Four Types of People, and a Book You Need to Buy

If you’re in the publishing industry for any amount of time, you will start to recognize several types of people. Let me sum just a few of them up for you here:

1) There is the type of person who wants to know everyone so that they can impress everyone with the names of everyone that they know. They pull these names out of their pocket at strategic times, as if these names are $100 bills, and wave them around before stuffing them back in their wallet. You may find yourself wondering, what was the point of that?

2) There is the type of person who wants to sell you as many things/books/courses as they can sell you, so they make ridiculous promises and publish click-bait posts and generally succeed in selling things but often things of very little substance. Like the cute kid with the roadside stand who’s selling lemonade for $1 but after you buy it, you realize it’s actually just sugary water. And you’re like, eh, okay, whatever. Keep your dollar, kid.

3) There is the enthusiastic newcomer who asks a thousand questions because they believe there’s a secret that will help them circumvent the process of time and hard work. And you keep saying, “Just keep writing,” and they look at you with glazed-over eyes and say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what else?” or “Can you get me an agent?”

4) There is the genuinely helpful person who actually cares about the people they interact with, encourages said people to not sell their soul, to take their time, to act with integrity, and to keep working. They are delightful to be around. You have no idea who their agent is because they rarely talk about it. You might not even realize when they have signed another book deal! They do not wear masks, or at least as few masks as is humanly possible. They seem to genuinely celebrate when something you do succeeds, which makes you feel a little rotten inside because you are secretly jealous of the things they have created.

I have been fortunate to meet quite a few in this last group, and one of them is Ed Cyzewski. We’ve been friends for who knows how long–I can’t even remember when or where we first met–and for all these years, Ed has proven time and time again to be a true friend, a good person, and someone who loves Jesus.

Today, Ed has a book coming out. It’s a book I love, a book that I think will be around for a long time, and a book you should definitely go out and buy. It’s called Flee, Be Silent, Pray. Here’s what it’s about:

What if prayer could be simple rather than strenuous? Anxious, results-driven Christians can never pray enough, serve enough, or study enough. 

What if God is calling us not to frenzied activity but to a simple spiritual encounter? What if we must merely receive what God has already given us? 

Order it online. Or from your local bookstore. Or, even better, from Byron Borger’s wonderful store, Hearts and Minds. Whatever you do, pick it up today.

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