Posted on June 6, 2023June 5, 2023 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

An Invitation to be Your Best

This is an invitation to be your best in whatever you do, but especially as a writer. In past blogs and posts, I have talked about the School of Hard Knocks. We begin by learning about it.

School of Hard Knocks is Not Your Best

To begin with it is a different school for each person. Something like a college offering different degrees in a variety of studies. This school offers a different pathway for every student. These paths are different yet the same. They all promise much but rarely deliver. It certainly is not your best experience or result.

My Journey to be Your Best Through the School of Hard Knocks Begins

In 1968, I returned home from the Navy after serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War. I immediately sought a job and was hired by Western Electric, a subsidiary of AT&T, as an installer. My job was too either install or remove phone equipment in the AT&T buildings.

Aside from my job, it was also a time that I decided to pursue a writing career. I had wanted to write since my teen years and still wanted that elusive dream.

I received a invitation to join a Writers course that was associated with a group of famous writers. I took their entrance test which was a ridiculously easy test, passed it, and joined.

But, alas, it was shortly thereafter that I was laid off at Western Electric. This was about 1972. When I returned to work, it was to Michigan Bell, also part of AT&T. During the time I was laid off, I had no income, was forced to drop the writing course, lost my entire savings, and lived for a week on nothing but peanut butter.

Though I was no longer in the writing course, I was accepted into the school of hard knocks. This school has no brick-and-mortar buildings, no campus, no real teachers, no curriculum, and no rewards. Most of all, it had no guarantees.

The School of Hard Knocks Wasn’t My Best

Since there were no teachers or classrooms or class assignments, I was on my own. I started by visiting local libraries and reading everything I could find about writing. Also, I started writing my first manuscript!

That was exciting, until I got to the 5^th chapter and hit the Wall! The Writers Wall is just as real as a wall made of stone. It stopped me cold. I didn’t know how to handle it. In the end I tossed the manuscript into the trash.

It quickly became a trap and a source of frustration. I would get a little way into the story and hit a wall. Then the manuscript would eventually end up in a trash can.

I was miserable! Then in 1973, I met Jesus Christ and He became my Savior. This rejuvenated my life on so many levels, but while my life changed and I became a better person learning to walk with God and serve Him, my writing career was as still as ever.

The School of Hard Knocks Changed

I began reading and writing poetry. Not great poetry, mind you. But it captured the heart of a young lady and played a role in her becoming my wife. We met in January 1981 and were married in September of the same year! So, Poetry was a success.

More importantly it helped get started a loving marriage that lasted over 41 years! But my writing continued to fail. Then, in 2000 everything changed!

More on this subject in An Invitation To Be Your Best part 2.

T&R Independent Books brings you this blog post to keep you informed on the issues of today. Authors need to stay informed so that they can relate to their readers facts as well as entertain them with their imagination.

Basic Authors Training is a Basic Writing Course that explains and guides you into becoming an author. Powered by video along with PDFs and Coaching you learn the basics of writing. Each class registration occurs between the 25^th of a month and runs through the 24^th of the following month. The new class starts the following month.

To discover how you can be the writer you want to be, write to us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will respond.

Did God call you to write? If so, then you can contact me at info@trbookservices.com or use the contact form on the website.

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

Don’t forget to comment below. We are always interested in your opinions. And to make sure you get our blogs, simply check the box that says, Notify me of new posts via email.

Company information:

T&R Independent Bookstore is a division of T&R Independent Books founded in 2014 by R. Frederick and Tess Riddle. TR Ministry, aka Christian Fund, is both a charge and an exciting outreach to the Christian Community.

Posted on May 17, 2023May 17, 2023 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

What’s Your Why

What’s your why?

That is a question I had to answer for myself when I became an author. Plus, I have revisited that question several times over the years. Early on I discovered some good Why answers.

It is God’s plan for me.
The simple joy of writing.
The satisfaction of seeing my story in print.
The desire to convey an idea or thought to others.
The chance to make money.
Fame.

It is true I list God’s plan first, which for me it is, but this is not a ranking system. All of these are good reasons. For me, the only one that truly matters is #1 – it is God’s plan for me. The important point I am trying to make is that you need to have a why, and it can be completely different that what I have listed.

