Robert said
From ** you do not have permission to see this link **, it looks like a Clarion review costs $499. Or for $695 you can purchase two reviews, one by Clarion and a second review (of the same book) by BlueInk Review (a savings of $299).
Public information. What’s your point?
When reviews not paid by me come in, I will post those also.
Again, there is no shame working with professional reviewers. It seems that is your insistence, but, again, you are in error.
I’d rather have the benefit of paid reviews than not.
I’d rather have taken writing courses at NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies than not.
Robert, go on and look up the price of continuing education courses at NYU and share that too.
Writing a book is an enormous undertaking, I join you in providing information for other member who are writers.
Yes, professional review services are like a writing professor: they grade your paper. They provide comments on your work.
NetGalley: We help books succeed.
Why Register for NetGalley?
We’re looking for readers of influence who help to build buzz about new books. As a member, you will be able to request or be invited to read new books, primarily before they are published. In the book trade, these are called “galleys” (hence our name!).
You will be able to read galleys digitally, on all major reading devices and platforms, and provide reviews, recommendations and nominations for industry lists, right from your account.
We’re delighted to be in the business of helping “professional readers” evaluate new titles.
Anyone who reads and recommends books can use NetGalley for free. Welcome!
NetGalley is a site for librarians, reviewers and journalists looking for book galleys. Its purpose is to help publishers and authors secure buzz before launching their books.
The price for a membership ranges from $450 for a six month subscription, to $849 a marketing plus plan.
They also offer marketing services for authors in the U.K. as well as Canada.
Alternatives to NetGalley
I understand that NetGalley is a way that indie authors secure editorial reviews but there are easier and cheaper ways to do that. Below I’ll list some sites that will do an editorial review for free:
- ** you do not have permission to see this link **
- ** you do not have permission to see this link **
- ** you do not have permission to see this link **
- PW Weekly’s ** you do not have permission to see this link **
= = =
The reader ratings and reviews will come.
The various book competitions will be open for submissions.
Regarding: Los Angeles Review of Books
To have your book considered for review, send a pitch to editorial (at) lareviewofbooks.org; copies of books and correspondence can be sent to LARB, 6671 Sunset Blvd., Suite 1521, Los Angeles, CA 90028.
= = =
And yes, that will use author effort/resources, too. LARB does not charge a fee but the author has to use the valuable resource of time and possibly shipping for this.
** you do not have permission to see this link **
JAS said
If you did pay for the review, you got robbed. You should have gotten that 5th star.
Steve Campbell, author of Historical Accuracy
I pay for professional editorial reviews. I did not get robbed.
I’ve paid for other consultants to review my work. It’s not robbery.
I published a manuscript, not a book. Although I have a digital version of the manuscript available at barnes and noble and amazon, I would still like to do an index of Bible verses used in the manuscript/book and I would still like to do a regular index.
JAS, I’m not going to quibble over this review. Yes, I did use wikipedia but I also used other and prestigious encylopedias as well. This reviewer did not feel the Emperor Titus and the Emperor Domitian content was strong. I agree, it was not as strong as the Julius Caesar content. However, there still were the family dynamics of a father and a brother who had the Jewish Revolt on their military resume while Domitian did not. We also have Josephus having a relationship not only with Vespasian and Titus, but Domitian as well.
Should I have gotten a 5-star rating?
My answer: The weight of my book, meaning the civilization consequences of my book, its importance, are deserving of a 5-star rating.
I got another 4-star review. That review is protected for my reading only, at this time. When it becomes publicly available, I will share it.
My third review (which does not give a rating out of five stars) is shown below. This is the review a press agent was anticipating.
Historical Accuracy
Steve Campbell
Stephen Campbell, 469 pages, (paperback) $24.99, 978-8-7107-5280-7
(Reviewed: July 2021)
In Historical Accuracy, Steve Campbell offers a course correction for Judeo-Christian
believers, highlighting copious examples where scripture and history meet and diverge.
The book’s purpose, the author explains, is to question the “foundations upon which
some stake their attention to religion and spirituality for protection and sanctity.” The
intent is to advance “religious education and traditions in the facts and contexts of
accurate ancient history.”
