Publishers Comments – Page 24 – Rosepoint Publishing

Twelve Points for Review Submission

Most new Indie authors believe reviews are the make or break of a book and aggressively pursue them.

There are numerous articles on the algorithm Amazon uses to determine Best Sellers Rank. While it is generally considered to be reviews that help to get you to the top of the pack, it isn’t, according to what I’ve read. Amazon won’t disclose its algorithm, but will readily agree that good reviews do seem to help drive sales, which IS the major contributory factor in Best Sellers Rank.

I’ve written before on reviews, discussing whether or not 300 five-star ratings are really all bogus or not. Having written and posted 1,000s of reviews myself, I’ve always strived for honesty, striking a balance between what I liked about the book as well as what I didn’t. The books I review are a mix of Indie books, as well as best-selling authors, and posted those reviews whether the author needed them or not. In addition, in an effort to accommodate a larger variety of genres, I got the CE involved in reading and giving me his synopsis. That also becomes a review.

Reviews can run anywhere from a short informal paragraph or an in-depth analysis of the book of more than 500 words detailing not only the description of the plot but a critical view of how the topic was handled. Point being: Did you agree with the observations or challenge every posture? I’ve developed the following twelve points in the submission of my reviews.

My reviews include:

1 Whether or not the title reflects the topic of the book.

2 Did the cover convey the genre; show you what the book is about without your having to read the blurb?

3 Was the setting properly introduced–did you know where it was located geographically or what year it was?

4 Did the opening chapter grab your attention and did the plot hold your interest throughout the remainder of the book?

5 Is the dialogue believable, natural, or forced?

6 Are the characters properly fleshed out? Can you identify or connect with them?

7 Did the protagonist and antagonist convey a strong opposing emotion?

8 Are the same scenes repeated, albeit with slightly different wording, until you “heard it all before.”

9 Is the plot unique? Is the book outside your normal genre?

10 Did the story end with a plausible climax, wrapping up the loose ends to a satisfying degree, or suddenly end when it appears the author is over-the-top tired of the whole thing.

11 Is it full of typos, edit errors, misused words, missing words, or extra words that should have been deleted from the final edit?

12 Can you honestly recommend the book? Can the book be recommended outside the reader’s normal genre?

Review Format

Since I have been receiving review requests, I thought it was time to change the way I post the reviews. Therefore, after the blurb and review, the format will be changed to reflect additional information about the author, the genre, the publisher, and the date published, followed by the review. The review will be posted on this blog as well as on Amazon and Goodreads. Many of the books are received through NetGalley and most reviews are also shared on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Dog Days of Summer

There is a reason we call our dogs our “fur kids.”

Frosty-a Bichon Frise

We love them almost as much as our own. We have a tendency to anthropomorphize them because they seem to connect so tightly to us; intuitive to our emotions and moods. I’ve posted pictures of my own little girl dog, Frosty, on this blog before. Like posting pictures of your children, you can’t help it because they are so “doggone” cute.

They are so much a part of us (for over 30,000 years now) that we have “dog days of summer” activities with them. Better let them run and play now because it won’t be long before we’ll be sharing a “three dog night” as winter chills down. Uh oh, and there are many more fun doggy expressions, like these few: Every Dog Has Its Day, It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Work Like a Dog.

Sleepy Frost I sincerely try to follow Cesar Millan’s knowledgeable posts and admonish my excited little (10 year old) pup when she sees me grabbing my purse to be “calm, submissive” before I’ll take her anywhere. Cesar is a fount of information re all things canine and continually drives home his formula for successfully “balanced” dogs:

First-Exercise–Then

Discipline-and Lastly

Love

Kristen Lamb’s Blog-Writer’s Resource

If you haven’t stumbled across Kristen Lamb’s Blog, I’ll provide you with a treat today. This entry was posted on July 25th and particularly caught my eye as my attention to my FB fan page is woefully slow. Topical and current:

Breaking Facebook Dependence—How to Create an Enduring Author Brand

Kristen is a Writer’s Digest Award Winner for the 101 Best Website for Writers and 2013 winner for the Top 10 Blogs for Writers and best selling author. Moreover, she is quite attractive. Enjoy!

