People like to ask me “How long did it take to write Etania’s Worth?” And to be honest, I often don’t know what to say. I want to tell them that it took me one year to finish Etania’s Worth. But truthfully, it took eight years to write the book.
Those eight years were full of failure, but also perseverance.
Etania’s Worth started out as a portal fantasy about Etania’s daughter, Lavanna. In it, Lavanna was raised by adopted parents on Earth and then discovered her real parents on Tamnarae. I wrote that book many times and failed to get past a certain page. At the time, Garel and Aden were the companions of Lavanna.
I don’t know how many drafts I wrote of that story, but I could never finish it.
Years later, I wrote a handwritten draft of a story about Lavanna’s parents, Malkiel and Etania. It was very different from anything I have written. Etania was blind and Malkiel was her guard and protector. She had to travel across the country, gathering allies for a rebellion against the King. That was the first time I finished a draft.
But I didn’t like it. It wasn’t done, and it felt like I was missing many things.
So I tried again. I wrote numerous drafts, changing the plot and adding an important character: Jakin. This happened so many times that my best friend finally told me: Just finish! Finish one draft!
So, despite my reservations, despite feeling like I wanted to quit, I kept in mind the call.
The call happened when I was in fourth grade. Our church was studying the 40 Days of Purpose book by Rick Warren. Since we were young, we were doing a children’s version of the book. At one point during the study, the Sunday School teacher asked: What is it that God has given you as a talent? And how can you use that to honor God?
I felt, at that moment, the call. The call to use my talent of writing for God’s glory.
When I kept that in mind, when I really focused on God and filled my writing with prayer, I finally finished the first draft.
Eagerly, I handed it to my husband to read. With me anxiously awaiting his feedback, he finished quickly. I knew something was wrong when he averted his eyes.
“Well, uh…I like it,” he assured me.
“But?” I said, knowing him too well. “Be honest, I can take it.”
“It’s-it’s like a house with walls, but nothing else.”
It hurt to hear this, despite the walls I had built, trying to keep criticism from coming in. But after a bit of a cry, I realized he was right.
So I had to rewrite it. But how? What would I do? With prayer and perseverance, I wrote another draft of the novel. An entire draft.
This one included Malkiel (now Keyel’s) perspective and Jakin’s perspective. It had three different story lines tied together. I even had to create a map to keep track of all the character arcs. Finally, it was finished.
I gave it to an editor this time. I felt more confident in this draft than I ever had before. My editor gave me it back, dripping in red. I corrected it and thought it was ready for publication. I self published it in December of 2018.
Then, reviews started coming in. I realized it wasn’t done, that it needed another edit. So back to my editor it went. I made the corrections (several more times, but less of them!), and Etania’s Worth, edition two, came out in January 2020 with a new cover and interior.
The cover has changed again since then, but the interior is the same. No longer riddled with errors, or a house without walls, I am proud of the book it has become. But honestly, I couldn’t have done it without God or my friends or my husband. They helped me write Etania’s Worth.
And for that, I am forever grateful.
