God,
Who used words to speak the whole universe into existence,
Who chose human language to communicate Divine truths,
Who wrote your commandments on tablets of stone,
And inspired mere mortals to publish your immortal and eternal Word, hear my prayer.
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I am your servant, and I am a literary agent. Lord, help me.
Grant that even with all the words and sentences, paragraphs and pages I must read every day, that I will not grow weary; preserve my enthusiasm for good writing and good books.
Please protect my eyesight through the hours upon hours I must spend gazing at screens and pages.
Keep me grounded in Your Word above all others.
Help me to respond with grace and discretion to writers who have poured their hearts into their work and still need to work some more.
Save me from hubris; teach me humility, helping me to remember always that this enterprise is not about me but about building your kingdom.
Save me from providing false hope and tactless criticism.
Save me from lazy and crazy writers, and save me from becoming one of them.
Grant me patience and wisdom in finding talent, even when it’s rough and undeveloped.
Help me to know when to teach, when to encourage, when to coach, when to correct, when to speak out, and when to shut up.
Guide me to those men and women who can flat write, who will put in the time, who will hone their craft, and become fit instruments in your hands, amen.
And through it all, Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart—and every exchange with authors, editors, and readers—be acceptable in your sight.
The Literary Agent: How Does This Work?
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What a beautiful prayer. Reveals so much about the heart.
Thank you for being a godly man who inspires us all!
Absolutely beautiful prayer, Bob. You were one of the agents who met with me for a one-on-one at a writers conference last year, and I was impressed by how kindly you handled my first-timer bumbling efforts. You helped me come away with a positive attitude, thanks to your helpful suggestions.
I couldn’t help but think of this quote from Winston Churchill and how it applies to your helpful approach. He said (and I’m drawing from memory), “Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.” While you weren’t at all that extreme, you COULD have gotten away with it.
Ohh, that was wonderful and how humbling to read it. Thank you for all you do for writers everywhere. You forgot to mention safe travels! 🙂 Lord, give all the agents everywhere safety as they travel to writers conferences.
Thank you for showing us your heart.
What a lovely prayer. I agree with these petitions, and many of them apply to me, as well.
Lord, let our words be sprinkled with salt, that we may bring blessing with our tongues and with our pens.
Thank you for sharing this meaningful prayer, which also gives us writers insight into what agents deal with daily. Blessings, and Amen!
Geez, how does one get an agent? I just want to publish my years and years of scribbled journals and notepads? God gave me the sheer joy of writing when i was 8, looonng time ago!! Writing is like air, without it i would die! 7 books later where do i go? Can you help me?
Sincerely, Colleen Monette?
Beautiful!
Awesome way to start my writing day. Thank you.
Love it!