Hail, Caesar” – Supreme Satire

Hail, Caesar! You probably know me better by the book reviews I frequently post. I really love reading and take most requests, happy to return a truthful review. Today, I’ll take a major departure and review a video we watched recently called “Hail, Caesar.” Released February, 2016, you’ll either love it or won’t like it at all. I did–my two guys didn’t. Hubby slept through it; no contest as he can sleep through most anything. Son called it a bore. NOT.

Taking place back in the 50s heyday of Hollywood, Eddie Mannix (played supremely low key by Josh Brolin) is an savvy movie exec trying to handle all the problems of both his actors and film producers at Capitol Pictures. Today he is tackling a disgruntled director, a singing cowboy, Tobey (played adorably by Alden Ehrenreich), an Esther Williams type synchonized swimmer, and a handsome dancer. Mannix sneaks an occasional cigarette though he promised his wife he’d quit, and seeks forgiveness numerous times from a priest who tells him, “You’re really not that bad, my son. You don’t need to confess this often.” Continue reading “Hail, Caesar” – Supreme Satire”

Pokémon GO Is Serious Exercise

Pikachu Melanie cocked her head just to the left and snatched a quick glance at me. “You know you are the oldest one here,” she whispered, “and I’m the next.”

As I gazed around at the jostling crowd pushing the traffic around Crown Point Square, I didn’t need to guess their ages. Of course, she was right. These were largely teenagers, sprinkled with pre-teens and an occasional millennial. “Yeah, I know.”

Later there was a man possibly in his 50’s walking with his son, his own smart phone in his hand beckoning us across the street. “We have the light, you know,” he called as he waved his arm at us. Traffic was heavy with vehicles making lefts in front of us, pedestrian crossing or no, in their hurry to get to the next PokéStop. It was pushing 10 pm on a fairly temperate Wednesday evening and Mel sighed, “I really didn’t expect this much traffic.” Continue reading “Pokémon GO Is Serious Exercise”

Research Your Best Post Times

Regardless what you’ve been told or read, evening hours are the best to post social media content according to Kevan Lee. Following the charts for the best time of day or week to post all the various social media accounts can be a tricky and confusing matter. Even within the account there may be one or two “best” times varying in Twitter; for instance, from noon to three Monday through Friday, except five to six pm on Wednesday (according to sources), but no time on the weekend? Huh? Does that mean everyone is posting at work, possibly on lunch time or afternoon break? Perhaps afternoon break then, but he cites three pm and literally into evening hours. So have you researched your best post times?

I have to believe the stats may be leaning heavily on reporting by male respondents, as it would seem to me that the evening household commotion is still largely dominated by women. Mothers engaged with children’s after-school activities, mothers getting dinner; and then preparing for the following day leaves little time for computer games. Does she really crumple at 10 pm to catch up with Facebook friends or scan Pinterest? (I remember being too exhausted to do much other than collapse gratefully into bed.) Pinterest stats, by the way, say best engagement hours are between two to four am and evening hours every day, five pm on Tuesdays, and eight to eleven pm on Saturdays. There appears to be nothing we can no longer track down to the minute!

Perhaps accounting for the popularity of photos and the ever-growing demand for videos, Instagram has a stronger showing of engagement over Facebook or Twitter, although both the latter have increased video acceptance. As for photos, Kevan maintains that “The average interaction % on Instagram is up to 10 times higher than on Facebook.” Instagram best engagement hours are anytime Monday through Thursday, except three to four pm.

Need I repeat, however, the increasing interest in branding through video? Continue reading “Research Your Best Post Times”

Natural Wonders of Our Planet Earth

There are so many natural wonders on this planet of ours that is impossible to list or picture them in one short blog. There may be several in your area, as these phenomena can occur in more than one area of the world, while others are located in one isolated area and one area alone, as with a few of the exceptional spectacles in Iceland. Planet bound or skyward, they awe and inspire, difficult to capture on film or digital camera–rare when they are–natural wonders of our planet. Lenticular clouds

Heavenward, our climate makes for some spectacular shows such as water or fire spouts. How about lightning that strikes upward, not down? Those strikes have been captured and authenticated. This is a lenticular cloud–some so alien as to be mistaken for UFOs.

