Supposedly, 80% of people say that they would like to write a book. Only a much smaller percentage actually do write one. I have never been sure that I would be in that small number of people called authors. But I know I’ve been in the 80% of writers who dream. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.
A few weeks ago, Mom asked me if I was writing on my blog. She hadn’t seen anything for a while. No, I told her. Journal entries have been sparse. Both of my blogs have rarely been attended to, and readership has dropped off. I’m not proud of that. My life since Dennis has been a whole new experience, and I haven’t decided how to write about it.
But I have decided what my first book will be about. It will be about our experience with Lewy Body Dementia. My husband Dennis and I walked that difficult road for five years. I want to have the historical record for family and friends. Dennis has a granddaughter who will never get to meet him, and will someday wonder who he was. For both Dennis and I, that time period was intense and rich in many ways. I want to preserve my own memories of it.
I haven’t felt much like writing anything at all since Dennis died. That’s why using my journal entries and blog posts during that time was an easy choice. Most of the writing was already done. I put money down with a publisher and have been working toward a finished book for several months now. It’s a frustrating, time consuming project in many ways but also an interesting process. It has given me new stories to tell.
One of the tasks of making a book is to choose a cover. Today, I am asking for help with that. Designers have already submitted cover designs and I have chosen a few. This week a poll is being taken to see which cover has the most appeal. You can help by following the link at the end of this post and voting. Based on the cover, which book would you be most likely to buy and read? I thank you in advance for your input.
And in case you are also part of the 80% that want to write a book someday, I will be telling some of those stories about publishing for you. And check in next week for the results of the poll. By the way, winter is a good time to stay indoors and write… just sayin’.
Here’s the link to the poll:
I Just Have to Say... 
Good for you, Shirley! I’m proud of you.
PS—All the covers were pretty darn good. I liked the one best of you and Dennis holding hands.
There were two with hands, one green and one blue. Which did you like?
I forget the colors, but I like the one with just the hands, no flowers. Holding hands like you were walking together.
I know the one. It’s at #2 in the poll now.