The calendar has flipped over to another year, yet the more things change, the more they stay the same. The change in tax forms isn’t much of a change, unless you don’t know there’s been a change. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. January 31 is the due date for you to mail your 1099-NEC forms to any independent contractors or freelancers you… [Read More]
January begins a new fiscal year. It’s also the best time to organize your tax information for last year. Whether your book has been out for more than a year, or you’re more than a year out before you finish writing your book, this is the best time of year to gather the information together for tax purposes. On the income side, identify the sources… [Read More]
It’s January and the time of year when you need to prepare your taxes or gather the information together to take it to a tax professional. Before January 31 you are required to file 1099-MISC forms for income you paid to independent contractors during the last year. If you paid more than $600 to an individual or a contractor for professional services related to the… [Read More]
As a writer, you may assume you will have the copyright of your book when it is published. If you write for magazines or newspapers, you may need to negotiate rights over your own written material — one time use — but these days, once you write something, you are assumed to own the copyright from that moment on. Although historically there were some European… [Read More]
Not every author has an agent or an intellectual property rights attorney who can advocate for their rights and protect their work. So what do you need to know? You might be surprised if you “lawyer up,” your contract offer may be withdrawn. Why? Most publishers offer contracts which use boilerplate language and they do not negotiate every term and condition for each contract they… [Read More]
‘Get Smart’ About the Business of Your Book Distribution is not a dirty word. No one talks about it much in literary circles and it is something you may not have thought much about as an author. Perhaps you are more conscious of its importance when it comes to films and music. Distribution determines what movies appear in which theaters. What selection of music is… [Read More]
The business of publishing continues to evolve and new finance models have emerged offering authors more than the option to self-publish or go the traditional route. Between the five big commercial trade presses – Penguin Random House, Hatchette Book Group, Harper Collins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster – and self-publishing with Blurb, or Smashwords, there are new routes for writers to consider in their pursuit… [Read More]
There is more than one path to publishing today. Whether your plan is to seek a traditional publisher or self-publish, you need a book proposal. Consider it a business feasibility plan. Before you invest your time and intellectual energy to a book project, first determine whether there is market demand for your new product. Figuring out how you will harness that market demand and fulfill… [Read More]
It is both an honor and a privilege to be the featured Business of the Month at Alternatives Federal Credit Union. Alternatives (AFCU) is a regional Community Development Financial Institution. This isn’t your ordinary credit union. Member-owned, locally controlled and self-supporting, AFCU works to meet the financial needs of the members of the community. They believe that by controlling the flow of funds within a small… [Read More]
Authors and Publishers and Agents mash it up in new ways as the book business gets remade. The reallocation of risks and rewards happens as self-publishing, e-books, and the current economies of scale with new digital technologies encroaches on the crumbling financial houses of traditional publishing. Agents without advances these days from trade publishers now retool to manage and administrate the self-publishing initiatives of authors…. [Read More]
