Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Sensual western romance. Heartwarming stories. Strong family ties.
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
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  • Tag: manuscripts

    • #AmWriting Many Eons Ago… Yellow Legal Pads, Manuscripts, Computers, Oh, My!

      Posted at 11:54 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on June 9, 2016

      Eons ago, my first two books were written on yellow legal pads with a favorite pen. One book took nine notebooks and one took ten, using both front and back pages. Obviously by the picture, I still have them. Wow, that was a long time ago. (I still have that pen somewhere. I told you I was a saver.) 🙂 #AuthorLife

      Mary J McCoy-Dressel Books, Western Romance Mary J McCoy-Dressel Books, Western Romance

      Back in those old days when I did book signings, I used to take these notebooks and printed out manuscripts to book signings. It was easy for guests to imagine the hard work that went into writing a book when they saw the various stages.

      Mary J McCoy-Dressel Books, Western romance

      Next, I typed manuscripts with a rented typewriter because I didn’t own a typewriter at the time. (My dad bought me a child’s typewriter when I was a kid, but that was a long gone. So was the child.)

      I’ve had secrets come out of my typewriter in invisible ink. ~Terri Guillemets

      Mary J McCoy-Dressel Books, Western romance

      Mary J McCoy-Dressel Books, western romance, cowboys

      Of course, I had to print the manuscripts to edit them. Check out the printer paper on the top photo, bottom manuscript! Yes, I used a dot matrix printer. Do you even remember those? Eventually I upgraded to a laser printer. I don’t remember exactly what the dot matrix looked like, but this image from Pixabay, gives you a good idea. I believe mine was a little more high tech than this one. *Cough!* I use an inkjet now.

      My nine-year-old stepdaughter took this picture when I first got published. It had been a long road.

      Self

      It’s true–we really did have to send hard copies to publishers back then, with the perforated section where the holes are, torn off. If we were lucky, they wanted the complete manuscript, per the top one in the picture. It wasn’t as big a book as it looks, but double spacing took up a lot of pages.

      Mary J McCoy-Dressel Books, Western Romance

      On To The New!

       

      The day I bought a computer, I was excited and terrified of using that wonderful new gadget! So much so, that I had called my techy teen boys many times to help me find my way out of a mess I’d gotten into. My computer tech guy who built my computer for me back then, said, “You can’t do anything to it that can’t be fixed.” It seems I was out to prove him wrong. This was the old days, folks.

      Somehow I found my way and eventually I was the one asked to help get people out of their computer messes. I had a good laugh one day at work when I was about to round a corner in a hallway, and I heard… “Ask Mary McCoy-Dressel. She knows everything about computers.” LOL. I earned my way, but come on, now, that was pushing it a bit.

      Mary J McCoy-Dressel Books, western romanceWell, many computers, cowboys, and bull riders later, I prefer my laptop to write, which feels like an extension to my fingers. Oh, and I prefer using email for submissions, though I haven’t done anything like that in a long time.  #AmWriting #AmEditing

       

      Cheers! 🙂 Happy writing and reading.  ❤

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      Posted in #AmWriting, #WritersLife | 10 Comments | Tagged computers, dot matrix printer, laser printer, long hand writing, manuscripts, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, submissions, typewriter, western romance
    • The Resolution/ Goal– NOT! Thursday 13

      Posted at 3:55 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 5, 2012

      My first Thursday 13 for 2012.   Happy New Year!

      1. Not going to back down on what I want. I am Woman, Hear me Roar…

      2. Not going to let myself get out of shape. (Once I get back into shape, of course.)

      3. Not going to let my body become lazy. (The treadmill has been seeing nothing but dust.)

      4. Not going into self-pity parties. Nope, not gonna do it. Laugh, laugh–

      5. Not going to neglect my friends. Hi FRIENDS—you’re all special to me.

      6. Not going to neglect my family. I lived too far from my family for seven years and I’ll never do it again. I love you, family.

      7. Not going to let half done manuscripts sit in my computer. I repeat- I’m not going to let half done manuscripts sit in my computer.

      8. Not going to get comfortable until a manuscript is finished.

      9. Not going to give up on Visions of Enchantment now that I have my publishing rights back.

      10. Not giving up on getting the rights back to Enchantment’s Embrace.

      11. Not going to keep putting off publishing to Kindle.

      12. Not going to settle with my own editing skills. Get real! We all need an editor in our life.

      13. Not going to eat a lot of junk food. Notice I said a lot. I can’t deprive myself or I’ll feel cheated. This does not include chocolate!

      To do your own Thursday 13, follow these rules.
      ”thursday-13″

      1. First list item starts here…

      Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

      Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

      View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged author, editing skills, family and friends, junk food, Kindle, manuscripts, mary j mccoy dressel, new year, resolution, Thursday 13
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  • © 2007 – 2023 by Mary J. Dressel, Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    © Mary J. Dressel, Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, and Mary J. McCoy-Dressel Books, 2007 – 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Mary J. McCoy-Dressel and Mary J. McCoy-Dressel Books with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

    • Get Caught Reading — The Sign of the Ape 4
      Get Caught Reading — The Sign of the Ape 4
    • #AmWriting ~Life Lessons in Books~ #MFRWauthor Blog Hop
      #AmWriting ~Life Lessons in Books~ #MFRWauthor Blog Hop
    • #AmWriting Quickie Update & Short Snippet Saturday
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