A cancer survivor's story ...

Book review by Jan Kozlowski

I met Wendy Wheeler when she attended an Online Marketing and Promotion workshop that I taught last semester at the Hartford College for Women. She had written and self-published Path Through the Fire: A Cancer Story and was looking for ideas on how to bring her work to a larger audience. I thumbed through a copy quickly and right there, in the middle of class, became completely captivated, not just by her words, but by the beautiful layout, design and color illustrations that she utilized to share her story.

The book itself is short, only 84 pages in an 11" x 7" format. The heart of the book is set up as illustrated diary entries, beginning on June 30, 1994 with Wendy's first day of chemotherapy and extending through January 13, 1995 as the chemo draws to a close. Bookending the journal are short introduction, background, post-chemo and pre-radiation, post-radiation and epilogue pieces that tie Wendy's very personal story together into a riveting journey of one woman's survival.

After reading Path Through the Fire, I wasn't surprised that it was self-published, and believe me, that is NOT a condemnation of Wendy's work but rather of the state of book publishing today. The more conferences I go to and the more time I spend talking to other writers, the more I've come to believe that self-publishing is one of the few options the vast majority of us have left.

As large publishing houses are increasingly swallowed by even larger media conglomerates it's becoming almost impossible for someone who isn't already a heavily agented "name" in entertainment, sports or politics to even be allowed through the front door. It doesn't seem to matter if you are a great writer, or have a book like Wendy's that could bring peace, comfort and healing to a significant portion of the population. If you can't absolutely, positively guarantee Stephen King-like sales your first time out, don't even bother to send in your manuscript.

Readers, we can't let these bean counters win. Small, wonderful books like Wendy's deserve their place on the shelves and in reader's hearts. If you've had a condescending attitude towards self-published books and their authors, change it. As a reader, support your local independent bookstores, even if you have to go out of your way or wait a couple of extra days to order a book instead of grabbing it off the shelf. Ask the clerks for recommendations; they always have a list of small titles that they love and work hard to hand sell. If you don't have an autonomous bookstore close by, scour the corners of the large stores, look for small self published works and purchase them.

If you're a writer with something important to say that you know isn't going to interest big publishing, think about going small or self-publishing. Do whatever you have to do, but don't allow yourself to be silenced simply because the New York houses believe that what America truly needs is another book by the members of N'Sync.

For more information or to order a copy of Path Through The Fire: A Cancer Story, see Wendy's web site: www.bigobjects.com/pathfire.