Glorious trees grace our environment. How about the Rainbow Eucalyptus? This tree, also known as the rainbow gum is probably the most colorful tree on the planet. Found in the Philippines and Indonesia, it also grows in Hawaii. The bark starts out as green. Then as the bark ages, it begins to turn color as the chlorophyll is replaced by tannins.

Spotted Lake in BC, Canada, takes on a polka dot appearance in the summer. The water evaporates in the summer leaving large deposits of colorful minerals. Also known as Kliluk Lake, there are numerous videos on YouTube that exhibit its beauty.

Columnar basalt is the result of lava flows that has cooled quickly and cracked vertically. This particular phenomenon is found around the world. The “sailing” stones of Death Valley move hundreds of yards at a time–by themselves over the sand. sailing stones

The planet is 71% water, 29% land. It is filled with so many natural wonders and as harsh, varied and violent as it can be, still is our fragile planet. I am awed every day at the site of new displays of beauty and worried at its ability to withstand the indolence of man. ©2016 Virginia Williams Resource Box

Exaggeration

I’ve written before regarding my author buddy, Michael Reisig. I really enjoy his style of writing, but more than his style of writing, it is the philosophy behind everything he writes. It’s almost poetic and almost always goes straight to my heart. Reisig just seems to nail both the best and worst in man. He understands it apparently, otherwise how could he describe it so eloquently? The following came in his last newsletter, an observation I felt worthy of reprinting. Enjoy!

Exaggeration

By Michael Reisig

I was sitting by the fireplace with a friend yesterday, drinking coffee and trying to keep away from the winter weather, and he was telling a grand story. I suspected that without a deliberate attempt to be deceitful, some of the story had been embellished, and given the situation that was perfectly okay. But the thing about exaggeration is that there’s a fine line between being a grand storyteller and a bald-faced liar, and I think the crux lies in how often and how willing you are to bend the truth.

You might think of exaggeration as a custom peculiar to man, but if you study nature you realize that it’s common in animals and birds as well. Mating rituals are often all about embellishing or magnifying elements of their bodies – fluffing out feathers, exaggerated actions, enormous bellows and roars. Actually that sounds to me like a night at the local watering hole.

But the problem with exaggeration is that it ultimately diminishes distinction, because it becomes the harbinger of disappointment and often cheapens the final appraisal. The lesson here being the more you profess, the more you may be forced to produce. Take resumes for instance: there are few of us that haven’t gone to great pains to create an image there – they’re more like grand embellishments of who we’ve been in the past and a wish list of the qualities we assume would be an advantage to the situation at hand (staying within boundaries that won’t make us look like absolute fools if someone actually checks.)

Let’s face it, many times in excitement or indignation, our conversations seem to take on a life of their own – the colorful embroidery of words are out of our mouths before we can stop them, and in a moments of quiet afterwards we chide ourselves for not correcting such blatant corruptions of the truth. I can’t help but be reminded of the quote by Kahlil Gibran: “Exaggeration is truth that has lost its temper.” But at the same time, exaggeration is often nothing more than a tool – used by governments, television networks, politicians, and novelists. We inflate situations, or deflate situations to suit our needs, or simply ignore situations with the exaggerated aplomb of the deaf.

But where is the line between exaggeration and lies? Where is that fine line where truth and conscience take a back seat to ego and exigency. The truth is, it’s an individual territory in each one of us, because no one weighs the value of honesty exactly the same as the person next to them. I have certainly met people with whom there was no distinction between truth and lies, and there was no pride or sleep lost over the matter.

In hopes that all your stories carry a gem of veracity, I’ll leave you with a quote by 19^th Century humorist Josh Billings; “There are some people so addicted to exaggeration they can’t tell the truth without lying.”

His last book, “Down the Road to Key West” continues to be a best seller on Amazon. Check out his books or read more about Michael Reisig, the author, here.