A Breakout of My Statement

As explained above, it is God’s plan for me. But what does that mean?

It is God’s call upon my life. I am not sure if it happened when I got saved, or afterward. I think it was afterward. In any case, God gave me a verse to base it all upon; Psalm 71:18:

“Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.”

The call of God to write has led me through a lot of doors as I have sought His will. Most were of His will, some not so much. But since He called me, I felt that when a door opened, I should at least check it out. Like I said, some turned out to not be His will. Not because of anything ungodly, but in the end they didn’t work for me. And when I discover a door that I have gone through isn’t God’s will, I retreat and exit that door.

As time passed and I grew as a Christian that philosophical idea blossomed into what I call my Why. Here it is:

“Since God has called me to serve Him through authoring, and has enabled me to write, then I will obey Him in all aspects of His will.”

That is both a spiritual and a practical statement because it touches my writing career and my personal living. But it is something of a mouthful, so let me break it out for you.

God called me to write is my Why

This speaks of His calling me to write. As stated, I don’t know the date other than it followed my salvation. I had been trying to write beforehand and always failed, and that didn’t change immediately. What did change is that I immediately had a reason bigger than myself, and that became a driving force as I pursued writing as a career.

God enabled me to write is my Why

From the year of my salvation to the day God finally pointed me in the direction He wanted me to go, some 30 years passed. I was still writing and failing. In the meantime, I wrote some computer programs, and started writing poems. They occupied my mind, but only writing truly satisfied me.

But during that period of time God was preparing me. He began opening doors that led me to new (for me) tools, ideas, and concepts that now are a mainstay of my writing. He was enabling me!

I Will Obey is the Why in Action

When God reaches down and enables us to do what He wants, then we are obligated to obey. Remember when I talked about doors opening. That is when I began to sense His call. It was clear to me yet, but the sense of His calling pushed me forward. The more I obeyed, the better I got.

Then God called me in 2000. I was now 63 years old, when most people are retiring. As I write this, I have only recently turned 80. That means that since I first heard God’s call it has been 17 years!

That call came in the form of my morning devotions. I was reading Genesis 6 about Noah and the Ark. Suddenly, the thought hit me. These are facts, but there is so much not told. It is like a skeleton that needs to be fleshed out. And in that moment I knew God wanted me to write about Him, His grace, and whatever else.

At that time, I only thought about fiction, so I wrote my first story. It took 3 years before it got published. But once started, I didn’t stop. Then I became involved in nonfiction, which scared me. But when I started writing my first nonfiction book, What’s True About Christmas? I knew that nonfiction was where I belonged.

I will still write novels, but writing doctrinal books that take complex theology and trims it down to where simple people can read simple doctrines written by a simple person (me), truly makes me happy. I am now excited by the future.

At the age of 80, I don’t know if He is going to give me another 40 years as He did Moses, or just increase my productivity, but I do know or at least see through the mirror a little clearer, that writing about Him, His Word, and His people is His plan for me.

Did God call you to write? If so, then you can contact me at info@trbookservices.com

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

Don’t forget to comment below. We are always interested in your opinions. And to make sure you get our blogs, simply check the box that says, Notify me of new posts via email.

Company information:

T&R Independent Bookstore is a division of T&R Independent Books founded in 2014 by R. Frederick and Tess Riddle. TR Ministry, aka Ministry Services, is both a charge and an exciting outreach to the Christian Community.

Posted on December 3, 2022December 3, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Hurricane Ian Winds of Providence & Provision

As the author of Hurricane In Winds of Providence & Provision, I want to share the excitement that it brought me.

When Hurricane Ian struck there was widespread damage done. My wife and I had evacuated and were without WiFi for awhile. It was during this time that the events in this book took place.

The story, which is told in the words of several members of the Sheppard family, began with simple preparation for extremely high winds and surge. Pastor Jay Sheppard felt that he and his family had prepared their home for the expected surge as they lived next to the Peace River. But they did not know they would be facing a flash flood!

