Publishers Comments – Page 21 – Rosepoint Publishing

Seven Major Sources of Book Reviewers

According to The Huffington Post, who cited Bowker numbers, the number of new books published each day in the US is now up to 3,500. That’s 3,500 Each Day!

This, according to Bowker, who issues ISBN numbers, does not include eBooks that are published without benefit of an ISBN number. Holy cow! Can it really be more than 1.2 million per year? Last I read somewhere, the count was 750,000/yr and I thought that was staggering! If you are a newly published author, how do you even begin to compete with those numbers? Everyone points to getting book reviews. I’ve covered that topic before–it’s still relevant.

And according to the Huffington Post, Amazon calls the reviews “Social Proof.” Maybe so, but you can buy reviews, and I’m not talking about the reputable sites that receives a submission and returns an “unbiased” opinion–such as Kirkus. Kirkus is well known and wields some influence, often turning a five-star rating into gold. Still, whether the source is Amazon or Goodreads, I am getting a lot of review requests, many of which have obviously not scanned my Submission Guide. Continue reading “Seven Major Sources of Book Reviewers”

Suggestions for Snow Festivals, Ice Palaces, and Winter Carnivals

Today begins the world’s largest ice sculpture festival and you’ll still have plenty of time to get to China. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival lasts one month, weather permitting, and is erected throughout the city. There are two main exhibition areas, Sun Island and Ice and Snow World, which is open at night and features full scale buildings made from 2-3′ blocks of ice. The average temperature in that area of northeast China runs approximately 1.8 degrees. You’ll have to dress warm!

Another giant snow festival occurs in Sapporo, Japan, where the festival dates are early February. More than two million people view more than 400 snow statues and ice sculptures at the Odori Park and Susukino sites. The Sapporo Snow Festival began in 1950, but was actually started by high school boys before the war.

Of course, you don’t have to fly across the pond to view an ice festival as there are an abundance of them held yearly in any north area region that receives more than two feet of snow, and no doubt includes one close to you. In North America, Montreal was the first large city to create an “ice palace.” However, the event moved to St. Paul following a smallpox epidemic in 1885. St. Paul held their first Ice Palace exhibition in 1886 and was illuminated with electric lights at night, making this one of their first buildings to have electric lighting.

Much closer to home back in Idaho, McCall will be celebrating their 52nd anniversary at the 2017 McCall Winter Carnival. There are snow sculptures situated throughout the area, some of which may exceed 20′. Food vendors, parades, opening and closing fireworks and other special events are attended by thousands enjoying the snowy event.

Our family enjoyed the festival that ran from the end of January into the first weekend of February, 2011. If you are not a skier, snowboarder, ice fisherman, or any of the many other activities associated with winter, you can still get out and enjoy the season. These sculptures are amazing! Let me know if you have a suggestion for a great winter venue! ©2017 Virginia Williams

Penny Stocks–Road to Boom or Bust?

I’ll bet investing in penny stocks is not one of your New Year’s Resolutions. Should you reconsider?

When I published “Hot Air Promotions” for my grandfather, I had the mistaken idea that penny stocks went out with the thirties when it is believed he wrote the book. To say the man was bitter would be an understatement; after all, he didn’t call it Hot Air Promotions for nothing! Stanley McShane, however, was investing wholly in penny mining stocks. His rancor rose to new heights tucked within his poems. For him, unquestionably, it was bust–not boom.

The new year, 2017, is particularly notable, of course, as it will see the first term of a newly elected president, albeit one without heavy previous political experience. The man has already created waves in Wall Street pushing the Dow to within 1% of 20,000 for several days. Some say it may exceed 22,000.

Continue reading “Penny Stocks–Road to Boom or Bust?”

10 Worst Christmas Gifts Ever

Christmas came and went in a flurry of last minute buying as it always does, sometimes dictated by a late pay check, often times by a clueless giver that left the gift recipient wondering, “What Were They Thinking?!!”

Point being; maybe they were issuing subtle hints–or you took it that way?

1. A boxed set of 31 tubes of toothpaste. This set consists of exotic flavors such as Indian Curry and Kiwi Fruit. (Are the tubes one time use only? Or with judicious use, could you get a whole year out of each of them?)

2. Bar of Soap

3. Pity Marcia A., of Carlsbad, California, who one year received a pill vial designed like a white elephant filled with baby teeth of the friend’s children!

4. Dental floss

5. How about one slipper–or slippers designed to look like bear claws, rabbits, cats, blah, blah, blah

6. iPod Toilet Paper Holder How about this iPod toilet paper holder? (I just plugged my iPod into a clock-radio.)

