This just in: “The Shack,” a book that began as a self publishing venture by a relatively unknown writer, is burning up bestseller lists.

Who says that you have to wait an eternity for traditional book publishers to respond to queries? Who says that you have to be rejected a hundred times before you finally decide to give up your dream of publishing?

“The Shack,” which addresses spiritual issues, might have been summarily dismissed by many publishers as “too polarizing.” But readers have spoken, and with about $300 in their marketing budget, the author and the two pastors who formed Windblown Media outside of Los Angeles have a hit on their hands.

The success of “The Shack” is largely credited to word of mouth – it’s just one of those books that people are reading, and then buying multiple copies to give to others. Because of this phenomena, this self publishing work has found its way into the big time booksellers like Borders and Barnes and Noble, who ordinarily balk at books that are not printed by the big book publishers.

In fact, Hachette Book Group USA, one of the mega-names in book publishing, formed a partnership with Windblown Media to continue to print the book. Naturally, the marketing budget has increased significantly, and advertising for the book can be found in print and TV across the country.

The moral of this story: don’t count a book out of the bestseller list just because it is a result of self publishing. “The Shack” popped onto the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list on June 8th and has maintained that status, even outselling the latest Oprah book club offering.

If you are researching how to publish a book, the success of “The Shack” is not common, but it is inspiring. You never know when an idea that might have been rejected by any number of book publishers can still strike a chord with readers — and become a huge success.

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