After the Lord laid it on my heart to write this book, I contacted Pastor Jay, who is my pastor, and told him of the burden. He suggested an idea I was already entertaining. Namely, that I get him and his family members to tell the story in their own words! It took persistence on my part to get those stories included in the book and to arrange them in a manner that made sense, but it was worth it.

Hurricane Ian Winds of Providence & Provision is the culmination of those efforts. I purposely only did light editing as I wanted each contributor’s voice to come through. The result is a book where the reader hears from each contributor and can identify with them. I know I am biased, but I believe this is a timely book showing God’s love and providence, and belongs in many personal libraries or bookshelves.

Right now it is in print form only but will soon be in eBook as well.

Posted on October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Blog by Ron: What is a Writer’s Journal

A Writer’s Journal is a valuable tool that you can use as you pursue your writing career. But what is it and how does it work?

What is a Writer’s Journal?

There are different types of journals, but this one is designed to exclusively for writers. I will be using the Christian Writer’s Journal as the example. It is a product of T&R Independent Books of which I am the Vice President.

What’s the purpose of a Writer’s Journal?

Generally, the purpose is to provide a single record or depository of your writing ideas. In the Christian Writer’s Journal there are suggested usages, such as, cliches, details, maps/floor plans, outlines, story ideas, and Other. Chances are you will have a use that falls under Other. That’s great, because there are as many uses as their people.

A Look at the Book

The picture you see with this blog is our Christian Writer’s Journal. It looks nice on the outside, but the real beauty is inside.

We designed this book to be used by and for writers. My wife (Tess Riddle) and myself (R. Frederick Riddle) are authors and we discovered that journaling is ideal for an author. It can replace napkins, paper towels, newspaper, scrap paper, loose paper, and a host of other impromptu tools. I have probably used all the methods mentioned and more.

But I have already used mine to record possible story ideas, creation of a writer’s tool chest for my students, ideas for blogs/posts, ideas for a newsletter if I decide to publish a newsletter, branding ideas, biographies to be used in published books, keyword research, and much more.

Why is a Writer’s Journal so valuable?

I mentioned earlier that it replaces tools such as napkins. Often, when I go out to lunch or dinner, I grab a napkin and start writing down story ideas, plots, or even scenes for my books. When done, I stick them in my pocket hopefully to be retrieved later and incorporated wherever needed.

But the problem is that paper napkins are fragile and can be ripped, torn, or mangled. They can also be lost, especially if time lapses between when I wrote my ideas down and when I tried to retrieve them.

I don’t think any have ever made it into the laundry, but it could happen. But if I transfer that information into my journal as soon as possible then I have a resource that is easily available and in one place.

I recently had a date with a girl called Ian (e uhn). She wasn’t particularly nice dare, but she did give me a story to tell. And that story found its way into my journal and is now in my computer as a work in progress.

Another Feature of the Book

Some writers use spiral notebooks to write the ideas down. But a writer’s journal, at least the Christian Writer’s Journal, is better than a notebook. Only 6”x9” in size, the book is easy to use yet hard to lose. And with over 200 pages available it is large enough to contain a lot of information.

If you are or plan to be an author this is must for your tool chest, and you can get it right here.

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

Don’t forget to comment below. We are always interested in your opinions. And to make sure you get our blogs, simply check the box that says, Notify me of new posts via email.

Company information:

Posted on September 6, 2022September 6, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Blog by Ron Do You Watch Your Word Usage

Do you watch your word usage?

Word usage plays an important role in writing. Consider the following:

Short words tend to speed up a story
Long words tend to slow down a story
Some words are more difficult to understand; use clear, concise words
Some words have different meanings in different contexts
Some words are more difficult to pronounce than others
Use verbs and adverbs wisely (check grammar book)
Don’t use long sentences unless necessary
Short sentences tend to speed up a story
Normally try to stay at or below 8 sentences in a paragraph
Check your spelling

Word Usage means more than Grammar

While grammar and spelling are important factors, you should consider other things as part of word usage. For instance, keeping track of a character’s speech characteristics.

That may sound odd, but if a character first appears as one who stutters, then you need to have that character stutter throughout the book. Which means, you will need to track the character’s speech to make sure he or she always stutters at least up to the point to where the stutter is cured.

