Author: RJ Crayton

RJ Crayton is a former journalist turned novelist. By day, she writes thrillers with a touch of romance. By night, she practices the art of ninja mom. To learn more about her or her books, visit her website or her Author Central page.

Can Your Book Marketing Be Detrimental?

author marketing_bubbleIn a world where purchasers often need to see a product as many as twenty times before they decide to purchase it, is there anything an author can do, in terms of marketing, that is bad for their book?

I pose the question, even though I don’t entirely have an answer. I am leaning toward yes, but first let me tell you why I posed the question. An author I know told me something they were planning to do to market their book. I thought it was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard. (And, NO, I won’t tell you what it was.) While I can be fairly blunt, I’m not blunt enough to blurt out that I think an idea is completely idiotic. I did, however, ask, “Do you really think that will be effective?”

The author’s response. “Can’t hurt, can it?” Continue reading “Can Your Book Marketing Be Detrimental?”

Some Alternatives to Keep You Writing Happily Despite an Injury

writer with a broken arm can't writeI have tendinitis in my wrists, which has made typing — shall we say — a tad difficult. No typing meant I couldn’t even dream of meeting my word count goal of 1,500 words per day towards my latest novel.

After a week of Netflix bingeing, my husband was like, “You need to do some writing.” To which I responded, “I can’t.” To which he replied, “Why don’t you dictate it?” Well, that’s when I decided to look into some ways to create that didn’t involve me sitting at my computer typing.

Obviously, if the limbs you use for writing are injured — tendinitis, a broken arm, carpal tunnel — the best alternative is to learn to type with your feet. Kidding. The best alternative is probably to speak what you would have written. If you want to do that, there are two options: speaking into a recording device and having it transcribed or using speech-to-text software. Continue reading “Some Alternatives to Keep You Writing Happily Despite an Injury”

Four Tips to Beat the Summer Writing Doldrums

writers and summer_doldrums_picThe sun is shining, the kids are out of school, people are on vacation, and you are … inside writing. Cue the scratch on the soundtrack. That doesn’t sound right, does it?

In summer time, many folks, me included, find it harder to hunker down and get the business of writing done. There’s the distraction of the weather. Sunny days tend to call you outside to the pool, to a hike, or even just a walk down the street. There are also barbecues, family vacations, and just a general laid-back attitude.

So, how does one overcome the distraction and sit down and get their writing life in order? Continue reading “Four Tips to Beat the Summer Writing Doldrums”

How to Opt Out of KDP Select in Light of New Payout Rules

Kindle Unlimited discontentThe indie author world was aflutter with talk June 15 when Amazon announced it was changing the way it paid authors who joined the Kindle Direct Publishing Select Program. The changes (which involve compensating authors based on the number of pages a reader completes) left some saying they wanted out of the program. Continue reading “How to Opt Out of KDP Select in Light of New Payout Rules”