Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

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Rose DesRochers

Rose DesRochers Thinks Blog Readership has declined

I hope that I haven't lost a lot of my readers as a result of my recent move from Blogger to Wordpress. I see that a few of you are still commenting here at Blogger. I ask you to please reply to my posts at my new blog instead. I'm only one click away. Come on! You can do it. You know that you want to click here.

Rose DesRochers

Rose DesRochers is Moving to WordPress

Rose DesRochers- Ramblings of a Mad Writer is moving to WordPress. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been contemplating moving to my own domain todays-woman.net. I think it's now time to start the migration to WordPress. Expect a change to my blog as soon as things slow down in my life. Please update your blogroll, so that it links to Rose DesRochers- http://rosedesrochers.todays-woman.net , instead of Rose DesRochers- Ramblings of a Mad Writer. Also, please don't forget to update your bookmarks and I'll see you at my new blog. - Rose DesRochers

Some Interesting Facts- Blogs- Technorati - Optimizing Your Blog

According to David Sifry , Technorati is tracking nearly 27 million blogs and there are about 75,000 new blogs launched every day. Isn't that some competition? Lee Odden shares some great tips on optimizing your blog. Be sure to read his informative article.

Rose DesRochers

Tags:Blogs, Technorati, Blog

Just Stamp Sucker to my Forehead - Publish America

I had a book published by a print-on-demand and-based vanity publisher who identifies themselves as a "traditional" publisher.” There were many complaints about the company that I ignored.

My dream was to publish a book and the company preyed on those hopes and dreams.


The publishing company cheated me out of rightful royalties that I was owed. My first royalty cheque from them wasn’t even enough to buy a bag of milk.


I have finally been released from my contract and all rights to my book have been returned to me. I’m one of the lucky ones, as many authors still waiting to be released from their contracts would give anything to be in my shoes.



I take full responsibility for my actions. I should have listened to those who warned me not to go down this road. But, I chose to ignore author’s warnings and publish my book with them anyway.

It was quite the blow to be hit with the reality that I too had fallen victim.

Many authors believed that their dreams were being fulfilled, only to have those dreams crushed by a dishonest publishing company that will publish anyone.

Though the company is to be blamed for misleading authors, I should have done my homework.


In the end, it is only I who can determine what I’ve lost. In this case, royalties owed to me, a year of time wasted and some of my dignity for being a sucker.

But, I've learned a lesson the hard way.

Each day brings us a new lesson in this circle of life and what doesn't kill us can only make us stronger.

I've learned that everyday I'm still learning.

Though I’ve fallen victim, I haven’t given up my dream. I’m continuing to write and I am now searching for another publisher for my book.



Rose DesRochers

Related Links: Making Books - Article by Paula Span from the Washington Post

Publish Anything: The Saga of a PublishAmerica Author.

The Associated Press Critics and supporters debate success of fast-rising PublishAmerica

NBC-TV (New York) Publishing On Demand Can Cause Problems

Aspiring Writers Trash PublishAmerica

Tags:Publisher, Publishing, Vanity Publishing, Pod Publishing

Spring Love

The first thing that comes to my mind when I look at this photo is "spring love is in the air." Stephen is an excellent photographer. Be sure to check out his blog, Morphological Confetti.

© Stephen Bess 2006

Rose DesRochers on Social Networking Sites like MySpace

MySpace.com has gained a lot of attention lately. I've blogged about them in previous posts here at Rose DesRochers- Ramblings of a Mad Writer. Though they’ve been the subject of talk, I think that we need to take a deeper look at some of the criminal cases involving other social networking websites. At “Window’s to my World- Rose DesRochers,” I blogged about the threat of networking sites like MySpace, Xanga, Facebook and Friendster. You can read the post
here. Please share your thoughts on this.

