Self-published book chronicles cancer journey

As many readers know, one of the ways I coped with my cancer diagnosis and treatment was to write about it.

As I chronicled the toll my illness took on me and my family – both in this column and in regular emails to friends and family – people encouraged me to compile what I’d written into a book.

The book is now finished and available for sale.

“But I Just Grew Out My Bangs! A Cancer Tale” is a frank account of the many hardships, indignities and triumphs I experienced during my year of battling cancer.

It was cathartic to write and provided a physical closure to my journey. Committing every aspect of my battle to the written page removes it from my consciousness, and I can now move on with my life.

I decided to forego the traditional publishing houses – a process I know well, since this is my fourth book – and go directly to self-publishing. I am not alone. Hundreds of thousands of authors like me are bypassing a green light from an agent and publisher and are taking matters into their own hands.

There have been great strides made in recent years with self-publishing, both the process and the stigma attached to it. I can personally vouch for how easy, cost-effective and speedy the self-publishing route is these days.

I chose to use createspace.com, a subsidiary of amazon.com. I downloaded my book, a Word document I’d converted to a PDF, and followed createspace’s step-by-step instructions for creating a cover and ISBN number using one of the templates they provide. The website is user-friendly and efficient.

But questions are bound to arise, and the good news is that live customer support is available 24-7. I sought assistance for everything from formatting issues to how to price and market the book, and each time I was connected to a helpful and patient person who was able to resolve whatever difficulty I was experiencing.

After my book was deemed ready to print, I ordered a hard-copy proof of it. I repeated this process several times, paying $8 for both the proof and the shipping costs each time, until I had a final product I deemed ready for sale. I then approved the final proof and ordered enough copies to sell at various venues and book signings I have lined up across the country.

The beauty of self-publishing is that I don’t actually have to order any of the books myself. I could have completed this entire process without spending a penny. The books are printed on demand so that readers can purchase the books directly from amazon.com – or any number of additional virtual booksellers – and they incur the cost rather than my needing to pay for the printing up front.

I will receive periodic royalty checks depending on the number of books sold.

But thanks to the ease of self-publishing, there really no down side to chronicling my ovarian odyssey. And who knows? There may be a sequel: “My Bangs Are Grown Out!”