What else should you track? How about a character’s:

Favorite slogans
Difficulty pronouncing certain words
Use of slang
Overuse of words and/or phrases

These may seem minor, but getting them right can make all the difference in your writing.

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

Don’t forget to comment below. We are always interested in your opinions. And to make sure you get our blogs, simply check the box that says, Notify me of new posts via email.

Company information:

If you would like to review any of our books, contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email make sure to indicate your email address, and your name, and we will send a PDF of the chosen book to you.

Posted on August 9, 2022August 9, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Blog by Ron – What to do About Writers Resources?

Writers Resources. That is a question that I have recently been dealing with. It all began when I decided to use my knowledge of writing to build a Basic Training Course for writers. As I began developing the course, I realized that it would be one huge course if I prepared a lesson on each resource.

What to do about writers resources?

So, I decided to provide resources, aka tools, to my students as downloadable PDFs. I prepare these tools and then post them on the student’s page. But then I had another question:

What are these Writers Resources?

The word resources is rather broad, so I needed a narrower definition to work with. I have already used the word, so I will tell you again. It is tools.

Writing tools, to be exact.

Tools that will enable people to write effectively. But that was still somewhat broad.

So, I redefined it again, and arrived at: specific tools.

What are These Specific Tools?

Glad you asked. And I will get more specific on the other side of this break.

To discover how you can be the writer you want to be, write to us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will respond.

Check us out and get your career moving.

Now back to the article.

Building a Library of Writing Resources

If you have never built a writing resources library, now is the time to do it. It is true there are professionals out there that can do much of the work needed for you to succeed. But I am a believer in learning how to do things even if I hire someone later to do them.

With that said, Let’s Build That Library.

A Resources Library is in my opinion a necessity. So, without further ado, let’s look at these resources or tools. You should have in your library (physical or digital):

Customs and Manners of historical times and places.
Dictionary.
Grammar book.
Grammarly.com (or something akin to it).
History books (if you write historical fiction).
Word processing program.
A Writing program, such as Microsoft Word.

These are just some of the resources you need. And if you plan to establish yourself as a business, then you need:

Information regarding setting up a business.
Programs or books on writing basics.
and more.

Some of these tools are easy to get hold of and relatively cheap until you add them all up. Building a library can get expensive. The good news is that there are places you can get that information relatively free.

For Example, Writing Resources are Available from this Blog.

I use blogs and social media provide information to readers like you. While I also have a Writers Basic Training Course, I believe in providing as much information as possible to people at no cost.

Which brings me to a tip: Build a Digital Library.

A physical library is important to have, but in this day and age a digital library is virtually a must.

How Do I Build a Digital Library of Writing Resources?

You begin by following bloggers like me who are willing to provide information free. Will you always need all the information that a blogger provides. No, but I was once told that if you go to a meeting and get one nugget of value from it, then that meeting was worth your time and expense.

Much of what I learned over the years about writing came from information I gleaned from bloggers, marketers, and others. I slowly built up my own digital library and I added then and still add material now to that library. It will help you immensely.

What Writers Resources Should I Start with?

The answer to that depends to some degree on what genre you are writing. That said, I think it is essential that you have a word processing program with strong editing features, such as Microsoft Word or a program like it.

(One side note: Never allow editing software or a human editor to dictate your writing. Consider the advice, then you make the decision. It is your book, and they are merely tools to help you, not control your literary genius.)

Another tool not mentioned above is called a Beta Reader, which I will discuss in the future.

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

Don’t forget to comment below. We are always interested in your opinions. And to make sure you get our blogs, simply check the box that says, Notify me of new posts via email.

Company information:

Posted on February 22, 2022April 9, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Web: Build a New Website

As you may know, I have decided to build a new website from scratch. I also chose not to migrate the old site from its domain to the new domain. Migration is supposed to be easy, but I knew that if I did that, I would still have a lot of updating to do since I am making major changes.

One of the deciding factors was that I have previously built websites. In fact, this one is my third, perhaps fourth, build. So I felt more comfortable.