Rose DesRochers

Rose DesRochers Busy as Bees

I apologize for the lack of posts in the last couple of days. I've been busy with Today's Woman Writing Community and home life. My husband's much needed surgery has been scheduled, so we've been getting things done around the house before he goes in. I have a busy week ahead. Wednesday afternoon, I go for a chest x-ray and that evening, my husband, daughter and I are going to see my son perform in his school's musical perfoamce of Honk, the hilarious new musical based on Hans Christian Anderson's classic story 'The Ugly Duckling' . Thursday morning both my husband and I have to have blood work done. So, I apologize in advance, if my posts are far and few between.

I will get around to visiting everyone’s blog, when I have a moment.

Rose DesRochers

Prayers Needed

My dear friend Debra Faulconer Baker has spent her life always thinking about other people. She is truly a beautiful and remarkable woman. In October of 2004, Debra was faced with something that changed her life and it has made many of us at Today's Woman Writing Community, realize just how precious life is. Debra was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. Today, two years later, Debra is now bedridden and fighting for her life.

Please remember Debra and her family in your prayers.

Rose DesRochers

The Parent-Teen Relationship - Calgon Take Me Away

Where do you draw the line with teenagers? "Won’t you give him a chance? So what if he’s one year older?" "It's so unfair!”

All teens and their parents deal with issues like this. I recall the many arguments that I had with my father. I bet that he secretly prayed that I have a daughter as bad as me. I think his wish came true.


I have a daughter who will be sweet sixteen in a few months. My husband jokes that she’ll come normal when she is in her twenties, we hope anyway. We try to pick our battles wisely, the ones that we know we can win.



The biggest problem that we are battling is her dating habits. She doesn’t allow her heart to mend from one relationship before she is on to the next.


It just isn’t her. It’s that baby booming age group. In high school, dating has been replaced with random hookups that in turn result in meaningless relationships. She is unable to be independent. Her self esteem is pretty much null.

I've heard some individuals say that teens will follow in their parents footsteps. Well, I don’t believe it, as my husband and I are about to celebrate our 17th anniversary and we still act like newlyweds. We’ve had people say to us, I can’t believe you still hold hands.


We’ve told our daughter that her dating habits are not healthy and we’ve set down the age restriction rule and right now we’ve told her that it’s best she doesn’t date at all. Her past relationship wasn’t healthy and it reflected on grades in two of her classes. Thank goodness that one teacher is giving her the chance to pull up those grades.




Anyway, it just feels that everyday is an argument about something.


Don’t get me wrong, she’s a good kid. She doesn’t cut classes. She doesn’t drink or smoke, though she did try the smoking. She goes to church. She’s polite to her elders.
But, she sure tests her limits with us. I feel like I’m always counting to ten backwards.



I know that some parents avoid the conflict by giving in. They let their children make all the decisions. These teens have no guidance. They pretty much rule the house.

We’ve set standards with our daughter and we enforce the rules. We have expectations and they are not set to high.

I know that with any teen and parent relationship that there is bound to be conflict. It's normal for teens to try to test the rules. But sometimes I just want to scream, “Calgon, take me away!”




Now, my daughter will read this blog entry and say, “I’m driving Mom nuts, my plan is working.” She’ll be in a mental hospital by forty.”



Rose DesRochers


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Rose DesRochers on Accepting Critique Advice

You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.




You write the way that you do and if people don't like it, let it run like water off a duck’s back.

As a writer you’ll soon be able to tell the difference from reviews that are helpful and those that are hurtful. There is nothing worst than reviews from the perfectionist who is so full of themself, that they nitpick every detail of something that you’ve written. To them your work is a mess and you have no talent.



But as the wise old saying goes, opinions are like assholes, and everyones got one. And if opinions are like assholes, in the Writing Community there are quite a few.




Remember, for every one person that dislikes your Writing, there will be two people who love your writing. In this line of work, like any, everyone wants to be a critique and the sad part is some of those critiquing are in no place to critique. Listen to those trying to be helpful and take the rest with a grain of salt.

