R. Frederick Riddle's Blog, page 27

Ron’s Tip of the Day Customer Service

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Customer Service.

I’m an Author, Why Should I be Concerned About Customer Service?

Do you sell directly? For example, you let someone know you have written a book and they want to purchase it right now. Now, you can tell them that they need to go to the Internet or you could carry extra books with you and sell on the spot. If the person is a friend or relative, you can offer them a Friend & Family Discount.

That person is now a customer. In fact, he or she became a customer as soon as they showed interest in your book.

So, What Kind of Service are We Talking About?

That can vary, but offering discounts is customer service, personal delivery (if you offer it) is a service. Basically, it is whatever you do to make and keep your customer happy.

Another example is if you have a website where you either sell your book or you provide a link to a sales page such as Amazon, then you should have customer service available.

I Don’t Have a Website.

Then get one. In this day and age, a website is important whether selling nationwide or locally. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to set up even if you are internet challenged.

Don’t Forget the Proper Attitude.

Remember that the customer is always right even when they are wrong. Be gracious and try to solve whatever problem they have.

Sometimes you just can’t please a person. In that case, be polite, apologize if necessary, and move on. Being polite and helpful doesn’t mean letting them take advantage of you.

Tip of the Day: Consider having a Good Customer Relations reputation.

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Tracking

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Tracking.

Tracking?

By Tracking I am speaking of tracking your book. It could be Sales, Royalties, Reviews, or something altogether different. There are a lot of methods out there and I assume they are successful, especially if they’ve been around a lot.

This blog is not about a method, but rather the need for some kind of tracking.

Why is it Needful?

Primarily so you can stay on top of how well your book(s) are doing. If you are not interested in making money off your writing, then the need to track book sales diminishes. But if you want to have a knowledge of book sales, royalties, or whatever then tracking is a must.

Some Tracking Methods are Time Consuming.

I’ve seen some methods that require you investing a great amount of time. If you have time, then I guess that’s fine. But most of us would rather invest that time into writing.

Some Tracking Methods are Expensive.

This is something you need to watch. You don’t want to get trapped into a costly system.

What Should I Do?

You need to weigh the time needed and the cost required against you budgets, your time budget and your cash budget. I have a variety of tasks that I must do every week, and in some cases every day. So, time is essential.  And, of course, watching the financial budget is also a necessity.

Consider how frequently would you need to know how your business is doing. Daily? Weekly? Or perhaps longer like monthly or quarterly. Everybody has different needs. You need to find out yours and go from there.

You might find that the more frequent your reports the more work it entails.

Tip of the Day: Your needs determine the frequency and depth of your tracking.

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Self Printing

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Self Printing.

Self-Printing refers to the author selecting a local printer or online printer

When you are publishing a book of 150 pages or less it is wise to consider your costs. You may be able to find a self-publisher who will publish the book but beware the price. For such a small book you may want to check out local printers.

Why Local Printers?

By Local Printers I am referring to Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, and similar office stores that offer printing services. Local printing may offer numerous extras such as binding for extra cost.

You can also select online printers that will allow you to upload a cover for your book. You will want to take a look at a variety of features and compare.

This is easy for the author to do and cheaper than asking a professional. For example, we will handle the printing costs if the author wants us to, but because we will be working to achieve the same or better results as the author, we will be charging an additional fee for our work. We suggest that you do-it-yourself.

Tip of the Day: Best bet for printing is to use a local or online printer.

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Small Books

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Small Books.

By Small Book I am talking about books less than 150 pages whether 8.5 x 11 or 6 x 9.

Lately I have been receiving interest from authors wanting to publish small books. These are books that amount to only 100 pages or up to 150 pages. This actually aligns with our intent to help authors out at a low cost.

When I first received this request, I began researching to see if it was doable. An important fact I discovered is that Kindle has a minimum requirement of 100 pages. So, to offer help we would need to do it without Kindle. Big change!

But as I reviewed the needs of potential customers, I realized that the process of working with them so that they could achieve a Print Ready document was entirely doable! So, I created two plans that would accomplish that.

