Book Rebranding is Difficult & Slow

I published my first book a little over a year ago under the title Twists of Love. It didn't fare well despite exceeding my extremely limited expectations.

Biggest reason I failed: I had a baby a little over a month later

Gone was the time I would have had to market it. Alas, newborns do not give a sippy cup about how their mother's book is doing.

But I kept writing. I kept thinking about what I'd written and looking around to see what I could do differently the next time.

Next time is fast approaching!

With my second book in the series going through final editing, it is now time to implement changes. Now versus many more books in.

So, I'm rebranding my books. Gone is the book I originally wrote and a new beauty sits in its place (digitally of course).

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Catching Adam

College. They say it’s the best years of your life.

But what if the dream turns into a nightmare?

Edee Davinroy faces her sophomore year at Smith & Guy University after a summer at home; a summer where she told no one about the night her first relationship came to a vicious end.

Along with her friends, Edee’s got her mind made up to focus on her grades. But new problems show up almost immediately: her roommate’s ex keeps hitting on her, her friend is dating a mystery guy, the organic chemistry professor came straight from hell, and then there’s Adam.

​He’s the guy Edee didn’t see coming. The one who makes her weak in the knees.
What’s a girl to do?

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Smith & Guy University

That's the new series name: Smith & Guy University. I decided to use the name of the college Edee, Adam, and the other characters attend as the series name. 

That's the easier part!

I uploaded Catching Adam to Amazon and listed it as a 2nd edition rather than a new book. Catching Adam is a longer version of my original book. It includes additional chapters, but it is, in essence, the same story with the same characters. Hence the designation as a 2nd edition.

While Amazon has completed the update for the book, it still shows up with the old cover! That's a head twister. I checked the "Look Inside" feature and it's all correct. Searches of the KDP forums say it's normal for the old cover to remain for a period of time.

That's a bummer.

Another bummer is that it takes days for Amazon to update your Author Page with a new name. It's not a change you can do. You have to email them and request they do it for you.

​My advice: be REALLY sure what name or pen name you want to use before you join. 

Other things:

Have your mailing list set up before publishing. I'm still tweaking mine but it's there. I put a link at the end of Catching Adam for a bonus item for readers who sign up to my mailing list. I also put a link to pre-order my second book.

FYI: you must add the next book to Amazon in order to get a pre-order link. Things you will need:

• Final title
• Cover, preferably the final cover
• Blurb
• Draft contents

You can set a publishing date that is 90 days out. Your final manuscript has to be uploaded by the date Amazon gives you (which is based off of your release date). It's no more painful (or painless) than adding a book to publish immediately.

I'm feeling the crush. Lots of late nights and lost sleep as I learn this process. My consolation is that the next time will be easier (I hope).

Enjoy your Monday.

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