R. Frederick Riddle's Blog, page 67

WHY I BLOG

Welcome to another blog post. Today I want to explore the reasons I blog. Primarily I will be looking at this subject from the author’s perspective. By the way, I want to thank those of you who have welcomed me to WordPress. It’s an exciting place to be.

Now, Why do I blog?

To answer that I must first provide some history. I didn’t start blogging until after my first novel, Refuge: The Genesis Chronicles, was published in 2003. The reason was simple: To get my name out there. If you want to sell books you need to get known and blogging is a logical marketing step.

At the time I maintained my website with ATT. Actually, it was Yahoo & ATT. This partnership of two giants provided a WordPress blogging platform. Although I didn’t know it at the time I was starting out with probably the best blogging platform in existence.

A newbie at blogging I didn’t know what to blog about, let alone how to blog. I decided to blog about anything that came to mind. That certainly provided me with a lot of material, but experience has since taught me that such a wide subject matter hurts rather than helps your blogging reputation.

I continued to use ATT Yahoo Business Plan for my blogging until 2009 when ATT and Yahoo decided to have their own separate plans. I cancelled my plan with them and moved to ATT Small Business Solutions. This however was primarily my email account. My blogging now shifted to Godaddy where I created a brand new website called RFrederickRiddle (my website RFRiddle remained with ATT Small Business Solutions). There I created a strong multi-page website and a blog.

This blog was not as strong as WordPress, but it did meet my needs. By this time I had realized that I needed to narrow my subject material. But I still was operating without any real guidance or goals. The result was that I would write for awhile about politics and then later write on Writing. Still later I might write on some other subject. This proved hurtful and discouraging.

Another twist occurred around 2011 or shortly afterward as Godaddy no longer allowed website users to have a blog directly attached to their website (my old blog was blog.rfrederickriddle). Instead, they now allow you to import an existing blog.

So I moved to Goodreads where I have been originating my blog until a few days ago. Goodreads is an outstanding site where you can interact with other authors. But I have been disappointed in their blogging tools. Too restrictive and not very powerful. That said, it was still a valuable piece of internet real estate.

So I moved to WordPress and immediately imported my new blog into Goodreads. This should prove to be a very wise move. Another move I made was to focus on Writing. This expanded in 2014 to publishing and marketing due to our founding of T&R Independent Books.

There, you have a brief (well, as brief as I could make it) history of my blogging efforts. I entered into blogging not knowing much and with no direction, but I have learned a few things along the way. These are:

Voice


The writer’s voice is the individual writing style of an Author, a combination of their common usage of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works). (Wikipedia). Basically, it is what makes you unique.As an author I have learned that my writing style (voice) makes a difference. This is true in blogging as well as writing. So it is important to keep a certain degree of consistency from blog to blog, but also in connection with everything else I write.


Platform

A blog’s platform is similar to a website, but also different. Basically you are dealing with software that allows you to not only publish pages, but posts. Here are some key points to consider:

Platform includes Pages/Posts
Platform also has Categories/Tags
Platform allows Image/Post Management
Platform is Search Engine Optimized (SEO)

All of these are important considerations. I chose WordPress because I feel its platform best suits my needs even though my website is elsewhere. (My website does link to Goodreads.)

One of the things that always attracts me is the availability of Free and Premium plans. Many platforms offer this and you would be wise to check it out.

By the way, WordPress comes in two formats: .com and .org. Again personal experience and preferences would determine which you go with.

Opportunity

This is actually individual. I see blogging as a marketing tool that can truly enhance your authoring experience. See the rest of this blog for more details.

All of this is part of blogging. Of course, I know there is Facebook and Twitter, but I am not eliminating them as marketing strategies. They have there place, including a relationship with my blog.

When I write a post, I publish it and I promote it on both Facebook and Twitter. I will also promote my blog in our newsletter, T&R’s Writers World.

Blogging, therefore, is more than a record of your thoughts and actions. It is an opportunity to influence people. As an author I have the opportunity to help others who may be new writers or even long-time writers. Actually, that is a basis not only for my blog, but for my newsletter as well.

