In today’s publishing world, the crown jewel of book deals might have any or all these components: a six-figure advance, a dedicated marketing budget and a team of seasoned publicists. However, the crown jewel publishing contract is usually accompanied by a last name like Clinton, Rowling or Grisham. No big secret there.
For most of us, this traditional paradigm doesn’t apply. If you listen carefully though, it is quietly, but swiftly shifting . . . one eager, savvy author at a time. For one South Carolina-based author, this statement couldn’t be any more true.
Bob Shumaker recently retired from his successful sales and marketing company to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming an author. Since he was 9 years old, he has loved to write and tell stories. At age 55, he wasn’t hesitant to give up his “day job” to write. He knew he would be successful. “After all,” Shumaker chuckles, “I’ve spent my life in sales. I’ve had a lot of practice telling stories.”
With that mindset and a modest goal of being the author of choice within a 100-mile radius, he created a fantasy adventure series for young adults called The Schmooney Trilogies.
In the first novel, Shumaker’s protagonist, Austin Cook, befriends The Schmooney, a unique woodland creature who watches over all the other animals in the forest. The essence of the novel is discovering each individual’s gift and using the newly discovered talents to be happy in life.
Since the first book’s release in late October, Shumaker has been touring local schools, churches and clubs reading parts of his book to the young and young-at-heart. So far, the story has been well received -- proven by the more than 1,000 copies sold. In fact, the Schmooney character has become so popular, Shumaker commissioned the creation of a six-foot tall Schmooney costume. The bigger-than-life creature accompanied Shumaker in the 2004 Simpsonville, S.C., Christmas parade and was a hit with parade-goers. Shumaker also markets a 20-inch plush version of Schmooney with his book.
With a Samaritan’s heart, Shumaker has donated more than 200 copies of his book and 100 plush Schmooneys to a number of charitable organizations within South Carolina. He recalls several children who thanked him with rather large tears of gratitude. Shumaker feels that, “What goes around, comes around and I have been very fortunate in life. I want to give back.”
Shumaker is giving back indeed. He is using his work to lift the “deplorable literacy rates in South Carolina.” He feels that literacy rates are directly related to high school graduation rates. He quotes a recent South Carolina statistic: “26 percent of young adults, ages 18-to-24, do not have a high school diploma.”
As a businessman, Shumaker feels that it is in everyone’s best interest to encourage the skill and love of reading to increase the competency of the workforce. Shumaker admits his book isn’t Pulitzer Prize material “but,” he says, “it is a portal to view the incredible world of literature.”
He recently received fan mail from a young girl. She wrote thanking Shumaker for writing the book. She mentioned that she read the complete book in two days and loved it so much she asked her teacher if she could write a book report about it. This wouldn’t be out of the ordinary, except the young girl struggles with reading because she has dyslexia. This type of inspiring feedback reinforces Shumaker’s commitment to continue impacting young lives through his work.
According to Shumaker, his dream has met a few challenges along the way. “Although I’ve been in sales and marketing all of my life, I’ve never done anything like this before,” he says.
“AuthorHouse is an oasis of knowledge and guidance. The personal attention I received from my Author Advocates, specifically Darrell Hoard and Josh Clark, is the reason why I will publish the entire Schmooney series with AuthorHouse,” says Shumaker.
With seven months of living in the publishing and book marketing world, Shumaker encourages aspiring authors to “persevere and follow each dream.”
He has certainly followed his own. Fortunately, it didn’t take a change in surname or a six-figure advance to make Shumaker’s dream a reality. He achieved it by having a ravenous passion to help others find their own gifts and using them to make life a little better.
For more information about Bob Shumaker, visit: www.schmooney.com