As of yesterday, I could say that the new site is now up and running. Is there work yet to be done? You bet! But getting the Google Ads and Listings up and running, along with Google Merchant Center has been a blessing. And, while I have gotten a lot done, there are still jobs, mostly small, awaiting me.

But I am ahead of schedule. After the break I will tell you more.

T&R Independent Books brings you this blog post or podcast to keep you informed on the issues of today. Authors need to stay informed so that they can relate to their readers facts as well as entertain them with their imagination.

It’s Your Business is a video service to help authors learn how to set up their business. We provide free video training where you learn why you, as an author, are already a businessman or businesswoman. You also learn basics for structuring your business. Along with these videos are Learning to Write with the basics you need.

To discover how we can help you be the writer you want to be, write to us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will respond with a free copy of our Guide to Writing.

Check us out and get your career moving.

Now back to the article.

Now that the Google Ads and Listings are up, and the Google Merchant Center is active, I can now start fine tuning the overall site. This is actually exciting because I thought it would take longer than this. I praise God because I certainly wasn’t blazing any trails!

One more thing. I promised to keep you updated on this transition to a new domain. Starting with this blog I have now officially moved my blog to trbookservices.com. For the present I will first post it on this site, and then on my old domain, rfrederickriddleblog.com. But come April the old site will most likely disappear from site.

Now I have some other news not associated with the site. You may remember that I have joined Christian Authors Community. Well, I will soon be submitting my books to be advertised in the Christian Book Club. I will let you know more about that in the future.

Finally, my interest is still in helping others become writers. To further this along I have recreated Services, where I will be providing to you helps and at least one referral. Today, I want to focus on helps.

Instead of a sub-menu under Services, the Services page has:

How To
It’s Your Business
Ministry Services
Professional Help

These are still in the development stages, although It’s Your Business takes you to some older videos I did. Still valid, but a different website and our services have changed. I plan on updating these in the near future, but they are informative now. And Free!

Don’t forget to comment below. We are always interested in your opinions. And to make sure you get our blogs, simply check the box that says, Notify me of new posts via email.

Company information:

T&R Independent Bookstore is a division of T&R Independent Books founded in 2014 by R. Frederick and Tess Riddle. TR Ministry, aka Ministry Services, is both a change and an exciting outreach to the Christian Community.

One thing I promise to do: I will continue to keep you informed and when the new website is ready, I will provide you with a link so that you can check it out. More importantly, following me. I haven’t checked it out yet, but if able I may manually add each one of you as a follower of the new blog site. If that is not allowed, I will strongly encourage you to follow me.

Posted on February 22, 2022April 9, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Your Website

This is an old blog about your website that I wrote back in 2020, but I have now taken it and refreshed it so that the information is current and helpful.

In today’s business world it is virtually a necessity to have a website. Businesses large and small have a website. These sites can be just the basic few or multiple pages consisting of 20 or more pages. The TR-Indbkstore.com website has multiple pages designed to market both Tess (aka Teresa) and my books.

In this blog we start with just the basic website and then add to it.

But I am ahead of schedule. After the break I will tell you more.

To discover how we can help you be the writer you want to be, write to us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will respond with a free copy of our Guide to Writing.

Check us out and get your career moving.

Now back to the article.

While it is important to use social media to get your name out there, it is also true that your website is or should be the hub. Think of a wheel. In the center of the wheel is a hub with spokes extending outward. Those spokes represent your social media and other marketing efforts. But the hub is your website. It is where you want people to come. That’s true even if all you have is a one-page site that gives your customers the essentials of your business: location, hours of operation, and contact information.

With that in mind, I suggest that the first thing to do is to buy a domain name. Wait, did I say first thing. Well, that’s after you make at least one business decision. You need to have a name in place. I recommend you take my free course which I previously mentioned on It’s Your Business. This will acquaint you with why and how to go about naming your business and, in fact, setting it up. For now, just know this, you are a businessperson the moment you decide to write!

So, discover the name you want to use. Here’s a hint: If you only write one book then the book title may suffice. However, if you plan on writing more or you are a famous writer, then using your author’s name is excellent. My author’s name is R. Frederick Riddle and I still use it for marketing purposes (i.e., business cards and designated webpages).

