To publish a book: a dream held by many, achieved by few.
Until now. Self-publishing has revolutionized the world of books, forever altering what it means to be a published author. But what happens when an author is actually an editor responsible for a collection of works, none of which are her own?
This September, Chronicling Childhood Cancer: A Collection of Personal Stories by Children and Teens with Cancer was published. Edited by me, Trisha Paul, this collection of works consists of narratives collected from my research with pediatric oncology patients at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
There are a lot of questions that I grappled with throughout the publication process, and they left me filled with both excitement and anxiety. What does it mean to self-publish a book that is entirely based on the contributions of others? Perhaps nothing, perhaps something. For me, it was important from the start that the focus remain on the children and teens with cancer.
Yet as the editor of this collection and the collector of these stories, I inevitably had the responsibility of making decisions regarding this publication. How much did I want to disclose about myself as the editor? If I was not including any images of the child and teen authors, was I comfortable including my own picture? How could I adequately summarize where this idea came from in the Preface without dwelling too much on my personal story?
Throughout the process, I kept wondering whether I was overthinking these seemingly minor details, but I always found myself agreeing with my initial concerns. These questions may seem superfluous or irrelevant, but they are the kind of concerns that I have contemplated from the start. Although the book may be attributed to me as the editor, I believe that it is not I who is being published but rather each of these contributing children. By making these important ethical considerations, I was able to achieve my ultimate goal: to maintain the focus on these young child and teen authors.
Investigating Illness Narratives 