MRM Project Feature: Battlefield Prayer Publishing Project

Book Edits, Cover Design, Formatting, & Typesetting

It took Maureen and Shannon seven years to write Battlefield Prayer: Desert Warrior because of the busyness of both their lives as wives and moms. We were elated when the sisters contacted us last year to let us know the manuscript was complete and ready for a developmental review, especially knowing what a labor of love this book was for both of them.

We partnered with Nina Hundley for the content edits and character development, and Nina was fantastic at guiding Maureen and Shannon through the process, achieving a well-written, intriguing novel about three friends learning to trust and pray for each other through spiritual battles. When the developmental edits were complete, Danielle performed the technical edits to ensure proper formatting, grammar, and punctuation were in place.

Maureen and Shannon were very descriptive regarding the cover art they envisioned. As is often extremely helpful to our designers, both authors had selected certain symbols that carried meaning to them personally and to the story. They were also clear on the setting or background for the design, as well as how their main character should be dressed. All of these specifications guided Nelly’s creation of multiple design iterations for them to choose from. While the ladies were pleased with the majority of the concepts offered, they selected the one they felt best illustrated the two sides of Evie – both feminine and ready for battle.

The interior design for the fiction book required a slightly different approach than most of our projects, and again Nelly did a beautiful job of carrying out Maureen and Shannon’s vision. The chapter headings were embellished with repeated scenery from the book’s cover. Maureen’s daughter created a sword illustration to complement the storyline, and we were able to also incorporate that into the cover, spine, and interior designs, adding another unique layer to the final product.

Publishing & Optimization

We prepared Battlefield Prayer: Desert Warrior for both print and eBook, for IngramSpark and Amazon KDP, to allow for the widest distribution opportunities for the book. As part of our publishing agreement under the MRP imprint, we oversaw the publishing process on both platforms, purchased all necessary ISBNs, and registered the new release with the Library of Congress.

To set this first book in the series up for great success, Sara provided our metadata keyword and category research package to guide the product description and listing details. Additionally, she wrote and optimized the book’s back cover copy, the author bios for their Amazon Author Profiles, and marketing copy to be repurposed on the website, in social media content, for Amazon ads, and in email marketing.

Marketing & Resources

Once the book was complete and ready to publish, Christy also worked with Shannon and Maureen to create a new website design for the online home for Battlefield Prayer and the authors. This was a simple, starter WordPress website design and sitemap, with room to grow in the future, offering the authors a blog, a custom sales page for their books, and a way for readers to contact them.

As part of this project’s task list, Christy also provided social media shareable graphics for promotional purposes, social media cover images, and a few book placement graphics to be repurposed as needed. Danielle composed a list of pull quotes and social post prompts to help the sisters in filling their content calendar. Mandy established a new MailChimp account, an on-brand email template, and a welcome automation for delivering a sample chapter of Battlefield Prayer to new email subscribers. With all of these resources at hand, these new authors are well equipped to grow their following and promote not just the first book in their series, but also those to come!

What Maureen and Shannon had to say…

“Everything is amazing! We received our book and it is beautiful! It has meant a lot to us to have fellow laborers in the Lord have a part with us in this. You are loved and we appreciate all you have done for us.”