The Story of Gallopade
I always wanted to make my living as a writer. “Impossible!” everyone told me. That’s when I knew I’d be successful. As a young mother with children, I self-taught myself writing, photography & many other subjects. But it would be 10 years before I would even try to get anything published.
I sent an article to the newspaper unsolicited. When the newspaper came out the next day, there was my article & several sidebar articles I had written — they took up an entire page topped by an enormous headline & enhanced with art. I was shocked! The check was in the mailbox. The phone rang off the hook with people agreeing, & disagreeing with what I had written. It was wonderful!
I went on to start my own public relations & corporate communications firm. I had lots of clients & lots of fun & traveled a lot & won many awards. Then one day, while I was waiting for a client to decide what color annual report they wanted, I said, “You know, while you try to make up your mind, I think I could write a book.” So I got out a little ruler & found the closest town on water & packed up the kids & went there & did just that!
The Missing Head
One year later, my first book — The Missing Head Mystery — was finished. I went to New York to see what to do with it. “Publish it yourself,” everyone insisted. And so I did. I needed a publishing name & Gallopade Publishing Group was born. Since it was just me, I had no idea what the “Group” in our name meant. This was in the Dark Ages (before Macintosh) & so I was only able to add one book each year. My children — Michael & Michele— helped me. They served as characters & proofreaders (& loved to catch Mom’s mistakes.) Michael learned the alphabet by filing account cards. Michele created our first accounting system when she was 14 years old; we still use it.
The public relations faded away & we published full-time. We did everything: the research, writing, art, design, paste-up, printing & binding, sales & marketing, shipping & billing. It was very, very hard & wonderfully rewarding. Like every fledgling business, there were rough times, and mistakes were made. There was also a divorce & a move & teenagers to survive. But ever-faithful were our readers. It seemed they couldn’t get enough Carole Marsh mysteries; they read them as fast as I wrote them! Years & books sped by. Soon there were 12 of each. Librarians suggested books on math & science & sex ed & many other subjects & I wrote them. Teachers said they needed books on their states & I wrote them: history, geography, legend, lore & more. Soon there were 200 books.
One day Waldenbooks called & said, “We hear you have a very popular trivia book on North Carolina. We want to order it. By the way, what other states do you have this book for?” We didn’t, but as fast as I could think, I reeled off: “Kansas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Rhode Island” . . . & on & on. When I finally took a breath, she said, “Thank you” & hung up. Six weeks later, we got an order for 25,000 books! They were for almost every state — & only one was written!
We couldn’t let them down, so I researched & wrote the books. They would be the first in what is now a 40+ book & other product series for each & every U. S. state. It took the family — & half the town! — to fill the order, but we did it & things were never the same.
The World’s Largest Publishing Company
Soon, there were 2,000 books & it was clear that Gallopade was going to be very big. The World’s Largest Publishing Company is what we had in mind. I even finally figured out what the “Group” meant.
Gallopade is a gallimaufry of imprints, including Carole Marsh Mysteries; Bluffton Books; Print and Digital Curriculum; American Milestones; Primary Sources; State Experience books on all 50 states and Canada; Black Heritage; 1000 Readers; Big Cool USA & many more.
In 1998, we changed our name to Gallopade International to reflect our dramatic new scope and abilities. As we create for the global educational market, we are enjoying making new friends.
Today, Gallopade publishes educational curriculum and fiction & non-fiction for all ages & grade levels + adults. Our books are available in a variety of editions, including paper, hardcover & digital. We have over 10,000 products in print now. Many of these are exclusively about your very own state or country! If we don’t have a book you want & need, just ask us — I’ll probably write it.
If you’ve been with us since the beginning (& many of you have), let me just say in print that I LOVE YOU! If we’re new to you, give us a try. We’re real people doing our best to help with the problems & the promise of life on planet Earth today. A real person’s voice will answer our phone. We ship fast. Every product is fully guaranteed, or you get a full refund. We never know what’s next at Gallopade, but we’d love for you to be part of the “Group,” our international family of friends. -Founder and CEO Carole Marsh Longmeyer
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