Lament About Literary Agents

This post is (another) lament about literary agents. I received some good advice once from a New York agent: focus on forward motion. Therefore, I do not let an agent waste my time. Usually, I prepare a query for agents, which is a very short proposal. How then does one find an agent? One can google them. But here is a problem. Their websites are so idiosyncratic that, once one has them, it may be difficult to find the information one needs. Therefore, I use agents' wish lists, which have a standard format. But here there are some problems, too. Agents scatter their information like confetti on multiple wish lists -- often forgetting what they said on the last one -- changing their addresses or submission requirements -- without notification. In reality, this means: an agent may have solicited your proposal, but it may be wasted work -- no apology from them. And bear in mind that, if one uses more than one wish list, one needs to remember who one contacted before. Some agents make high demands. Say, they want a 30-page proposal. I don't waste time with them. Often, they ask that one use on-line forms. Sometimes, they ask one to register to use those forms! Using forms can be a problem, too. Apart from being cumbersome, they may vanish into the æther -- probably all the more so here in Africa. I just don't use them. If an agent says "QueryManager", for instance, I instantly reject them. OBSERVATION: So it is a matter of paging through agents. Reject this one, accept that one -- more or less in equal measure, assuming one has already weeded out incompatible wishes. There are some decent agents.

1.5 Million Views

It escaped my attention yesterday when page-views of this blog shot past one-and-a-half million. Why is my blog popular? DeepSeek AI considers:

"In short: The secret is that Scarborough writes like a real, thinking, feeling human being – not a polished institution. He mixes ministry, memory, complaint, and celebration in a way that resonates with people across cultures, while the internet does the work of spreading it globally."

Should Be Doing This

I'm pleased to have been invited to teach three subjects at Seminary during the Second Semester of 2026 -- World Religions & Cults, Homiletics, and Theology Proper. Thus, out of some 20 faculty members, I shall be one of the busiest. OBSERVATION: I have been approached, too, (informally so far) to present a second leadership seminar this year (see SA's Church Explosion  for something about the first). Wife E, who has seen me in action, says "You should be doing this." The photo shows me in my academic garb last year.

Church Structure

The way that a Church is structured is absolutely vital to the health and happiness of the Church. I recently came across this structure (shown). While this could work, there are a number of potential problems. Why are the Pastors not Elders? This is usually the case. What is the role of the Elders? How does the Administrative Board relate to the Pastors? What does it mean that they are on an equal plane? Clear roles and definitions are crucial, or (among other things) spiritual and practical matters get mixed up. I consider that this structure could be a recipe for disaster. OBSERVATION: Apart from it not being Congregational (I am Congregational).

The Mukorob (Finger of God)

1983. I took this pic of my late wife Mrjam at the Mukorob, or Finger of God, in Namibia. It collapsed five years later, likely because of an earthquake on the other side of the world, in Armenia. I took this photo with a terrible camera: the Kodak Disc. OBSERVATION: According to Nama tradition, the collapse of the Mukorob would signal the end of White rule. And so it did.

Blurred Reality

Yesterday I received seven inquiries regarding my books. The day before, six. The day before, eight. But the majority of these inquiries seem to me to be AI generated. An author then has to figure out which of the fifty e-mails he received over the last week are genuine. Some can be weeded out quickly -- they plainly offer services. Others -- it can be very hard to tell. OBSERVATION: They generally include an intelligent appraisal of one's books, as though they have read them.

My Philosophy: AI Summary

It's been a year now since I held the Annual Philosophy Lecture in Malta. On YouTube, it was the most popular Annual Philosophy Lecture to date. The video of the event is almost an hour long, and requires concentration. Here it is in less than a minute, thanks to AI. The 2026 Annual Philosophy Lecture will be up on the Internet here, soon: https://www.philosophysharing.org/

Abuse of the Author

I have been contacting literary agents about my most recent book, which is historical or religious fiction. To start off, I am using the Manuscript Wish List, which lists some 600 agents. Now out of the first ten agents I contacted from the list, two had cancelled their e-mail addresses, and two were closed to submissions. That makes a 40% failure rate -- due to negligent agents, who put out wish lists that they lose track of. If 40% of an author's time is wasted because agents can't keep track of details which they have strewn about like confetti, that is too much time wasted. OBSERVATION: It is abuse of the author. Once in a while, I tell agents what I think to their practices. The answer is generally: Ooh, ah, but you should have gone to my official website. That is not good enough. It is they who put out their wish list.