If you have written or will write multiple books, then you may want to use a different name. We use T&R Independent Books. As you might guess, T stands for Teresa or Tess and R stands for me. In our latest website we will have T&R Independent Bookstore as our website name, but we will also have other pages dedicated to R. Frederick Riddle and to Tess Riddle. The point is that you want your website to reflect you (if it’s just you), or your business (if you’ve written more than one book or there are more than one authors).

Back to the website. There are many good places to purchase your domain, such as BlueHost, Godaddy, SiteGround, and WordPress. And there are others. Do your research and find out which is best for you. I have used Godaddy, and WordPress, and now SiteGround. I recommend that whoever you go with that they support WordPress hosting.

Our website domain is trbookservices.com. It is our new home for the business and we are aggressively setting up our marketing to reflect that fact.

I am assuming that you are serious about your writing and that you have already written more than one or will write more books. Your entire emphasis changes. Before you could emphasize your book title, book cover, and maybe the characters within the book. But the moment you have multiple books you need to have a strategy that fits all your books and not just one. Whether you go with the author name or the business name is your decision. Just remember that it is extremely hard to change names. It can be done. We are examples of doing just that. Our websites have been named: rfrederickriddle.com, T&R-Indbkstore.com, rfrederickriddleblog.com (originally only for my blog), and now trbookservices.com.

(Side note here: trbookservices is not our business name, but it is tied into T&R-indbkstore.com, a Godaddy domain). We use the old Godaddy domain to forward or redirect people to our website. It is an effective way to still use our company name to get people to our store.)

Basic Web Page

Different people will have different ideas about the Basic Web page. Some think only a single page will do, others believe you need at least three pages. I favor the latter. Let’s take a look.

1 – Home Page: This page is where most people will land when they Google your author’s name. Technically they should land there by Googling your author’s name, any of your books (unless you have separate pages for them), your business name (if you have a business), and your picture or book picture that appears elsewhere (for example, your blog).

The Home Page and every page should be clean and not overly crowded. Always keep in mind that viewers on the Internet read from left to write, top down, and finally back up to the right corner. Think of it as a ‘V’.

Your most important information should be ‘Above the Fold’. This term refers to the bottom of the viewable website as the ‘fold’. When a person lands on your site you want them to immediately see your most valuable information.

It’s recommended that you have a picture of yourself in the upper left corner so that potential readers immediately see it. The picture should be linked to your Biography Page or your Amazon Central page.

You could have a brief column in which you highlight moments of your life, books you’ve written, or plans for the future. Don’t use this for your biography; we’ll get to that later.

Depending on size of the pictures you could have a marquee of book covers that rotates cover to cover at the top.

2 – About Page – This page is for the biography of your life as it pertains to being an author. It’s not recommended you talk about growing up, etc. unless that relates to your book(s). Emphasize the information regarding your writing career. If you’ve won awards this is a good time to mention that.

You will also want a picture of yourself. While it can be the same as the one on the Home Page, consider using another picture of yourself. You might want the picture to be less formal than the one on the Home Page.

Don’t forget to link your picture to either another location you’d like the reader to go (such as Amazon Central or to your Book Page).

3 – Book Page – If you only have three pages then I recommend the Book Page be it, otherwise it could be your fourth or fifth page. The name ‘Book Page’ is only used here as an indicator. You might want to name it something else, such as ‘My Books’, ‘Author’s Books’, or something else.

Aside from the Book Cover this is a good time to include a description of the book and its story. Writing your description takes just as much talent and commitment as writing the story itself, just not as long.

The Book Cover and the description Title should be linked to a Sales Page discussed below. You don’t want to miss any opportunity for a possible sale.

These are basics, but your host’s basic package may allow you more that only three pages. WordPress hosted sites allow more menu items or pages than submenu pages for each main menu page. See our website and you’ll see what I mean. The cost of this package is very low, in my opinion, yet allows you plenty of pages to work with. Whenever looking at a possible host be sure to find out how many pages you’re allowed.

It is important that you have a Call-to-Action on your Book Page. I recommend you have it at least twice. The first would be above the description and to the right with a button such as ‘Buy Now’ taking the potential buyer to the Sales Page. The second button would be at the bottom and to the right below the description.