Rose DesRochers

Tags: Writing , Writing Community

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Another Case of Spring Fever

I was reading a blog entry by Cathy and she was listing things that she wanted. One of the things on her list was for her boobs to disappear, so that she could feel pretty in a tank top. This reminded me of an exercise that we learned as young girls. It was supose to make our bust grow. It went something like this. We must, we must, we must increase our bust. The bigger the better, the tighter the sweater, the boys depend on us. I wonder if we reversed the chant, if it would have the opposite effect. We must, we must, we must decrease our bust. The smaller the better, the prettier we look in a sweater, it’s all up to us. If that doesn’t work, there is always surgery to decrease your bust size.

Rose DesRochers

Don't Quit Poem

If you've been on the internet for some time, like I have, you've most likely have run across an instance or two, where some individual is claiming to have written something that they didn’t write. Ah, plagiarism.

Today’s Woman Writing Community has received and continues to receive numerous emails from individuals with claims of authorship to the “Don't Quit Poem.”

Now, there also have been several claims of authorship made throughout the internet for this poem that is believed to be in the public domain. One individual even went as far as to register dontquitpoem[dot] com. That same individual also sent me a number of harassing abusive emails, after I wrote an article about the poem. One email told my husband and I to go kill ,because the world wouldn't miss scum like us and another email sent by the same individual, was an invitation to come to New York, where he would personally kick the crap out of us both.

In my opinion, this guy needs more than anger management classes. What do you think?

The poem is believed to be in the public domain. The “Don’t Quit Poem” can be found on the back of St Jude Holy Cards, like the one pictured here.











In my possession is a keyring, with the poem on it. I received the keyring as a gift when I was in my teens.









Some of the claims received are, Jeff Lief reports that the poem was written by his father Ben Lief in 1929, when he was 19 years old. Kelly Burke claims the poem was written by her mother. Joe David Harrison and Gerard Haughey both claim to have written the poem. Robert Ellis claims the poem was written by his grandmother, Betty Naimo Rich of Wakefield MA. Tommy Collins claims the poem was written by his father, Frank Collins while in hospital in Birmingham in 1952. George Munchinsky claims that Alice Enzie Zimmerman wrote the poem in 1948 at the age of 15.

What never ceases to amaze me is just how far some individuals will go to have a piece of the pie.

Despite the claims, this poem is still one of my favorites. It reminds me not to give up. Quitters never win and winners never quit.

Don't Quit!


When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you are trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but do not quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.

And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.


- Anon


Rose DesRochers

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Technorati Tags: Plagiarism, Content Theft, Copyright Infringement

International Library of Photography

The International Library of Photography! Enter online to win cash prizes!


Thanks, but I’ll pass on that.

The Photography Contest that Hunts for Innocent Photographers

Today's Woman Writing Community has received, and continues to receive, numerous complaints regarding Circle of Photographs, a company that operates under many names including Arts and Kids, International Library of Photography, Circle of Photographers, picture.com, freephotocontest.com, photomuseum.com, and International Society of Photography, just to name a few.

Circle of Photographers states that their mission is to promote photography and photographers through technical workshops, improvisation cessions and contests. An independent panel of experts reviews photographs based on the following criteria: technical quality, composition, flow, texture and light. Amateurs and professionals compete for publication and for a prize of $5000. This is a free contest, open to all and based on merit.

However, a google search for International Library of Photography returns a message board with nearly 100 messages posted regarding consumer experiences with the company. It would appear that the folks of poetry.com (International Library of Poetry) are now preying on photographers in the same manner that they preyed on innocent poets.

Poetry.com has brought so much publicity that 20-20’s show did a documentary on them in 1998 , where a bunch of second graders submitted poems and poetry.com announced that they were all winners.

Now the International Library of Photography are using the same familiar tactics that they did with poetry.com.

It makes me wonder what is next for the company.

Rose DesRochers

Related links:

The Poetry Contest that Hunts for Innocent Writers
International Library of Poetry Contests
International Library of Photography thread, part 2
BetterPhoto.com Q&A: Trouble with International Library of Photography
International Library Of Photography- Today's Woman Writers Warnings




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Tags: Photography, Poetry