Waiting for an answer to a God-sized dream

Did I really order 5,000 books?!

Have you ever “heard” God direct you to do something crazy? Something so crazy that when it’s accomplished, the credit could only go to God?

My crazy God assignment was to place a print order for 5,000 hardback books. Varying statistics online report the average book sells around 500 copies. Obviously, I’ve placed a faith bet on God for a miracle!

How to publish a book

The traditional way to launch a book into the world entails pitching your manuscript to a publishing house and praying it’s one of the 1% deemed worthy of a book deal. You’re out of luck if the publisher doesn’t immediately see dollar signs at first skim. Increasingly, the major publishers won’t pick up a first-time author unless you have at least 10,000 followers.

In the early 2000’s, eBook devices and “print on demand” publishing allowed anyone to upload a book file and “self-publish.” Print on demand (POD) is just that: when someone orders a book, one copy is printed. POD is a smart and efficient solution for first-time authors; benefits include no excess inventory to manage (or eventually destroy if they don’t sell), and you can easily update your book file anytime you find a typo. Although the cost per book is high, there is virtually no up-front investment or risk.

A major drawback of a POD book is a poorer quality finished product compared to the offset printing method of traditionally published books. I had a vision of The God Layer as a hardback reference book sturdy enough to last through an agent’s career.

I found a middle-ground alternative: find an offset printer to do a small print run. Many printers fulfill orders for as few as 100 books. But as you already know, I ordered 5,000—a truly God-sized challenge.

When God gives us His vision, He will open and close the right doors as we trust in Him. There’s a catchy phrase, “When God guides, God provides”; it’s based on Isaiah 58:11 (NLT):

The Lord will guide you continually,
    giving you water when you are dry
    and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like an ever-flowing spring.

God led me to a pair of Christian-run companies: Color House Graphics, an offset printer, and their sister company, JPL Books, a warehousing and order fulfillment company. Color House Graphics gave me quotes to print 500, 1,000, 2,000, or 5,000 books. The larger the quantity, the less the cost per book; but the larger the quantity, the greater the need and cost for storage. I prayed and calculated obsessively about the right quantity for the print run.

Over and over, God assured me that 5,000 was His number, but over and over, I hesitated. The final confirmation came when He provided the funds for this God-sized investment. In the middle of my doubt and deliberation, I had a planned annual meeting with my financial planner. When he showed me my account balances, I saw God had provided the exact amount we needed. I put in the order with Color House Graphics.

God, how are we going to sell 5,000 books?

Even now, when I say the number out loud to my supporters and friends, I see obvious disbelief on their faces. You’ve probably been shaking your head the whole time you’ve been reading this.

We (JPL and I) quietly launched pre-sales in late March. I shared the link with my most faithful supporters. Cherie, a well-respected Hawaii Broker-in-Charge and real estate coach placed the first order: TEN BOOKS! Hallelujah!

By the end of May, in two months of pre-sales, 46 books were ordered from 27 different friends, plus an order for 6 books from a total stranger, John Fong (who turned out to be a friend of my friend, James)! Another 43 books were ordered for Amazon sales. (Unfortunately, I will never know who the buyers are unless they tell me.)

My heart is full

Thank you to all the early enthusiasts! Besides Cherie and John Fong, others ordered large quantities directly from me: 24 from my husband Mike for our Hawaii Redfin team, 24 from James, 12 from Tim, and 30 from Rod. Another Redfin co-worker, Gene, bought 4 for me to gift to anyone who wants but can’t afford a book right now. If you want to order more than a few copies, please message me about bulk order pricing.

Color House Graphics completed the print run and shipped 480 books to me in Honolulu (see the photo below of our den). The rest went to JPL next door in Michigan. There was an overrun and the actual number of books printed was a little more than 5,200; the initial quantity warehoused at JPL was 4,698 books.

Not to diminish the shout-out I just gave to all the first purchasers, but this week I was feeling down about the reality and hard work of getting the word out to sell books. Since 5,000 was His idea, I guess I expected God would sell all 5,000 copies immediately!

Two emails from JPL this week contributed to my distress. One email was my first invoice for storage fees. I’d signed a contract to pay JPL 2.5 cents per book per month for warehouse storage: the first month cost $115.58 for the 4,623 books of current inventory. The other email informed all the JPL authors that storage costs will increase to 3 cents per book starting next month.

God always knows what we’re going through, and he knows how to lift us up. On the very day those emails got me panicky, God gave me a perfect word of encouragement: I “randomly” listened to Pastor Rick Warren’s podcast titled “Daring to Wait on God”. If you are also waiting for a miracle from God, I highly recommend taking 45 minutes to listen. (I listen at 1.5x speed.) Pastor Rick gives example after example how the faith heroes in the Bible had to wait years and even decades for their promised miracles. He points out that we never reap in the same season that we sow: we must give God time to grow the seeds.

Waiting is required for a miracle

I still vacillate from faith-filled and confident moments (where I search for typos to correct, optimistic for a second print run someday!), to moments of panic and worry. God is building my faith as I learn to wait for His perfect timing and plan for all 5,200 books.

God gave the desire and means to create a book that meets His highest standards, and Color House Graphics honored me and God by delivering a high-quality and beautiful finished product. It was music to my ears when my friend Tim came to pick up his bulk order and exclaimed, “Wow! It’s a REAL book!”

My partners at JPL are helping distribute the book on Amazon, Ingram (the wholesaler most independent bookstores buy from), and the JPL website. For the most profit (90% of profits donated), please order directly from me through my new business Venmo (@FortheGoodPublishing). If you can’t afford a book right now, please message me for a free gift, gifted by Gene.

After I paid the printer a few months ago, I asked my husband Mike, “What if we can’t sell 5,000 books?!” His reply shows how wise and wonderful he is: “Well, then we’ll be able to give away a lot of books for free—and help many real estate agents.”

Amen!

Dear God, you have a plan for each book, whether purchased or gifted. Please help me trust you during this season of sowing; help me to wait patiently for your season of harvest. Thank you for those who have bought books to give as gifts—bless the relationships between the givers and their receivers. May anyone who would like a book ask and receive. I can’t wait to find out the rest of this story and give you all the glory when it’s time to order a second print run!