#4 – Store Page. If your site will be an eCommerce website, you’ll need a secure page. Make sure the host offers that. You can use virtually any eCommerce financial institution from banks to PayPal. I originally wanted to have a Sales page right on my site and decided to go with PayPal. Earlier with my rfrederickriddle.com site I’d used a banking service. And now I use WooCommerce on my site that provides the customer with a smooth and secure shopping experience. All these are excellent ways to go. When checking out your preferences ask questions, don’t take anything for granted.

If you choose Amazon or another venue as the point of sale you won’t need a Store Page. Use links from pictures, Titles, etc. It is important that you have a Call-to-Action. We now have multiple point of sale platforms: Amazon, Amazon Author Central, Christian Book Club, Goodreads, and our website.

#5 – Media Page. You want reporters and other media types to visit your website. But they are busy, so a little consideration will go a long way with them. On the Media Page you want a picture of yourself or the book (if only one). You also want to have links to your Social Media sites (FaceBook, Twitter, etc.), Book Page, About Page, and anywhere else you want them to go.

#6 – Privacy Page. If you’re selling products on your website, then it is necessary to have a Privacy Page. Here you can assure them that their information is safe with you. See below for a sample.

#7 – Blog. Do you blog? You should definitely consider it. You can blog on writing, other book related topics, or something altogether different. Whatever you blog make it consistent and informative. The blog should be linked back to your website and to your Social Media.

Moreover, you should have a Blog Page. My blog is associated with trbookservices.com on WordPress. So, my website and blog are now sharing a common home.

#8 – Update your website regularly. The bots that search your website for the search engines love fresh material. I recommend you update your material at least monthly.

Updating is little more than refreshing your site. You don’t have to completely rewrite the posts on the site. Tweak the text, change pictures, add material so that it has a fresh look and feel.

We update our Home Page at least monthly and other pages not quite so often. And whenever a new book is published, we update the website with appropriate information.

#9 – Promote your website wherever possible. Consider having a link on your FaceBook Business Page, your LinkedIn Page, or other social media to the website. You can also link from other Social Media outlets. And if you have a blog have a link from every blog you publish to the website. Plus, use Business Cards.

#10 – Social Media. I’ve mentioned Social Media several times. You have a number of choices:

These are, in alphabetical order: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and others. I will not state which are my favorites simply because every author out there has their own preferences. I would recommend that you only focus on two or three.

I have accounts in all of the Social Media mentioned above but am seriously looking to concentrate on a few like FaceBook, LinkedIn, and YouTube while I may dabble in the others.

For information on our Services, check our website as we will be regularly updating the site. But if you can’t find the answer to your question, there, then contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

Don’t forget to comment below. We are always interested in your opinions. And to make sure you get our blogs, simply check the box that says, Notify me of new posts via email.

Company information:

Posted on February 15, 2022April 9, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

First Steps in Blogging

I have now begun my first steps in blogging on a new site. Having purchased a new domain from Siteground.com, I am now in the process of adding tools including plugins to the website.

For the time being, I will continue blogging on two platforms which are RFrederickRiddleBlog.com and TRBookServices.com. When I finally complete the rebuilding of my site, I hope to have a seamless transition from WordPress hosting to Siteground hosting. And a better, smoother experience for all visitors.

After the break I will tell you more.

To discover how we can help you be the writer you want to be, write to us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will respond with a free copy of our Guide to Writing.

Check us out and get your career moving.

Now back to the article.

Thus, I will publish new blogs just as always, but I will publish older blogs on the new site plus all new blogs that occur right here. In this way, I will be able to build a sturdy blog archive. In addition, I will be dividing the blogs categorically. There will be categories like blogging, church, government, and writing. This will help me keep track my blogs more efficiently.

Meanwhile, I will also be adding products to the website and eventually offering additional products and product specials. Last year, I added WooCommerce to the website and I will have it on the new website as well. All of this means that I will have more flexibility in what I offer and the price I offer my products at. It is all very exciting.

Today’s blog is somewhat small, but don’t worry. I will be able to write more content shortly.