Described as a modern-day The Pilgrim’s Progress, William P. Young’s The Shack has been reprinted five times since its modest launch last May.

 

Young’s book tells the story of a man who encounters God at the site of “the great sadness,” where he had previously experienced a terrible personal loss. It has earned a string of glowing endorsements, including one from singer Michael W. Smith. Eugene H. Peterson, translator of The Message Bible, said The Shack “has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his.”

 

“It’s been like surfing a tsunami,” said Brad Cummings, president of Windblown Media in Newbury Park, Calif., who has been shipping orders from his garage. “We knew we had a wonderful book on our hands, we just didn’t have any idea how it would take off.”

 

But it almost never appeared in print. Young wrote it originally as a personal gift for his children, but was encouraged to consider publication after sending a copy to Wayne Jacobsen, whose pod cast conversations about the Christian life with Cummings he had listened to.

 

Cummings and Jacobsen worked with Young on revising the manuscript and approached more than a dozen Christian publishing houses with it. When they were rejected they decided to establish Windblown Media to bring the book out themselves.

 

The first print run was 10,000 copies, which Cummings said they considered a great gamble. But it sold out within a month mostly online, and Cummings started getting inquiries from booksellers wanting to know where they could get it. By fall—after handling shipments from Cummings’ home—the company had distribution deals with Spring Arbor, Anchor Distributors and STL Distribution North America.

 

The success has enabled Cummings to give up his former landscaping and construction business to concentrate on the book and plans to turn it into a film. “It has been quite challenging to keep up,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, Young has quit his job running a manufacturer’s office to concentrate on answering correspondence generated by The Shack and speaking opportunities. He had no plans for a sequel, though there may be other writing, he said. “All I intended to do was write a story for my children as a Christmas gift,” he said. “When you have no expectations, everything is a gift.”

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Described as a modern-day The Pilgrim’s Progress, William P. Young’s The Shack has been reprinted five times since its modest launch ...READ MORE