I am about to embark on the process of self-publishing my book Happily Divorced. All along as I’ve been writing and self-editing my book, I’ve tried to apply one of the many valuable lessons I took from my time as a “student” of Wayne Dyer. That is the notion that we must act as if. We must visualize what it is we want to manifest in our lives. Then we must live as if we already have it. And in doing so, we will see it when we believe it.
In keeping with that thinking, one of the first things I did earlier this year as I started on the path of building an audience and preparing my writing to be submitted as a book proposal, was to print out the entire manuscript and place it in one of those 3-clip folders. You know… the ones that cost about fifty cents and allow for the pages to be awkwardly turned? The idea of this exercise being that it resembled a finished book. It became real to me in the most literal sense at that moment. No longer was writing a book just a theory. It was a real thing sitting on the table right there in front of me. I was no longer just thinking about writing a book or becoming an author. I was one. I am one. And even if the book never gets published or if I have to publish it myself, no one can ever tell me I did not write a book because I have the physical proof that says otherwise.
Of course, no book is complete without a cover. So about a year ago I did a very rudimentary sketch of what I envisioned for my cover. Now, I may be a creative sort. I write of course. And I had my moment as a local musician fronting an incredibly talented group of musicians in a cover band. I even dabbled with some song writing back in the day. But an artist in the sense of one who draws, paints, or sculpts, I am not! Having said that, the image that came to me that day really felt authentic and perfect in its imperfection. Given the fact I grew up in my mom’s bridal shop, it quite frankly seemed to fit like a glove – or should I say dress? And with my rough sketch as complete as I was ever going to make it, I placed it at the front of my three-tab folder to give my book a cover.
Now that I will soon be getting a professional cover designed for my book, I asked my stepdaughter to upgrade my sketch to something that resembled the work of an adult. You can see the product of her efforts above. In keeping with the sentiment behind this book, it’s nice to have another member of my post-divorce blended family contribute to the effort. I’d love to hear what you think of it. Of course, I’ll hire a professional book cover artist to fine tune this image for the final product and make sure it hits the mark in terms of not looking weird or out of place within my chosen genre. If there are any book designers out there that have an opinion, I’d love to hear that too.
So, will you indulge me and share your reaction to this image as the cover for Happily Divorced? I’d be very grateful for your feedback whether it is good or bad.
Thanks for your time and consideration!
Teresa