Losing a Spouse

Vic Harrison emerged from a devastating loss determined to help others. Four years ago, Vic lost his beloved wife and best friend to cancer. It was 2020, so on top of losing his spouse, the world was in quarantine. It felt like he had been transported to a different universe—a very lonely place.

He and Ruth had a lot in common. They served side by side at church, were both educators and musicians, and frequently entertained friends. Having retired early to care for his wife, Vic was left with a lot of time on his hands after her passing. He began to journal, and a book was born. Just Me Now: The First Year of Life without My Spouse is an honest account of grief and unveils how Vic manages heartache.

When I first read the manuscript, I instinctively highlighted some takeaways I wanted to remember. I haven’t experienced a loss like Vic’s, but I’ll return to this book if I ever do. This beautiful quote describes the theme:

“Somewhere along the line I realized I should be doing two things—celebrating the life I had with Ruth and growing where God has planted me now.”

Editing

Vic and I used Track Changes in Microsoft Word to go through a light round of line editing (wording) and copyediting (grammar, punctuation, etc.) The result is polished text that’s easy to read and understand. Vic has a genuine voice that’s inclusive and friendly.

Design Details

Paperback

Vic hired me to improve the typesetting of his first edition, which he put together using Microsoft Word and printed at a local shop. Some key elements were missing, though, like page headers, styled chapter heads, photo captions, subheadings in the text, and permission for a lyric quote.

We found a fitting template on BookDesignTemplates.com with a handwritten look for the book title and chapter headings. That felt right because the nature of the book is very personal. In Just Me Now, Vic shares some of his journal entries from that first year and elaborates on those thoughts and feelings. The body text is a lovely serif font—EB Garamond.

I used Adobe InDesign to go from there. We added a half title page and an epigraph (quote) page in the front matter to help set the tone. If a photo related to a specific part of the text, I placed it there. We put the remaining images on blank pages, and Vic provided captions.

I love how inviting the handwritten font looks at the beginning of each chapter. It’s as if Vic wrote a letter to you, the reader, and is about to divulge something secret and significant (which he does).

In chapter one, “The Woman She Was,” I used a word cloud image for descriptive words and phrases about Ruth. I loved working on this because these words conjured up Ruth’s smiling face in my mind. They came from friends in her Bible study group. I knew Ruth from church. She sang in the choir, so I saw her nearly every Sunday.

We used italics over a notepaper background to set off journal entries. Subheadings outline helpful content that readers might want to return to later. For example, analogies Vic used to describe his grief and various coping strategies.

We concluded the book by adding “About the Author” and “Review Request” pages in the back.

E-book

Just Me Now is also available in e-book format. I used InDesign to create a reflowable ePub file that allows readers to customize the look of the e-book on their devices. The photos in the e-book are in color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proofreading

Before publishing the formatted PDF file, we collaborated with proofreader Jami Bennington using Adobe Acrobat. Jami has an excellent eye and made the manuscript shine! Jami and I are members of The Christian PEN (Proofreaders and Editors Network).

Publishing

Vic published through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. He may “go wide” in the future. For now, the paperback and e-book are available exclusively on Amazon.

Blurb

How do you navigate solitary life after losing your spouse? Just Me Now is a narrative of one widower’s path after thirty-five years of happy marriage. Vic and Ruth Harrison had a lot in common and an uncommon partnership. God blessed their years together. They enjoyed each other’s company and frequently had friends over at their home before Ruth was diagnosed with cancer.

When Ruth passed away on the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vic was left with a void so deep it defied description. In Just Me Now, he shares firsthand how he struggled through that solitary first year. If you can relate, know that you are not alone. This book was written for you.

Inside, you’ll discover

• different ways of describing and understanding grief,
• practical steps to combat the pain, and
• seeds of hope from the Christian faith.

About the Author

Vic Harrison is a retired National Board Certified teacher and worship leader. He was the music specialist at Sutton Elementary School in Owensboro, Kentucky, for over twenty years. Vic led worship in over twenty-five churches and denominational settings around Kentucky and worked as a full-time music minister in Springfield and Burlington. He now lives in western Kentucky, where he and his late wife Ruth purchased land and built a home in 2016.

Marketing

We used Publisher Rocket to select strategic Amazon categories and popular keywords. This will drive more organic traffic to Vic’s book. This incredible tool lets you see stats like “the number of books you need to sell per day to rank number one for this category” and “the estimated number of people who typed that phrase into Amazon per month.” Publisher Rocket takes the guesswork out of picking categories and keywords. It gets your book in front of more Amazon shoppers.

Vic will target church libraries, hospice facilities, pastors, grief counselors, the press, and reviewers. He’ll also spread the word to friends on social media and reach out to podcast hosts and bloggers who share his audience.

Widows and widowers will appreciate Vic’s sympathy and story. He’d like to release more resources about grief. Readers can connect with him on Facebook.