Plan Custom 120 – This is for books of 120 pages or less. We help them with the Front Matter, the book material, and the Back Matter up to the publish step. The last step is either hire us for an additional fee to get the book published or deal directly with a local printer (we would make suggestions).

Plan Custom 150 – This is for books of 150 pages or less. Otherwise same as the 120.

This is exciting because it fits right in with our desire to help new and struggling authors at a low cost.

Tip of the Day: Check out TR-WritingServices.com for our Plans.

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Event Writing

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Event Writing.

Have you ever noticed how soon movies come out regarding an event that just occurred? I have. And it has occurred to me that it is probably true of writing as well.

For instance, writing a novel that takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic would be an example of event writing. The novel could be centered on the patient, the doctor, government, the race for a cure, and more.

Such a book, assuming it was well written, might have bestseller promise. The thing is that there is already a promotion campaign of sorts going on. It is called news.

For clarity, I have never written a book based on a current event. On the other hand, current events have inspired me to write books occurring in a different era but perhaps including the event or similar event in that book. It is not that hard to find comparisons in this era to past eras.

But I would argue that just because the topic is current and maybe ‘hot’ it doesn’t mean that you just throw something together. It might sell, but once people discover it is not a well written book the sales might fade or even stop. You always want to put your best efforts into your books.

Tip of the Day: Take a look at Event Writing. It might be just what you need.

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Masks

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Masks.

Today’s topic is not a writing tip, but rather a living tip.

Do Masks protect You?

According to most doctors, masks are meant to protect others, not you. I’ve heard some people say they wear masks to protect themselves, but that appears to be an unrealistic expectation.

Should Masks be Mandatory?

No. The purpose of masks is to protect other people from getting infected. That is good, but to legally demand you wear a mask is over the top, in my opinion. But if the law or legal authorities require it, then obey the law.

Should Stores Demand Customers Wear Masks?’

Every store has a responsibility to its customers to provide a safe, shopping experience. But not all stores interpret that responsibility in the same way. We live in a free country and the stores have the right to exercise that freedom.

That said, if the customer got sick because a store didn’t require wearing of masks, then the customer has legal recourse. But the burden of proof in my opinion lies with the customer.

Are Masks Effective?

That depends on what you mean by effective. I’ve never heard of any masks being 100% effective. I have heard that some are more effective than others.

Do You Wear a Mask?

Depends on the situation. When in church, no. When out shopping I usually do. I look at it as a risk assessment. If the possibility of getting the virus appears high to me, I wear a mask. But there are exceptions and sometimes I just can’t stand it anymore.

The key is that it is an individual choice. And usually, I practice social distancing.

Tip of the Day: Wearing masks is a personal choice unless government says otherwise.

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Panic

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Panic.

How Do You Handle Panic?

Panic is a real emotion whether based real or imagined events. Look at the pandemic. There is a surge of the virus among younger healthier people while at the same time the death rate is plummeting. What do people focus on? The rise in cases. But they should be focused on the death rate which fell from almost 6% to under 5%.

This same illogical reaction occurs in writers. It can be about their published book, lack of sales, royalties, and more. Then you have the as of yet unpublished book. It can be excessive worry over the story itself transforming itself into writer’s bloc.

Panic is an Emotion

We all feel it at one time or another. I have. Sometimes over my Christian walk and sometimes over my books. But are going to let an emotion control our lives?

What’s the Solution?

Different people may have different solutions, but I believe in facing it head-on. What is the cause of the panic? What are the results of my panicking? And often, what does the Bible say about panic?

God spoke to Abram about that very thing, ‘Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward’, (Gen. 15:1).  As a Christian, we need to trust God. His way is ultimately the best way.

Tip of the Day: Identify the cause of panic and its results, then you address the concern. It might not be as big as you first imagined. And if you haven’t asked God about it, do so now.

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Research

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Research.

Lately I’ve been touching on a subject dear to my heart, Research.

Why Research?

Because when you are writing fiction or non-fiction research is a necessary and a sometimes overlooked necessity.

I don’t Understand the Importance of Research.