Which brings me to the following question: Do you blog?

If not, why not?

You don’t have anything to say? I disagree. You are an author. You can write about your own journey, about your books, about the genre you are in, and a host of other related subjects. Or you can talk about other subjects that, while not directly related to your books, enhance your reputation.

There is one more reason for blogging: it lets people get to know you.

That sounds scary, but it isn’t. If you remain true to your voice (writing style) and blog with valuable information, people will get to know and trust you. That can only be good for you!

You may argue that you don’t want to market books, just write. Unfortunately that is not true any more. If you write books, you are a marketer. The question is are you a good one or a bad one?

Give blogging a try. Choose a topic that you are knowledgeable about and blog about it. And then be patient. You won’t be a blogging success immediately (although it does happen), but if you stick with it there will be long term benefits.

There are numerous blogging platforms. Investigate. Try one and if disappointed you can move on. Finding the right one for may take time.

My New Blog

My new blog is now called rfrederickriddleblog and is located at wordpress.com. I intend for this blog to be a replacement for and an enhancement of my blog at Goodreads.

Please be patient with my as I work on the transfer.

Hello world!

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

Happy blogging!

Did You Know Donald Trump?

With Donald Trump's entrance and early dominance in the GOP Presidential race I thought it good to publish this piece. It takes a close up look at the man, his life, his business, and his views.

•Personal history & beliefs

Donald John Trump Sr. was born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York to Fred and Mary Anne Trump. Donald was one of five children and the grandchild of a immigrant from Germany.

Donald attended the Kew-Forest School in Forest Hills, Queens. Due to difficulties at the school, Donald was sent at the age of 13 to the New York Military Academy. There he earned academic honors and played varsity football (1962), soccer (1963), and baseball (1962-64).

He attended Fordham University for two years, then transferred to Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was already interested in real estate, as Wharton School then had one of the few real estate departments. In 1968 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.

His parents were already successful in real estate. While still in college in 1968 he went to work for Elizabeth Trump and Son and went to work on revitalizing the Swifton Village complex. Later the Trump Organization, created by Donald, sold the Swifton Village for $6.75 million in 1972.

In 1971 he moved to Manhattan. There he got involved in larger building projects, which included turning the bankrupt Commodore Hotel into the Grand Hyatt. It was at this time that he took control of Elizabeth and Son, changing its name to The Trump Organization, which now serves as the principal holding company for his assets.

His career had its ups and downs, including business bankruptcy involving four of his companies. But he emerged and went on to become the wealthiest man in America. Since 2011 his worth has been estimated from $2.9 billion to $7 billion.

Over time Donald has been invested in sports and entertainment, including the Trump TV show The Apprentice. He also became owner of the Miss Universe Pageant in 1996 and co-owned it since 2003. In addition he has appeared in both film and tv shows as himself.

Donald Trump is a Presbyterian.

•Political history

o Early supporter of Ronald Reagan
o 2006 & 2010 showed interest in running for Governor of New York, but didn’t.
o Showed interest in run for President for 1988, 2000, 2004, 2012, and 2016.
o June 16, 2015 declared himself a candidate for President of the United States.

•Political Views

o Republican
o Pro-Life
o opposes Obamacare
o Pro-Israel
o Strong action against ISIS
o Strong border; against illegal immigration
o Family values
o Global Warming is a hoax
o Opposes Trans-Pacific Partnership

•Pros

o Has polled well in previous elections
o Not dependent upon big donors
o A successful businessman
o Strong speaker

•Cons
o No government experience
o Four bankruptcies
o Arrogant
o Personality sometimes offends

Give Your Book Away Update

With the increasing interest in the 2016 Presidential race I was really happy that I was able to finish my ebook Did You Know 2016 Presidential Candidates? and get it published. It took a lot of work and digging, but it was worth it.