Family Photo

A family photo that I came across yesterday. I would guess that this was 1977 (if so, I would be about 17). The brooding spirit in the background is me. I hated the photo at the time, but not any more. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

What It Takes

This post is about the bustle that hardly anyone would notice in a Church -- a vast interaction of small activities. I jotted down some things recently that were mostly created during my own city ministry on Sundays (not weekdays), little by little, over many years -- one-third of these things existed already before my ministry -- about half a dozen still exist now: 

• Door welcome • Bulletins • Bibles in the pews • Bible sales • Sermon outlines • Membership application slips • Pencils • Pre-service singing • Church choir • In-service singing • Greeting in the pews • Hymn books • Flowers • Security alarm • Older Sunday School • Younger Sunday School • "Cry room" • Post-service prayer • Organist and pianist • Doxology • Welcome and notices • Ministry by members • Member reading • Vestry prayer (before services) • Minister greets all churchgoers (after services) • Special prayer (after services) • Vestry time (after services) • Church tea (alternate Sundays) • Verger's duties (various) • Set up amplifier • Suggestion box • Large print books • Church library • General collection • Benevolent fund (occasional) • Holy Communion (occasional) • Wheelchair access (occasional) • Reserved parking

OBSERVATION: This list will surely not be complete. There are at least 30 things here that needed to be attended to most Sundays. All of these needed special attention, even if it was small. It speaks of a vast bustle on a Sunday, all serving the purpose of a thriving Church. Many Churches have this kind of bustle, and few people would really notice.

SA's Church Explosion

Earlier this month, I conducted a leadership seminar for the Bible Institute's Christian Leadership Programme. I devoted the first 30 minutes to the general situation of the Church in South Africa, pre- and post-apartheid. It is no ordinary story! AI has reduced these 30 minutes to an (over-simplified) three-minute video -- it gives a quick impression of what we discussed. AI has titled it "SA's Church Explosion" ... The Bible Institute's website is here: https://bisa.org.za/

Unlawful, Unreasonable, Unfair

This post is about some fairly typical behaviour for South Africa -- which is illegal. I submitted a formal complaint to the Legal Practice Council on 28 October 2025, which is 150 days ago today. As best I am aware, I received no written receipt or reference number to date. If this is true, this "likely constitutes unlawful, unreasonable, and procedurally unfair administrative action", in terms of  the PAJA (2000) Act. OBSERVATION: This is not the New South Africa that many of us -- including, surely, members of the Council -- dreamed about.

Book in the Works

In 2006-2007, I wrote a book which I did not, however, publish. I rediscovered it this year, nearly 20 years later. It was better than I thought -- so I embarked on a revision. DeepSeek AI considers about my revision (first draft):

This manuscript has the potential to be a very significant and controversial work of religious fiction. It could become a landmark work. Its central idea is original, provocative, and thematically rich. 

Fisheye Church Photo

Visitors from Europe are often surprised by how full the Churches are in South Africa. I took this photo recently from the back of an Anglican Church. This photo is taken with an ultra-wide-angle lens which has an almost 180° field of view (180° is side to side).

Encrypted

Today I received two encrypted e-mails -- one from a government department, the other from a major company. The government department, the Department of Justice, sent me a protected document without a password or code to open it. Discovery Health sent me a secure document, again without a password or code to open it. OBSERVATION: If I cannot open their mail -- and I have a good working knowledge of computers -- what are the simple folk supposed to do? I asked them both to re-send in readable format -- or give me a password that works.