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.

Do Some Vanity-Published Authors Suffer Stockholm Syndrome?

#PublishingFoul Logo Indies UnlimitedThis month at IU, we’ve been featuring articles on bad experiences with publishing contracts — either bad deals or scammy companies. You’d think that with the proliferation of stories about companies that swindle authors or offer all-around bad deals, they’d all be out of business. Yet, many persist. And some even have glowing recommendations from authors who’ve used their services.

So, what’s the deal? Are these people getting better service than those who got scammed or do they, as my friend Jim suggested, suffer from Stockholm syndrome? For those unfamiliar, Stockholm syndrome occurs when a kidnapping victim begins to identify with captors and even ultimately defends the captors. Patty Hearst, the heiress kidnapped in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army, later joined in the group’s crime spree and was said to have participated because she suffered from Stockholm syndrome. Continue reading “Do Some Vanity-Published Authors Suffer Stockholm Syndrome?”

Avoiding Unintended Consequences of Your Self-Publishing Life

author, you are firedI saw a recent article with the headline The Atlanta fire chief who wrote the homophobic book has been fired. When I read this, I thought it might be a good time for a post about some of the unintended consequences that can occur from your self-publishing life, if you don’t use a little forethought when publishing.

Clearly this fire chief wrote the book and intended to keep his job after writing it. However, things went awry because his job considered his content to be in violation of their standards for employees. While I don’t want to debate whether forethought could have prevented the situation that resulted here, I think the case serves as a reminder that the things we write can have unintended consequences if we’re not careful. Continue reading “Avoiding Unintended Consequences of Your Self-Publishing Life”

Part II – A Trust or an LLC Can Help Manage Author Assets after Death

estate planning for authors last willYay, you came back! On Monday, we talked about what happens to a writer’s intellectual property (IP) after they die. A will was mentioned as a fairly simple way to pass on this asset. However, a will has some drawbacks.

“Every state is different, but a will can spend up to a year in probate,” said Chad Whitfield, an attorney with Hunter, Smith and Davis in Tennessee. “It has to stay open between four months and a year, and things become public. The copyrights you own, all the assets have to be on the inventory. Some people like to keep it private. With a living trust, you can accomplish the same goals, but it’s private.” Continue reading “Part II – A Trust or an LLC Can Help Manage Author Assets after Death”

When Your Books Outlive You – Estate Planning Experts Offer Advice for Writers

estate planning for authors last willSo, you’ve built a writing empire, or more likely, you’ve published a couple of books and they sell enough to pay your cable bill each month (or your coffee bill, if on a smaller scale). Now, you die; what happens? Well, that is going to depend on how you’ve planned for it. I talked to a couple of estate planning experts on what self-published writers need to do to ensure their intellectual property assets (that fancy legal term for your books) pass on in a way that you want. Estate planning, like a good novel, has a few twists and turns, so here’s the skinny so you don’t get caught off guard. Continue reading “When Your Books Outlive You – Estate Planning Experts Offer Advice for Writers”