Normally when I write it has the ultimate goal of making money. But I have learned it is sometimes better to virtually give a book away (see my homepage for an example). And that is what I want to talk about today: Give Your Book Away.

Of course that immediately raises the question: But if I give my book away won’t I lose money?

Believe me there was a day when I felt that way. I believed that every time I gave a book away it cost me. I felt that I lost money on the cost invested and the potential profits. But time has shown me that you can’t look at it that way.

Look at it like an investment. Not just an investment that will lead to sales, but an investment that will raise your stock with potential readers. When you give them something of value, they will remember you.

But before going further let me give you two concepts:

1) The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you’d want done unto you;

2) Give and it shall be given unto you (Luke 6:38).

These two concepts work together. When you give of yourself to others, you will be blessed. The immediate result is the feeling of good will you receive from the recipients. This is relationship building. The person on the receiving end thinks well of you if the gift is truly valuable in their sight.

From a business sense you give something of value to earn people’s respect and trust. But that only works if what you are offering is really valuable. Which is why I spent so much time and effort researching the candidates. This is a subject on people’s minds and the book enables them to do their own fact check. They can learn political histories, including positions and voting records.

But there is more involved. Sure you want their email address and their interaction with your books, but what you really want ... need is a good relationship with people! I have heard this called relationship building. Call it whatever you want, but it is an important marketing concept.

You are selling yourself as a person that can be trusted. And customers can tell if you are faking it!

So how do you find something of value. Here are some ideas:

1) Create original content

2) If you have several books, offer one

3) When you are well known invite successful writers to write in your blog

4) Make use of Twitter and Facebook

I have now written 5 novels, 4 non-fiction and 1 self-help books. In all honesty everyone of these books have the potential as a future give-a-way. That is also true for the 4 novels and 1 non-fiction books that I am currently writing.

So what’s the take away? Simply this, ask yourself a question.

What (not if) I have something to offer.

You are experienced and knowledgeable about something that can benefit other people. That may take a serious self-examination on your part. But it is necessary that you do so.

In the near future I will be offering a special give-a-way. This give-a-way will have the added bonus of a subscription to my free Writers World newsletter. This by-weekly newsletter provides information on writing, publishing and marketing. And it is FREE!

Did You Know? now in book form

When I began putting together my Did You Know? book series I included the 2016 Candidates as a bonus in the book on American History. However, the more I considered it, the more I realized this subject deserves to stand by itself. Especially with the election coming soon and the number of candidates exploding.

This ebook is devoted to the upcoming 2016 race for the Presidency of the United States. Who are the candidates, both declared and undeclared? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their views on important issues facing America?

Although the 2016 race is extremely important to Americans, we do not have a reliable resource that we can readily refer too regarding our choices. The media (newspapers, etc.), and television networks have largely sold out to the liberals. Meanwhile many cable resources are conservative. But wouldn’t it be nice to have a resource that, if not neutral, was at least fair and accurate?

With that in mind I turned my attention to this subject with gusto. In the process I decided that there are some issues which are important to a wide audience. One of those involves the political organizations influencing the election. Not all appear within these pages, but the ones I think have major input are included.

The organizations I cover are from far left to far right, including the Democratic Party, Republican Party, Tea Party, and Libertarian Party.

I have selected a number of men and women who either are running or may run for the highest office in the land. There are many more out there, but I had to keep the list reasonable, so I have chosen those names that seem to be mentioned the most.

I list them alphabetically and include such things as their:

•Declared/Undeclared Presidential Candidate

•Personal history & beliefs - Here you will find information regarding their birth, early life, college, jobs, and religion.

•Political history - Here I will relate their political history by listing in chronological order their rise to prominence.

•Political views - Here I relate in the following order their stands on various positions and issues.

---- Party relationship, if any
---- Pro-Life or Pro-Choice
---- Obamacare
---- Foreign affairs
---- and others

• Pros - List of comments favoring candidate
•Cons - List of comments opposing candidate

I don’t pretend that this is comprehensive. What is comprehensive today may be trivial tomorrow. What I have tried to do is put together a book that would serve as an aid in evaluating the various candidates.