That’s a fair statement.

Let’s say that you are from Michigan and you are in a bookstore looking for a novel to read. You find one titled “Deadeye Will” (a book I wrote). What would you expect to find?

Michigan sceneryMichigan citiesMichigan peopleSouthern Ohio cities

Which of the above would you least likely expect to see but might?

Southern Ohio cities.

While you might see places outside of Michigan you would certainly expect to see something of Michigan. In that book you see places in southeast Michigan (i.e., Detroit and Pontiac,) central Michigan (Saginaw and West Branch), and northern lower Michigan (Thunder Bay).

All of this requires research. You want enough detail to make for a good story, but you also want it to be as accurate as possible to please the people in those areas that might read your book.

In my opinion, research is the key element that a story turns on. Your book might be fiction, but a good description of where it takes places can bring a book alive. On the other hand, poor research or no research can really hurt a book.

I once read an otherwise good novel based on Noah and the Ark. But it was ruined for me because the author included drinking with a glass. I’ve never seen any evidence that glass existed. It’s a little thing, but it can create a jarring note.

Tip of the Day: Diligent Research can pay big dividends for your book.

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Want to Write Novels?

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Want to Write Novels?

Yesterday I wrote about Biblical novels, what about any historical novel. Very similar.

Never assume history books are correct

The recording and telling of secular history are often problematic. Unfortunately, the bias of the writer can influence what the ‘facts’ are. Look for multiple sources that are reliable. Most of reliable history is found in previous generations. (For example, most modern history books leave out important facts simply because they don’t agree with modern thinking. Look for histories that reveal what a particular time period was like, not what people of today think it was like.

Do Your Diligent Research

History is rich with facts, but if you don’t dig you won’t find the truth. Dig deep. As mentioned above, true history can be difficult to find. It requires hard work.

Keep Relevant to the Times

Part of research is to make sure that the clothing, speech, etc. match the era. This is part of diligent research. It will pay off in your stories.

Try using fictional characters as primary

This is not always best, but it gives you more flexibility in your story.

Try avoiding conflicting characters

Avoid using characters with the same name. Real people with the same or similar names might get in. That’s unavoidable.

Have balance between prose and dialog

This is true for all fictional writing. Sometimes allowing the pen to flow is needed; often describing things through dialogue draws the reader in more.

Work in historical events

Some of the most interesting and enjoyable novels I’ve read involved historical events, people, and places. When a book brings the times, events, and people alive, the author has done his or her job.

Tip of the Day: Use above guidelines .

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Ron’s Tip of the Day Want to Write Biblical Novels?

Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Throughout the week I will share a tip with you. Today I am looking at Want to Write Biblical Novels?

Writing a Bible-based novel can be successful or risky. But if you use these simple guidelines you should be able to appeal to a large audience.

Always assume the Bible is correct

You get messed up if you accept the popular myth that modern science knows better. Science can shed light upon the Bible, but it can never contradict the Bible.

Do Your Diligent Research

Use the Bible as a filter, a spotlight or research. When you find a new ‘fact’ shine the spotlight upon it. In my novels I studied the clothing, foods, weapons,and more of that era.

Work the Biblical Text into the Story

Sometimes take a direct quote of one or more verses and make them part of the story. Mix the Bible and modern English together so the characters speak using both interchangeably.

Use Bible Characters

This is unavoidable but good. If your reader is familiar with the Bible, there will be a common connection between your novel and the Bible.

Try avoiding conflicting characters

But the Bible may have more than one character with the same name. This creates a difficulty especially for readers who skip (one reviewer skipped and claimed I was inconsistent with my characters).

Use only one Bible version

You can use other versions to increase your own understanding, but only use one in the book. Otherwise you run the risk of confusing your reader. I use only KJV because I believe it is the only accurate version.

Don’t Be Preachy

That doesn’t mean no gospel nor no sermons or other Christian statements. It means not being overbearing. The gospel, sermons, etc., should all fit within your story seamlessly!

Tip of the Day: Use above guidelines .

Get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”)  contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

 – – – – – – –

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.