The Work Blog: How to Independently Publish a Literary Work

Dear Readers,
As you know, I occasionally publish some of the posts from my workblog, Five, which is available only to other employees through our intranet sharing site. I thought that you might like my latest post: 


My most recent blog post is about My Father’s Legacy, my friend Edith DeSimone's story of her life in Germany. Over the past few months, we developed www.edithkanter.com as a place where friends, family and others can go to read Edith’s memoir and respond to it.

When Edith DeSimone and I first began this collaboration, our goal was to publish her story as a book or perhaps a series. We struggled with this idea for a long time, due to the cost and the limit it places on production.

While I was struggling to manage what was becoming a massive undertaking, the solution was a God-send. Why not buy a web address? Why not publish her memoir online?

As you know, a blog is free! And it is accessible around the world. A blog is the perfect solution for Edith and me, as we hope to share her story with friends in the United States and in Germany.

Staying true to the name of my blog, here is how to publish a literary work, in five steps:

1. Identify and purchase your web address – Any marketer knows that a web address is critical. It must be short, easy to remember, relevant, and match the tone of the material. We chose www.edithkanter.com because distant family members searching for Edith will be most familiar with her maiden name, and researchers conducting searches for additional information about names within documentation and records created during World War II will most be familiar with the name Kanter.

2. Choose your template – Consider how much information you will be presenting on your site. Is it a short story, or is it a tome? Simplicity is best when creating a website dense with information. You’ll want to find a layout that is both easy to navigate and visually supports the content. I used Wordpress to create www.edithkanter.com. Wordpress allows you to use a series of free templates; with so many options, it’s best to make your decision carefully. Be aware, these templates are limited, and you may need to upgrade if you are keen on using a particular color or font. 

3. Write an introduction – Your introduction to your literary work is a summary; it should ground the reader and propel the reader to continue to the first post. The introduction should provide a background, your involvement if the work is not your own, and it should include a brief description of the website’s text. Make it short; make it compelling.

4. Include a contact form in your design – The purpose of publishing is to share information, and the best part about publishing in the Digital Age is the many ways that others can respond to what they have read, watched, or heard.  The purpose of Edith’s website is to develop a dialogue with interested visitors, and I chose Wordpress because it allowed us to easily add a contact form to the site. When a visitor uses this contact form to send a private message, I receive an alert and can choose to respond with a personal e-mail. This form protects my information and allows me to filter through unwanted correspondence. At some point, I’m sure Blogger, Google's popular blogging platform, will adopt this feature, but at present, it is a bit more difficult to add a contact form to a Blogger page.

5. Spread the news, online and through word of mouth – Tell the world about your blog! The benefit of a blog is that it can be read all over the world on any device that has an internet connection. Using an design and print website, I created business cards for Edith with the book’s title, an image, her name, and the web address. She is sharing these cards with family and friends. I have also created a Facebook page for My Father’s Legacy. My hope is that younger, more tech-savvy friends from Edith’s church will help me share her story. Finally, I have been searching for similar websites and forums that might be interested in reading Edith’s memoir. I plan to pursue this goal more rigorously after I have posted the remaining chapters on the site.

What I hope you gain from this post is confidence. There is no need to be overwhelmed by the idea of publishing your own material or the work of a friend. You can do it! And it doesn’t have to be perfect. The benefit of this medium is that you can easily edit mistakes and update outmoded material with a few clicks or your mouse.

So, take that step. Find your voice. Share a story. You can do it!