It is true that Hillary Clinton early on looks like a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination, but so she did in 2006. There are other Democratic candidates, so I have included these candidates as well as the Republican candidate. In the end this book can help you whether you are Republican, Democratic, or Independent.

Although I am a Conservative, I have tried to present a fair, precise and accurate report on the parties and on the candidates. The intent is for you to be an educated voter.

In no way do I pretend this is an in depth report, but an aid. Hopefully it will be of benefit to you as you evaluate the different candidates and decide which one you prefer.

Whoever you prefer, vote. Our democracy is built on an informed populace going to the voting booth and casting their ballot. If you don’t vote you forfeit the right to criticize, because your non-vote was actually a vote for whoever got elected.

So vote.

This book is available at www.rfrederickriddle.com where you get three extra books all for one price.

Writing Tip: Grammer

Chances are that in reading this article you will find a grammatical mistake. I hope not and I plan not, but it is possible.

So how does an author make their novel grammatically correct?

I will get to that in a moment, but think about this: You don’t want your characters to speak or think grammatically correct! Such a character would be stiff, unbelievable. It is better if there speech denotes their age, education, and upbringing. So a rule I follow is that if something is within “quotes” then the rules of grammar can be loosened.

But in general you want your novel to be correct. Misspelled words and other grammatical mistakes can distract from the story. So here are a few suggestions:

o Make use of your Word processing program’s grammar tools
o When your program suggests an error, check it out.
o Use spelling help
o Use grammar help
o Google the problem (program questions spelling but you’re sure it is right, Google it)
o Look problem areas up in a grammar book or online grammar tools.

In writing this article I used my Microsoft Word (2003) grammar.

If you found this article helpful, you may be interested in a new free service I am providing. This new service is a newsletter focused on authors. More important, it is free. Interested? Go to http://www.rfrederickriddle.com and discover the Writer's World . Oh, and you will get four new Did You Know ebooks on American history, Bible history, The World That Was, and 2016 Presidential Candidates.

So you get four ebooks that provide thought provoking material and a subscription to Writer's World absolutely free!

I am always looking for new material, so if you have ideas or comments please share them.

Did You Know Faith of our Fathers?

As to whether we were founded as a Christian nation or not, we often lose sight of the fact that while not all of the Fathers were Christians, virtually all were influenced by a Christian mindset or worldview. With that in mind here is a partial list of the most prominent men and their faith.

George Washington – First President

o Faith: Episcopalian

o Not a Deist as some say, he was a man of prayer.

o He kept a prayer book

o believed in a “Supreme Being” Who is the “Author of all … good,” the “source of those numerous blessings,”

o recognized “the miraculous care of Providence.”

o He wrote about Christian morals, civil and religious liberty, toleration of Jews, and civil rights.

o His prayer book written in his own handwriting, conveys his deep personal and Christian beliefs.

Benjamin Franklin – Printer, Inventor, etc.

o Faith: Deist

o Although a Deist, Franklin was influenced by the Christian worldview.

o Surprisingly he was the one who first suggested at the Constitutional Convention that each day be opened with prayer. He even offered a prayer:

“Heavenly Father, May all revere Thee,

And become Thy dutiful children and Faithful subjects. May Thy Laws be obeyed on earth as perfectly as they are in Heaven. Provide for us this day as Thou hast hitherto daily done.

Forgive us our trespasses, and enable us likewise to forgive those that offend us.
Keep us out of temptation and deliver us from Evil.”

o While not a Christian, Franklin was a deeply religious man whose Biblical beliefs influenced his contributions to our nation’s founding.

James Madison – Father of the Constitution

o Faith: Episcopalian

o Although Episcopalian, he was influenced by Presbyterianism.

o A private man, he did not believe that position in government should be used to discuss religion. But we do have much of his writings which indicate a belief in eternal life and salvation.