7. Did you get a piece of coal in your box or stocking? Uh oh

8. Fruitcake–does anyone EVER eat those? (Why do they continue to make them?)

9. Vacuum, kitchen pans, blah, blah, blah

10.(Inappropriate–or any) Magazine subscription

Perhaps the best gift of all just came in a “prank” box, popular now in various sizes. These can be ordered direct from PrankPack.com or Amazon and can be found in local stores like K-Mart. Prank box-Bathe&Brew How about the Bathe&Brew box? Bacon scented dryer sheets?

Goodreads Choice Awards 2016

The winners of the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards have been published on the Goodreads website. These are the only major book awards decided by the readers themselves and come through literally millions of votes; 3,562,702 to be exact. Who says people don’t read anymore?

Voting was scheduled in three rounds beginning November 1st and ending November 27th and included 20 categories from Fiction and Mystery/Thriller to Non-Fiction and YA Fantasy. Of all nominees, there were 237,844 votes total. In the Fiction category, the winner with 30,154 votes went to Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriaty. Truly Madly Guilty was also listed on Amazon in the top 20 overall customer favorites, where additional favorites listed were such authors as J. K. Rowling, Nora Roberts, John Grisham, Bill O’Reilly, and Michael Connelly. And in the best mystery and thriller category, Stephen King for End of Watch with 42,382 votes. How is that even fair?

Also found in the top 20 in both the Goodreads Fiction category as well as the same category on Amazon was The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeny with 24,848 votes on Goodreads and The Nix by Nathan Hill with 3,645 votes, also an Amazon editor best pick of the top 20. Additionally, Nathan Hill scored again for Best Debut Goodreads Author. And it doesn’t stop there. Continue reading “Goodreads Choice Awards 2016”

Can A Bichon Frise Handle a Polar Blast?

Obviously, we’ve gotten out of the habit of being prepared for cold winter weather since leaving the Treasure Valley of Idaho. There, we had doggy coats and sweaters for our Bichon Frise and carried emergency equipment in the car. Now, one hour south of Chicago and facing a major Polar blast this weekend, the weather forecasters are warning people to dress in layers, cover the head, ears, nose, mouth and wear heavy gloves. Can you say Sasquatch?!

I got to thinking about my little dog who loved the Idaho snow–bounding around in it and digging to see what treasure she could find under all that cold, white stuff. I did put a coat or sweater on her depending on how cold or wet it was outside, but didn’t worry so much about her feet. Now, she is almost eleven (January) and I’m thinking fleece, earmuffs, and booties. Continue reading “Can A Bichon Frise Handle a Polar Blast?”

Historic Sea Adventure Artist

Wait….what? I read the short, simple email over again. Then I read it to my husband. Could this be real? The owner of one of my grandfather’s paintings was asking if I was the family of the artist, P J Rose? Still not sure what to do, I texted my son. “Mom,” he texted back, “just write her back.”

Not really the first time someone has connected with me regarding one of his historic sea paintings, as Gary L of Boise, Idaho, contacted me several years ago regarding a painting he had obtained as a young man with a powerful poem on the back. Unfortunately, it had gone missing, but he recognized one of my grandfather’s pen names; i.e. P. J. Rose, Stanley McShane, J. Wesley Rose.

In this particular case, Diane Brown of California wrote, “I have inherited a PJ Rose painting, The Sole Survivor. The sinking of the Marguerite off the Cape of Good Hope in 1890. My grandfather got the painting from PJ Rose in San Francisco. My father inherited it and it has hung on our wall as long as I can remember. I am looking for a family member who might be interested in having this piece of history back in the family.”

Continue reading “Historic Sea Adventure Artist”

Life Jump Starts After NaNoWriMo*

Right now you are still pounding the keys, spilling out those words (even if chaotic), to attain that 50,000 word goal to complete your quest on NaNoWriMo. But what happens after you complete the goal and you have a rough draft of your manuscript? Lucky for you, NaNo has you covered!

Interesting when you look at the worldwide map that tracks the word stats: I looked at Boise, Idaho where I began the publishing odyssey and discovered there were 470 novelists who were at an average word count of 8,753. We moved to Indiana from the Phoenix area this year, and there are 1,022 novelists striving to make only 8,699 words in Arizona. (Way to go, Idaho!) Unfortunately, this is almost the middle of November and those numbers are way under half. GLEEP! I’ve written before regarding my experiences with NaNo and am always happy to recommend or promote it for budding novelists. *National Novel Writing Month Continue reading “Life Jump Starts After NaNoWriMo*”