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My writing career began when I self-published a family story about sunflowers. Since then, a sunflower has been my unofficial logo. I love sunflowers and other people do, too. In 2005 my book about anticipatory grief, written with a physician co-author, was published by BookSurge, an Amazon company. BookSurge is a print on demand publisher, so I was able to design the cover of the book.Anticipatory grief is a serious topic, yet I knew the book could help countless people. My challenge was to get the customer's attention. After considering many ideas, I decided to use a sunflower as a symbol of growth and hope. I bought a large sunflower at a local shop and asked my daughter to photograph it.My twin grandchildren took turns holding the sunflower against various backgrounds. One shot out of the dozen she took stood out, a once-in-a-million photo of the flower against pale blue sky and wispy clouds. Now I had to make the most of this photo.Because of my art training I am aware of the psychological impact of fonts. Jokerman, for example, announces its impact in a word. What font should I choose for the cover? I chose a version of Garamond, a graceful and historic type. Choosing the background color came next.Years ago my husband and I visited Monet's home in France. Pictures of Monet's cheerful blue and yellow kitchen still flash through my mind. With these images in mind I chose bright blue for th background color. This color would make the sunflower "pop." Now I had to format the photo to the correct dots per inch.Since I am not a computer whiz, I asked a graphic designer to do this for me, and I am glad I did. Electronic transmission would fade the yellow, the designer explained as she made the yellow brighter. She pointed to a small, ugly bug on a leaf (which I had not seen) and removed it. Finally, she put a thin yellow line around the photo.The publisher one more design element to the cover -- the color black -- to symbolize grief. A black line was put next to the yellow line and the title was printed against black. When I received the final proof of the cover I gasped with pleasure and then I cried. The cover had turned out better than I hoped.I used the cover for an ad I placed in the October issue of 'Minnesota Medicine," which focuses on grief. The advertising manager called me to finalize the black and white ad. "What a beautiful cover!" she exclaimed. "It's so beautiful you should print it in color." And I did.Because the cover can make or break sales, my publications lawyer adds a clause to my book contract that says I have front and back cover approval. Think about your cover as you write your book. Then work with your publisher to turn your dream cover into reality.Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson
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www.harriethodgson.com www.healthwriter.blogspot.com
Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 28 years. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. Another review is posted on the American Hospice Foundation Website under the "School Corner" heading.
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