He also believed in religious freedom: “Whilst we assert for ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess, and to observe the Religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us. If this freedom be abused, it is an offence against God, not against man: To God, therefore, not to man, must an account of it be rendered.”

These are but three of the most influential men at the founding of our country. A thorough study shows they were typical of our founders, not the exception.

The Did You Know? series is now available in ebook format (PDF) at T&R Independent Books (http://www.tr-indbkstore.com/)

R. Frederick Riddle

Did You Know Pilgrims?

Most everyone knows that the Pilgrims came to America on the Mayflower, but did you know that originally there were two ships?

The Mayflower, hired in London, sailed from London to Southampton in July 1620 to begin loading food and supplies for the voyage. Much of these supplies were purchased at Southampton after their arrival.

The Pilgrims were mostly still living in the city of Leiden, in the Netherlands. They hired the Speedwell to take them from Delfshaven, the Netherlands, to Southampton, England. The plan was to join the Mayflower and sail together to Northern Virginia.

The Speedwell departed Delfthaven on July 22, and arrived at Southampton, where they found the Mayflower waiting for them. The plan was disrupted because the Speedwell had been leaking on her voyage from the Netherlands. They spent the next week patching her up.

On August 5, the two ships finally set sail for America. But the Speedwell began leaking again, so they pulled into the town of Dartmouth for repairs, arriving there about August 12. The Speedwell was patched up again, and the two ships again set sail for America about August 21.

After the two ships had sailed about 300 miles out to sea, the Speedwell again began to leak. Frustrated with the enormous amount of time lost, and their inability to fix the Speedwell so that it could be sea-worthy, they returned to Plymouth, England, and made the decision to leave the Speedwell behind.

The Mayflower would go to America alone.
The cargo on the Speedwell was transferred over to the Mayflower; but some of the passengers were so tired and disappointed with all the problems that they quit and went home. Others crammed themselves onto the already very crowded Mayflower.

Finally, on September 6, the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, and headed for America. By the time the Pilgrims had left England, they had already been living onboard the ships for nearly a month and a half.

The voyage itself across the Atlantic Ocean took 66 days, from their departure on September 6, until Cape Cod was sighted on November 9,1620. The first half of the voyage went fairly smoothly, the only major problem was sea-sickness.
But by October, they began encountering a number of Atlantic storms that made the voyage treacherous. Several times, the wind was so strong they had to just drift where the weather took them, it was not safe to use the ship’s sails.

The Pilgrims intended to land in Northern Virginia, which at the time included the region as far north as the Hudson River in the modern State of New York. The Hudson River, in fact, was their originally intended destination. They had received good reports on this region while in the Netherlands.

All things considered, the Mayflower was almost right on target, missing the Hudson River by just a few degrees. As the Mayflower approached land, the crew spotted Cape Cod just as the sun rose on November 9th. The Pilgrims decided to head south, to the mouth of the Hudson River in New York, where they planned to settle and make their plantation.

However, as the Mayflower headed south, it encountered some very rough seas, and nearly shipwrecked. Their plans thwarted, the Pilgrims made a swift decision. Rather than risk another attempt to head south, they would just stay and explore Cape Cod.

Turning back, they rounded the tip, and anchored in what is now called Provincetown Harbor. The Pilgrims would spend the next month and a half exploring Cape Cod, trying to decide where they would build their plantation.
On December 25, 1620, they finally decided upon Plymouth, and began construction of their first buildings.

R. Frederick Riddle

Did You Know Declaration of Independence?

In spite of denials by liberals the Declaration of Independence, which established the basis for a new government, was based or at least drew much from the Bible. And it revered God.

It opens as follows: “When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

There is much more, but notice the italics. I did this to emphasize the nature of this document. Here in the opening paragraphs immediate acknowledgement is given to God, our Creator.

Reasonable men can disagree on many things, but there is no basis here to contend that the Declaration does not reference God. It not only references God, but a God Who takes a personal interest in mankind.

The Declaration of Independence is as much a part of our history. It provides the religious, moral, and legal right to break from England and become our own country.