Campbell scrutinizes many persons, stories, and timelines in the Old and New
Testaments, including events in Genesis, Moses and the Exodus, and Jesus’ life and
teachings. He does so chiefly by comparing scripture with excerpts from primary sources
or the works of credible scholars or journalists.
For instance, Campbell shows how Egyptian literature appears in the Old Testament and
demonstrates how the Amduat, an Egyptian funerary text, influenced the writing of
Psalm 23; both share similar language. He also offers evidence on how the Stoics
influenced some New Testament writings and argues that Paul created Jesus Christ and
that the Gospels flow from that creation. Campbell contends that there’s no historical
evidence for Jesus before Paul’s writings and that the Gospels needed to be created to
give Jesus historical context. In the end, is the Bible the Word of God or an amalgam of
influential writings from different cultures?
The book is filled with numerous historical details that will make even robust believers
run to the library or the Internet to double-check the historical connections Campbell
makes. His arguments are logical, simple, and straightforward.
The book, however, can feel dense and choppy as it bounces back and forth between
different and often-obscure source materials. And Wikipedia’s many appearances lessen
the book’s authority.
Regardless, Campbell delivers an intriguing panoply of historical information that gives a
new level of meaning and depth to the Old and New Testaments. While the author’s
detective work might not convince believers, fans of Bart Ehrman and John Dominic
Crossan will find this an interesting offering.
Also available as an ebook.
Steefen
I got another 4-star review. That review is protected for my reading only, at this time. When it becomes publicly available, I will share it.
Steve Campbell, author of Historical Accuracy (which sad calamity has caused God to turn His face away?)
I like this part of the review, so I will just type it for you:
Campbell, who worked on this volume for a number of years, presents his findings respectfully, which is essential in such a sensitive and potentially controversial subject. … he invites readers to consider the weight of his extensive research, underpinned by an impressive bibliography detailing the plethora of sources he has drawn upon, and judge for themselves.
Far from being a book meant to debunk Christianity…
Utilizing a remarkably wide range of references, author Steve Campbell has gathered a lengthy aggregation of historical facts to explore the biblical accounts of the life of Jesus in Historical Accuracy.
As Campbell makes plain, there is ample reason to question one’s ordinary assumptions about Jesus, as it is limited to biblical text and standard accepted lore. This is especially the case when examining the notion of the promised land, the afterlife, and the oft-cited apocalypse. His goal is to uncover the real fact upon which such issues are based.
Beginning with Old Testament history, the author catalogs and diligently refutes common beliefs such as that Moses freed the Hebrews from the domination of Rameses the Great, or that Solomon, Saul, and David were kings of an independent Hebrew nation. These dissections of these storied forebears are vital, as their biographies provide a basis for many Christian concepts about Jesus.
Further, there is scant historical proof of Jesus’ existence, and much of what is accepted as accurate data about Jesus is taken from the works of Paul, who would have had his own motives for deifying such a man. Yet Paul’s accounts do not corroborate the Gospels – he would seem to have made Jesus into an angel (thus appearing without human birth) and to have postulated a credo that would serve earthly and political ends for his time, place, and stature.
One fascinating aspect of history brought to light by Campbell shows the many parallels between the life, deeds, and legacy of Jesus and those of both Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar, which could suggest that all were equally regarded, or that the circumstances of one might be compared to, or confused with, those of another. Another possible comparison to the actions and legends surrounding Jesus can be found in the life of Vespasian, who was considered a savior, had a “star prophecy” imbued in his recognized status, and who, like Jesus, was attributed with specific healing miracles.
He looks especially close at what is called Apocalypticism, presenting it in the context of current scientific knowledge, which points to possible destructive scenarios for the Earth and the universe, any of which might occur in centuries to come, but none of which is absolutely, scientifically predictable since all are based on many varied, unrelated factors. As such, the book could be seen as hopeful, as some may see “the end of the world” as an inevitability, given the seeming crossover between world events and popular dogma.
Campbell, who worked on this volume for a number of years, presents his findings respectfully, which is essential in such a sensitive and potentially controversial subject. He does not push his readers to accept or discount any particular doctrine or common religious creed. Instead, he invites readers to consider the weight of his extensive research, underpinned by an impressive bibliography detailing the plethora of sources he has drawn upon, and judge for themselves.
