Dipping the Quill Deeper: Humble Beginnings (Part 4)

by Eva Marie Everson @EversonAuthor
Years ago, an agent within our industry—who at one time was a senior editor within this same industry—told a story that stuck with me.
I’d like to share it with you now.
In the late 1980s, Harvest House Publishers bestselling author, F. LaGard Smith, proposed a book on the topic of abortion . . . as much of a touchy subject then as it is now. Both the senior editor and the senior marketing guy told the authorthat the book was doomed to fail, but . . . being that the author was LaGard . . . they decided to take a chance on it.
As suspected, the book “tanked.”
Meanwhile, Somewhere in New York City
Meanwhile, somewhere in New York City, an unmarried actress and a married athlete found themselves in a relationship with each other. In time, the unmarried actress discovered that she was pregnant. Seeing as the father of the child was not going to leave his wife and seeing as how she didn’t want to rear the child on her own (or bring any additional shame), she decided to have an abortion. She didn’t want to have the abortion in the city where someone might see and recognize her, so she decided to fly to California where friends could help her with both finding the right clinic and with anonymity. 
At the appointed time, she flew from New York to California, her seat in first class.
Shortly after takeoff, she noticed a book in the seatback pocket (where—back in the day—one could find magazines in addition to the barf bag). Bored, she pulled the book out and—as you may have guessed—it was LaGard’s When Choice Becomes God. 
She read throughout the entire flight. By the time she landed, she had decided not to have an abortion but to, instead, give birth to and keep her child.
Back to New York
After returning to New York, the actress called Harvest House to ask for LaGard’s phone number. Typically, the receptionist would never give out phone numbers, or any contact information for that matter. But on that day, the receptionist was out sick, so a temp (who didn’t know the rules) sat at her desk answering calls. After receiving the request, she looked up the author’s contact information and happily gave it to the actress.
The new mother-to-be then placed a call to LaGard’s residence, which happened to be in England. Because of the time change, her call woke the author up from a good night’s sleep. But graciously, LaGard chatted with the woman, listened to her story, and then, remarkably, led her to Christ.
Meanwhile, Back at Harvest House
“The reason I told the story,” the senior editor told me recently when I asked him for the finer details, “was to remind writers—or anyone, really—that God isn’t interested in our success so much as our obedience. We told LaGard the book wouldn’t sell much, and it didn’t. But there is one person alive today because he wrote—and we published—that book.”
And, might I add, who but God alone knows who that one person has become or what that one person has done. After all, both Moses and Jesus were little babies who “got away” from a massacre.
This is another example of a humble beginning. 
Are you writing what God is calling you to write or what you think will sell? Are you writing for financial success or for what God sees as successful? Are you writing for the masses or for, perhaps, that one life?
Don't Miss the Other Posts in this Series! HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, PART 1 HUMBLER BEGINNINGS, PART 2 HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, PART 3 HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, PART 4
TWEETABLEDipping the Quill Deeper: Humble Beginnings (Part 4) from @EversonAuthor on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Eva Marie Everson is the CEO of Word Weavers International, the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference, and the contest director for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. She is the author of almost 50 books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her next novel, Beth Bettencourt, is set for release in 2026 (Kregel). To know more about Eva Marie (or to be added to her Southern newsletter), you can connect with her at www.EvaMarieEversonAuthor.com