My Christmas novella Because of You was first traditionally published. In other words, I entered into a contract which gave my traditional publisher, Bethany House, the right to publish and distribute my novella. Which they did in a few different ways!
First, through the publication of The Christmas Heirloom collection in 2018. They made the collection available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
One year later, in 2019, they also made the four novellas available as separate ebooks. At that time, they gave my novella the darling cover below. (I shared about the photo shoot for this cover in this post!)
And that’s how Because of You remained until I received the rights back to this novella earlier this year. (Which means that, as the author, the right to publish and distribute this story has returned to me.) That was a wonderful turn of events! The only downside–Because of You’s page on Amazon disappeared, which caused me a little bit of a heartache since the novella had accrued hundreds of ratings and reviews there. As you all know, gathering ratings and reviews for a story is both difficult to do and incredibly important sales-wise. I was sad to see those go!
Mike Habermann, the photographer who took the above photo, very graciously gave me permission to continue using this cover for Because of You. And so, at first, that’s what I planned to do.
But then I reconsidered. Independent authors and traditional publishers alike have long known that updating a book’s cover can give the story fresh life. When older stories look more current, that helps them attract new readers who are drawn in by a different type of cover aesthetic than the aesthetic that attracted the original readers.
Since the covers of my most recent Sons of Scandal series are illustrated, and since the pendulum has swung strongly toward illustrated covers for contemporary romances in recent years, I eventually decided to update the cover of Because of You. While I was at it, I also updated my other two Christmas stories. You and Me, a novella. And The Proposal, a short story.
Now, when readers go to my website, here is what displays at the top of the “my books” page…
Do you see how the Christmas covers complement each other and also my Sons of Scandal covers? I’m really happy with the way “Project Update Covers” turned out. 🙂
My Christmas stories all stand alone. They’re all cozy, festive, faith-filled, and romantic. Should you snuggle up with a throw blanket and one of these stories, it’s my hope that they’ll bring you that heartwarming glow we all love at Christmastime!
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Becky Wade
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What a great post, Becky! Congrats on the covers. So cute! BHP reverted rights to my first three books as well, so I’m about to indie re-release those and am grateful for the chance to give older stories new life.
It’s great to hear that you’ll soon be re-releasing your first three books! I’ve no doubt that will introduce them to new readers.
I have The Christmas Heirloom and enjoyed the stories by all the authors. I am not normally a fan of what I think is called “illustrated cover”, but I like yours. I think it’s the colors.
I’m glad to hear you like them, Betty! Thank you!
Love the new covers. I’m currently reading Uneasy Street. So far so good!
Thank you for reading Uneasy Street! 🙂
I may one of the few, but I loved the old covers and the photography. , especially when there was an explanation of the photograph and the people in it! I continue to read your books because I am familiar with your great writing. The new covers just don’t draw me to the book, but understand it’s about marketing and as an author you of course want more readers.
Yes, a lot of readers still do prefer photograph covers. It’s very subjective!Thanks for continuing to read my books even though this cover style isn’t your favorite. I appreciate you!
Love the covers! So fun!
Thanks, D’Ann!
I know! I’m old! I loved the original covers. I have to remind myself to ignore the covers on current books!
I love your books any way!
Ha ha! Thanks, Joan!
I have to agree with the others. I love the original covers. But I do think the younger generation would go for the illustrated ones. However it won’t keep me from purchasing new books because I love the content.
Thanks, Jocelyn! I appreciate you!
These all compliment each other so well! I think the updated versions definitely give a new feel to the stories! I love the thought behind this change. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for your encouragement, Ashley!