted me and help each person who asked. (Not very likely, but a girl can dream.)
Wish #5: That none of the editors I’ve loved working with over the years would ever have the temerity to think they could retire happily. Stop it now!
Wish #6: That every single writer in this Books & Such Blog community would find the perfect representation and the perfect publishing relationship. (Why does it have to be so hard?)
That’s probably enough wishing for now. I’m guessing this beggar won’t be riding any horses soon, but I always think of what Pooh said to Piglet, “Be brave, little Piglet.” So I’m going to be brave and get back to work, making at least some of these wishes come true.
How about you? What do you wish for?
“Have faith little one ‘til your hopes and your wishes come true. You must try to be brave.”
―
When a Tulip is Called a Rose–What IS Traditional Publishing?
What a lovely post!! I wish for more agents like you 🙂
I think you’d be surprised how many of us there are.
I’d choose to set my hope aside
to nourish that of others,
cast away the last of pride
and celebrate my brothers
who have found deserved success,
and not bemoan my failures;
God, let me pass this final test,
for it alone ensures
that where death may find me
on its chosen day,
I will leave in victory
and go upon my way
with no vain attempt to tarry,
for I’ll have no regrets to carry.
As usual, Andrew, with a handful of words, you say it better than me. That’s why I became an agent after a career of Influence and being a “celeb” in a small world. To nourish others and work for their success.
Oh my goodness, I’m not sure how I happened upon your words this morning, but so I did. And I weep. Yes oh yes this. Thank you.
Deb
Dear Wendy,
Your post deeply touched me. I praise God that He is making your wishes come true.
I can roll all my wishes into one: That I will run with integrity and faithfulness the race God has set before me, and that, at its end, I will hear His precious words, “Well-done, good and faithful servant.”
Yes!
I can only add a heart felt AMEN to eschewing social media influences for those who speak from their spiritual heart regardless the number of hits they get! My wish is for touching one heart with my writing and bringing smiles and hope to whatever audience reads my humble work. Enjoy!
An adage tells us if wishes were horses we would all take a ride! I laughed aloud at your #5. I’m 85, have been editing for 50 years (this is my anniversary year), and wouldn’t dream of retiring unless two health problems become reality: dementia and stiff fingers. Neither is on the horizon, my daily thanks to God Almighty. Great blog!
Exactly. I can’t find anywhere in the Bible where it talks about our retirement.
What a beautiful post, Wendy, and so showing your beautiful heart…#2 touched me especially. And what a gift you have given us all in the authors you have introduced to the world–so many of them have blessed me! Thank you for your example of humility, hope, perseverance, and keeping the focus on what truly matters.
And I love the Piglet quote…I’ve often related to Piglet too. 🙂
I am honored by the quality of my authors– you among them.
My wish is simply to live this out: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34 ESV).
Wendy, this was beautiful and so encouraging. Thank you!
Thank YOU, sweet friend.
Well, this brought me to tears. I don’t think it’s hormones — but then one never knows these days.
What would I wish for????
For a couple of years, I have been working with chickadees and other birds in my back-yard. I feed them, sit patiently with my hand out, tease them with cracked peanuts, broken into pieces. I have even peeled sunflower seeds so they didn’t have to. (And once, only once, I have held out a few live mealworms … once.)
“What a waste of time,” I have said over and over.
Yet, I cannot help holding out my hand.
What would I wish for???
I wish we wouldn’t all have to fight so darn hard with nature. I don’t like this enmity. For those of us with this fire shut up in our bones, longing to show a hurting world the love of God, I wish we find the patience to keep going, to keep holding out our seeds and words.
Heidi
P.S. Chickadees do land in hands … when they do, it feels as if God has not given up making peace with the world.
Oh, Heidi. How beautiful! Don’t you look forward to the new earth when the chickadees will all know you and seek you out ? I like to imagine that they may even be able to communicate and let us know what they were thinking back on the old earth.
And I didn’t miss your allegory. We’re all trying to feed the “chickadees” God puts in our path.
I am looking forward to it so much, Wendy.
Ah, Wendy. What amazing wishes. I will continue to wish and pray for all of these good things for the amazing writers I know and for myself, too.
Love the horse photo! The picture and the title remind me of my very first (and most unlikely) answered prayer. I was three and desperately wanted a pony. We lived in a parsonage which was a farm house on a local farmer’s land. We didn’t own it and couldn’t exactly put a pony in our small yard. My parents couldn’t afford a pony, they looked into it, they really wanted to make my dreams come true. I prayed every single night for a solid year for a pony and it just broke their hearts that they couldn’t make it happen for me.
Then God . . . . Someone gave them a pony, out of the blue, and the farmer agreed that we could keep her. Shortcake, the feisty ex-circus pony who bucked and kicked and bit and was absolutely beautiful. Sometimes wishes and prayers do come true.
Shortcake! Love this story.
Be still my heart. Something tells me the Lord is as touched by your wishes and dreams as I am.
Ahhh, Wendy. Such a beautiful post. In life, I wish for the people I love most to all come to love Jesus. In writing, I desire to be an encourager to all who read my words…blogs, social media posts, and one day, books. May they be pointed to the Lord through the words.
Thank you, Ms. Lawton.
Great post, Wendy and congrats on meeting your sales goal. Doing the happy dance for you
Thank you for the encouraging words. I just submitted two projects for review with an agent for a movie and children’s cartoon. All faith based to lift up Jesus.
This glimpse into your soul is absolutely beautiful, Wendy. And these sweet Disney references, with both my girls there at Disney now, just melted my heart. I wish to turn this “empty nest” feeling into something so filling, to seek and find what God wants to teach me during this time, and let it seep onto the blank page.
It is so encouraging to hear your heart for your colleagues and clients and community! And to hear how God has blessed your desire to honor Him in your work.
“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Phil 3:12