Although I know some people who have done it successfully, I am not a big fan of self-publishing. The problem is just about anyone can self-publish their work if they are willing to invest a few (or more) dollars.  Too many self-published books are poorly written and/or poorly edited.* For that reason, libraries, book stores, book festivals, and book bloggers often give them a cold shoulder. However, self-publishing can be the answer when an author is more concerned about putting his or her work out in front of the public and less concerned about racking up a large number of sales. That’s why the GEM-C Writers of Columbus State will be self-publishing their anthology, Lost and Found. None of the contributors expect to see the book on any best-seller lists, but they do hope to reach people in central Ohio — and perhaps farther — who may be enriched by what they have to say.

After studying several self-publishing options, the GEM-C Writers decided to go with CreateSpace, an Amazon company that has been used successfully by one of our members. Setting up a CreateSpace account required only an e-mail address and password. Once my account was established, CreateSpace guided me, step-by-step, through a process that promises to lead to the anthology’s eventual publication and distribution.

First came the name of the project and the anthology’s title, which included listing the names of the 12 people who have their work represented on its pages. CreateSpace assigned the book an ISBN and then asked me to select a size for the pages; I went with 5.5″ x 8.5.” Creating a cover came next. Although CreateSpace had numerous standardized covers I could have chosen, I went with one designed by Charles, the GEM-C member who has used CreateSpace to publish his novels. The cover shows a heart-shaped locket nestled into a clump of ivy  — an image that goes well with Lost and Found. The last step we’ve reached so far is proofing. I uploaded the latest draft of the anthology and sent it to the support team for approval. At this point a problem emerged. The uploaded draft had hyperlinks included, which could not be formatted with the rest of the content. Charles sent a new draft that omitted the hyperlinks, and the proof was accepted. By the way, the CreateSpace dashboard provides a checklist of the steps you must complete and indicates those that have been completed and those that remain. If a problem arises, a little exclamation mark (!) appears in the message center to alert the author.

A few days ago, a new draft with photographs accompanying the anthology’s respective themes was uploaded to replace the first one that was approved. Even though the printed content was virtually identical to what was in the first draft, approval from the CreateSpace support team was still necessary. In fact, any time a new draft replaces an earlier one, the new draft must undergo the approval process. Fortunately, this usually takes only about 24 hours. Once a final draft is in place and approved, the GEM-C Writers will move to the latter stages of the CreateSpace self-publishing process. That will include setting a price, selecting the channels through which the book will be sold, and deciding what — if any — marketing services to purchase.

Self-publishing has its limits and writers who take that path should be aware of the obstacles they will face. For the GEM-C Writers, however, self-publishing through CreateSpace offers an opportunity to make our voices heard and perhaps better someone’s life.

* There are exceptions. See “Some Thoughts on Paris Runaway and Editing,” July 3, 2016.