formatting | Mary J. McCoy-Dressel ~ Contemporary Romance

I’m stealing this Friday spot from my 52-Week Blog Challenge #MFRWauthor spot to write about and introduce you to my new rebranded book covers.

Now, for today’s post:

Hey there. I’m dropping in to say in way too many words, that I have rebranded my Bull Rider Series book covers and Boxed Set. My wonderful cover designer did all the work, but I chose my hero and heroine, along with the additional cover images for books two and three.

Before I get into what I went though, please know, if you’re only switching out covers it’s simple. All you do is upload the covers. Click publish. You’re done. Unless you have a boxed set with images inserted within the book file itself. Then you need to switch covers out in your book file.

Some Reasons Why I Rebranded:

It was time for something new. Howdy, Ma’am, my first indie book, needed an update.
Howdy, Ma’am has been around since December 2012. It was the first book where I had control over the cover. Since then, I’ve learned a lot. I’m more in tune to what I want my covers to look like and what I can and can’t do. Since it was my first indie book, it has been revised more than once. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge since publishing Howdy, Ma’am, so hopefully, revisions reflect that.

Contrary to what some people think, stock photo images CAN be used over and over unless they are purchased exclusively, which I do now when I can.

What Did I Know in 2012? Nothing Much About Covers.

Nope, I knew nothing about creating a cover or what I wanted, so I found someone who did. However, I did choose the images and still choose my hero and heroine and some of the additional images for each and every cover.

About the Original Covers:

The original couple image for Howdy, Ma’am wasn’t a rare image and has been seen on many other books. My designer gave this series a grittier look to let it stand out both in the before and after look.

OLD original covers

The cover for Hey, Cowboy wasn’t a cover you’d see because I chose the images separately. One image on the cover was popular and made its rounds in the western romance genre.

The image of my couple on the third book was purchased as an exclusive image. However, the model selling the image told me the same image had been purchased once, so somewhere out there, is the same image, but I doubt it has the same background. Per license specifications, I can always use this exclusive image again for another book, and I will. None of that matters now.

You might recognize my new Caulder as the model for Jase in Heartbreak’s Reward. I knew one day I would have him… Oh, um, ah…oh my. I mean have him on a cover again. ❤ When it came time to rebrand, his stock photo company was where I headed.

The Thing About Rebranding with a Different Couple:

I have the image of couples in my head from the get-go. All of a sudden, after three books, I now had to visualize someone else as my Velia and Caulder. It takes a while, folks. Seriously, as I’ve been going around and deleting the old covers to prevent confusion, my heart twisted a ~~little~~ lot. For years and three books, these characters shared a part of my brain and muse. Regardless, I wanted a change, and the change was good. My new covers work for me! ❤

Mary J McCoy-Dressel, Bull Rider Series new cover, western romance

Book #1

I sent a picture of the new hero to a close friend and asked her if he could pass as Caulder because she loves Caulder. Not one of the pictures you see here. I purchased six stock photos.

Book #2

Ha-ha. I thought I might have to go over there to wipe the drool off her mouth after she replied, that yes, he was “definitely Caulder McCutchen.” Then I sent her a picture of them as a couple. She approved!

Book #3

I hope readers do, too. Everyone has their own opinions, and some of you might like the old better, but this is what I had to do.

This Could Happen to You:

Now for my dilemma. What about my boxed set? The old images were in the interior of the manuscript! Oh, no.

I emailed Draft2Digital (D2D), an aggregator I use to distribute my books to Nook, Apple, and Kobo with a round of back and forth questions and answers about inserting covers internally into a document.

Now the new problem had been solved. Deep breath. Exhale. Again.

Mary J McCoy-Dressel Books, western romance author. New covers for boxed set website and retailers.

3D cover for most retailers.

“Apple” will only accept a Flat (2D) cover upload.

*Some authors create one boxed set cover as a 2D with images of the books or one common image on the cover instead of a 3D like my Bull Rider Series cover. See an example at the end of this post. Maybe this is what I’ll do the next time I make a boxed set.

Mary J McCoy-Dressel books, western romance author. Image for website and retailers.

Boxed Set Cover for Apple.

All in all, I’m happy with my decision to rebrand this series.

With another unexpected project out of the way, I’m ready to move forward to brand-new covers for brand-new books.

There is always something new to learn. Learning is the fun part.

Velia and Caulder thank you for viewing their new covers. Yeeha. Let’s ride.

Enjoy your day!

*Here’s one example of a flat or 2D cover with a book cover by one of my favorite western romance authors and my inspiration to finally put pen to paper. Her omnibus includes four books, but this type of cover can be added to all the retailers.

Here we are again. Welcome back. It’s Friday and time for another Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge post. It’s a blog hop, baby!

Week 15: How I celebrate completing my manuscript

I’m not sure if this means after completing a draft or after it’s been edited and ready to go. Either way, I don’t celebrate like I should, but for now it works for me, and gives me a period of down time after finishing a book.

Upon completion of a manuscript, I’ll take a few days or a weekend to get away from the stories and relax with Netflix, movies, dinner with friends, or take time to read someone else’s book. To breathe.

I don’t celebrate outwardly, but I do celebrate internally at different stages. A sense of pride overwhelms me once I:

Finish a first draft.
Send a manuscript to my editor.
Finish the final edits.
I RELAX and enjoy the moment after sending it to my formatter.
FINALLY I’m thrilled yet celebrating subtly after I upload and hit publish.

When my work on a book is finished, I’ll smile and tell my hero and his heroine they are ready to go out into the world. I will literally miss them when it’s over. This is why I write a series. I get to see them again.

One thing I do is give myself a silent praise or a pat on the back when I finish the first draft. I mention it on social media, email or text my friends and family, but other writers understand it better than even best friends. However, family and friends are happy for my accomplishment. After publication and while out, I want to scream, “I published another book!”

Celebration is simple because I feel like I’m on a timeline and need to get the next book started and written as soon as possible. Book sales are my survival. Book writing is my sanity.

With my next book, which is the third book in a spin off series, Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series, I DO PLAN on gathering my friends and celebrating together. Oh, and to get a mani-pedi.