Far from being a book meant to debunk Christianity, it instead provides a way for believers to understand the origin of their faith, and indeed defend it from common criticisms. In sum, Historical Accuracy is an eye-opening and fascinating examination of both religion and the historical record. Some may disagree with his findings, but there is no doubt the book will spur discussion, and deserves a careful and considered reading, whatever your religious perspective may be.
selfpublishingreview.com
As for books on book marketing, for now, I’m trying
1) Let’s Get Digital by David Gaughran
2) How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon by Penny C. Sansevieri
3) Amazon Ads for Authors: Tips and Strategies to Sell You Books by Deb Potter
4) Amazon Reviews for Books: How to Get Book Reviews on Amazon by Dale Roberts
Now, it’s time to earn money to get a professional cover designer, and a long list of other things to do and services to buy. Maybe by end of next year, I will have a new cover, an agent, an index of scriptures quoted in the book, a general index, and a book publishing coach, Steve Harrison, who charges approximately $6,000 to $11,000 for 12 months of coaching.
I’m not an author published or otherwise but my perception is that there is a veritable industrial complex built to take advantage of aspiring authors. Can you really ever hope to recoup the fees for a “publishing coach” with a book like this? Wouldn’t it be better to just shop it to publishers yourself?
In these internet dominated times have you considered a “GoFundMe” or “Patreon” type approach?
Whatever your approach I wish you well.
Sometimes you have to go for broke. My mom self published. It took quite a bit of money. She didn’t do it to make money though. It was to get her message out.
I wouldn’t count on recouping that money. Some people spend 11000 dollars to buy a car to get around town. Others go on a vacation with Dr. Ehrman. Still others waste it buying lottery tickets every day of the year, saying hello to the crowd of familiars also wasting money and sharing stories of how they always win more than they lose, probably.
Good luck.
In my interview with my future coach, he asked me had I taught my book.
Sure, I have four YouTube videos related to content in my book. The fifth YouTube video is my book trailer.
I’ve tried teaching Astrology (on YouTube). I’ve tried teaching (on YouTube) investing in blockchain stocks and cryptoassets. I’ll call that my first semester teaching that course. My second semester teaching that course will probably be on Udemy.com. I’m glad to be rewriting this course for Udemy. I guess if I go back to YouTube with it, it will be with Patreon. But, I will probably not go back to YouTube until I finish reading Crushing YouTube by Joseph Hogue who has 477K subscribers and 649 videos.
No, publishers want the author to have a platform. I want the Udemy section of my platform strong. I will learn lessons from my Investing course and then apply that to my course based on my book.
Thank God, I got the tip about teaching my book for free. Going to the publishing coach or to a mainstream publisher, they want you to have students, an audience, a following.
One thing for sure, there’s a difference between being a YouTube content creator and being an online instructor.
I’d say, what works for professors on the Great Courses Platform does not work equally well on YouTube. Yes, there are courses on YouTube, for example I’m watching an MIT Blockchain and Money class taught by Gary Gensler who is now the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Of course, I would watch his course since I’m doing a course on cryptocurrencies and their blockchains. Anyway, his Lecture #2 has 863,000+ views. The YouTube channel is MIT OpenCourseWare.
My YouTube Lifetime Views is 13,140 as of today.
Yes, there are YouTube mentor/coaches for pay, too. For now, I’m trying to make sure my lectures are excellent for my Investment in blockchain stocks and cryptocurrencies class so I can get good student reviews. I might have to sign up for a Google business about being a Udemy instructor because instructors get a higher royalty percentage when students come from their own efforts as opposed to people browsing Udemy.
Steefen said
I challenge Sam Harris to read Historical Accuracy by Steve Campbell. The book and three editorial reviews are on amazon. #1 Moses did not have a showdown with Ramesses the Great. #2 Jesus is a calamity.
Are you under the impression that Sam Harris regularly visits or reads this forum? (My guess would be that the does not.)
JAS said
Steefen said
I challenge Sam Harris to read Historical Accuracy by Steve Campbell. The book and three editorial reviews are on amazon. #1 Moses did not have a showdown with Ramesses the Great. #2 Jesus is a calamity.
Are you under the impression that Sam Harris regularly visits or reads this forum? (My guess would be that the does not.)
That was a tweet to Sam Harris and his followers.
I’m under the impression that Sam Harris regularly visits his Twitter account.
My guess is correct, he does.
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