It’s been a long time coming, but the Dimorier Project finally has something to show for decades of research and writing and thousands of dollars to honor a good man—William E. Dimorier. After numerous efforts to get William’s story published in the traditional way, I finally decided to publish his biography myself. It is now available, and I hope that many people will learn about servant leadership through the life of one interesting man.
It was a chance lunchtime outing in 2004 that served as the catalyst for a decades-long project – see Prologue. Even though I only used half of my research notes, the manuscript amassed more than 400 pages. Its length, coupled with what was seen as a local project, formed a barrier to capturing the commitment of an agent or a publisher. Two years ago, a local start-up publisher contacted me, and it seemed that the book might finally be published, but it just wasn’t a good fit, so we amiably parted ways.
I must admit that I was averse to self-publishing. I thought that if no traditional agent or publisher believed in my work, then it must not be worthy enough to print. As the years went by and William’s story wasn’t being told, though, I lived with a nagging guilt. I gradually warmed to the idea a self-publishing, but I had no idea where to begin.
A few years ago, I happened to volunteer on a World War One Centennial Committee whose mission it was to erect a monument to the soldiers from our community who had paid the ultimate price for our freedom. After we raised the funds and the monument was installed, our leader told us we weren’t done. We were going to write a book. Throughout the pandemic, the committee researched and wrote and eventually, the book was independently published. It is Answering the Call: Erie County in World War One.
I learned a bit about self-publishing during the World War One book process, but I was intimidated by the task of laying out and designing the book myself. Luckily, I had already engaged the services of an expert editor, so I knew the manuscript was in good shape.
By chance one day, I was on the Erie County Library website and saw a notice for Pressbooks Public Self-Publishing Platform. With Pressbooks, I could create, edit, format, and generate print-ready and eBook formats for my book. I started clicking and noticed that Pressbooks is built on a WordPress platform, something I’m familiar with through blogging. I dropped a chapter in and started playing around.
Some HTML formatting was necessary because William E. Dimorier: Servant Leader contains a lot of Dimorier’s poetry. Then, when it came time to publish, the title was breaking in an awkward way, so my son-in-law fixed it with some changes to the CSS code, which I am not familiar with at all.
I already knew which printer I wanted to use, based on the World War One book experience, so after I checked and rechecked and checked my work again, I exported my file and uploaded it to 48-Hour Books in Akron, OH. I was able to avoid the cost of shipping by picking up the books and incorporating a visit to a relative who lives there. I also let 48-Hour Books handle the ISBN for me, which they printed on the cover.
It’s a good feeling to finally have something to show for the years of effort and to those who thought I was crazy for leaving a perfectly good job. They probably still think I’m crazy, but at least now they can see what I was doing this whole time. I had to overcome the paralysis of knowing the book isn’t perfect, but I hope I’ll be forgiven for errors, which I hope are few. I’ll never recover the costs I’ve personally incurred for this project, but there are some things more important than money.
William E. Dimorier: Servant-Leader tells how a person from humble beginnings led a life of service, largely unrecognized, but ultimately, has left a legacy that stretches around the globe and across centuries. Many people think they must make millions of dollars or have millions of fans to matter, however, simply living a good life and generously giving of one’s time and talents can make life very worthwhile.
2026 Update: William E. Dimorier Servant Leader is mostly sold out, but a few copies are left. Also, currently, the Erie County Library has discontinued its subscription to Pressbooks because of budget issues. One regret I have about this book, is even though I had it professionally edited, I royally screwed up when dropping the index into the draft. I used an old version and so, some entries are a page off and some page numbers aren’t there. In the meantime, here’s an updated index: https://annsilverthorn.com/index-william-e-dimorier-servant-leader/
- William E. Dimorier: Servant Leader is available at the following locations in Erie, PA. Retail price is $25.
- Werner Books & Coffee, 3608 Liberty St. Liberty Plaza, Erie (814-864-1565)
- Pressed Books & Coffee, 1535 W. 8th Street, Erie (814-314-2827)
- Hagen History Center, 356 W. 6th Street, Erie (814-454-1813)
- A reference copy of the book can also be found in the Heritage Room at Blasco Library in Erie.
- Thirty copies were purchased by the School District of the City of Erie for its school libraries.
If you are not local to the Erie area, please visit my About/Comment page, scroll to the end, and request a copy.
