How I Became One of the Youngest Published Authors in the World

“Submit manuscript.”

One of the most terrifying moments in my life—and yet one of the most fulfilling—was when I hit that button and officially submitted the final manuscript of my first chapter book to the self-publishing company.

After 10 years, my dream was coming true. Back when I decided that I wanted to become one of the youngest published authors in the world, I could have never foreseen all the work, heartache, and prayer that would go into it.

Ever since my toddler years, I’ve been a bookworm. Even before I could read, I memorized all my favorite books and enjoyed reciting them while I flipped the pages. As I grew up, my fascination with words grew as well. The power that they have to encourage and edify people intrigued me. Many of the most important lessons I’ve learned in life were communicated to me through written words on a page—one of the most notable being through Alex and Brett Harris’ book, Do Hard Things.

Inspired by the message that it IS possible to do ​great​ things when you are young, I rededicated myself to finishing the draft of my first chapter book. Multiple times inspiration for a story would strike, and it would die before I finished more than the first chapter or two. However, once the inspiration for this new book struck me, through prayer I found the words I needed to ​complete​ the manuscript.

After a three-year process, my novella was finally published. My Father’s Princess is the story of a young girl named Saranna who is adopted from France by a family in America, and it’s about the questions she faces as she goes on a spiritual journey to find out who she is in Christ.

Struck throughout the process with my own inadequacy, I sometimes feel lost in trying to share with others about my book. It’s amazing that when you do something “great” for God’s glory, He often uses the experience to paradoxically show you your own weakness in comparison to His master plan. I can’t take any credit for myself; instead I thank God for giving me the honor of ​communicating​ His ​truth​​ through my writing​. I would also like to thank Alex and Brett Harris for giving us the kind of inspiration we need to step out of our comfort zones and not waste the most productive time of our lives waiting to experience being a part of something so much more than ourselves.

The enemy is attacking our generation fiercely. It is uplifting to see young people responding to the attack by combating his hold and proclaiming God’s truth through networking, art, music, literature, and film. These truths are combating the lies that our world has been steeped in for so long, and are starting to take back ground that we have lost by being complacent.

That’s why I believe it is crucially important for Christians of all ages to truly shine as a light in this dark world, even in the realm of the arts. I struggled for many years to find God’s will for my life, but now I fee​l​ called to write novels that He might use to re-inspire faith and hope in others facing the battle.

If ​there is​ something outside of your comfort zone that you feel called to do, I would encourage you to just go for it! ​​Looking back at my writing from when I was 14 years old, I know that there are many things I could have done better. As a visionary, I have many different projects that I have failed multiple times on, but I have always learned valuable lessons through the experiences. Following God’s leading won’t always bring you success the way the world defines it, but He will certainly use it to bring you closer to Him. I can only pray that my meager efforts would somehow encourage and inspire others in the same way God has used other written works to encourage and inspire me.

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