A book promotion bummer

Controversy over my book's title

This is a true story that starts with a bummer, but ends with renewed faith and hope.

Let’s get the bummer part out of the way first. So far, sales of The God Layer book have been steady—mostly from agent and client friends in Hawaii (thank you!). I’ve been brainstorming how to get the word out nationally.

Yesterday, I had a video call with a kind and helpful marketing salesperson for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) quarterly “REALTOR®” magazine. She reviewed their advertising rates and we discussed other marketing opportunities such as vendor booths at upcoming NAR trade shows.

At the end of the call, I asked one crucial question: “My book is written from a Christian perspective—will that be a problem?” She asked for more information about the book and said she’d be happy to double check. I sent her the front and back covers, and the Table of Contents. She forwarded it to others in NAR’s marketing and legal departments.

Her answer early this morning had a lengthy explanation and apology; the bottom line was: “Your book will not pass NAR’s content rules.”

Bummer.

Photo by guille pozzi on Unsplash

I had kind of anticipated this pushback, and had a short cry.

I thought about a recent conversation with a wonderful client, Calvin, who had purchased a copy of the book. A few days after starting to read it, he told me: “Ali, you mis-titled the book. It should have been The God Layer: Faith Lessons of Life.” He felt there was inspiration applicable for anyone, not just real estate agents. He then ordered 5 more books for his adult kids and grandkids, none are in real estate.

This morning, I questioned God:

Did I get the book title wrong?

In His gentle, loving way, God reminded me that He was the one who gave me the title for the book, and that He orchestrated the team who made a beautiful finished product worthy of having His name on the cover. Here’s the backstory of how the book and title came to be:

• October 30, 2021 - A good friend, Del, gifted me a book by local Honolulu author and chocolatier, Erin Kanno Uehara. Something sparked in me as I read the short, devotional chapters—God told me I could write a book too!

• October 31, 2021 - I bought a laptop!

• November 2021 - God gave me a clear vision for the book outline—60 chapters, each containing a real estate story and a few Bible verses. I began writing.

• March 18, 2023 - I finished chapter 60! But I didn’t have a title yet.

• March 25, 2023 - I printed a dozen first-draft manuscripts for friends and family to read and give feedback.

• Summer 2023 - I took all the comments and reworked most of the book. God quietly gave me a title, but I kept it to myself.

• September 19, 2023 - I met with one of my draft readers, Rod. He shared many wise suggestions for the book, including a kernel of an idea for the book title: Life Lessons in Real Estate.

• September 20, 2023 - I was divinely introduced to local author, Scott Hogle. When Scott asked me the title of my book, I blurted out, The God Layer. Scott had an immediate, positive reaction—I felt God’s affirmation!

• Fall 2023 - Once The God Layer: Faith Lessons in Real Estate title was set, I did another round of editing to infuse the book with the God Layer phrase and concept.

• November 2023 - God connected me with the artist for the book cover, Erika Molyneux. God inspired a stunning visual of a dove carrying “The God Layer” across the cover. This reassured me further He was guiding the book.

• February 2024 - As I coordinated dozens of specs and options with the book printer, the very last decision I had to make before we went to print was if the cover finish would be glossy or matte. God showed me a vision with the “layer” portion of the cover as glossy, and the rest matte. I nervously asked the printing company how much more that would cost. They replied the next day that their original quote already included a cover with BOTH glossy and matte portions!

God planned every detail perfectly

Back to this morning: in the middle of my dejection, God reminded me that He had already known NAR would decline me today—and that He has a better plan. As reported last month, God gave me the vision and funds to print 5,000 books. He is going to make sure they all get out into the world—even without any help from the NAR magazine or trade shows.

God always knows—and is with us—when a bummer hits us. He has lovingly prepared nuggets of comfort, reassurance, and hope for me all along this book journey. In fact, yesterday—basically simultaneous with the bummer news from NAR—He provided this amazing nugget:

CIRE stands for Christians in Real Estate, a Hawaii organization that has been an important part of my real estate career. I didn’t ask them to promote my book; one of my book angels, Liz, just made it happen. In stark contrast to NAR’s politically-correct content policies, CIRE’s eternal policies completely support the book—can I get an Amen?! I am so thankful for this CIRE newsletter (and it didn’t cost thousands of dollars like the NAR ad would have!). God is so good.

For readers of this post, I invite you to use and share the discount code “CIRE25” to order from JPL Books. Aloha and may God bless you—even through the bummers!