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 from which you have received payment. If you received royalties or an advance on royalties, you will need to file this as income because taxes have not been paid on this amount. You pay income tax on the full amount of the check or checks received during the fiscal year from royalties or an advance on royalties. Your agent or publisher will send you a 1099-MISC which you should receive in early February. If you worked as an independent contractor and someone paid you more than $600 in the past year for your work as a professional writer, than you should expect to receive a 1099-MISC early in February. If you worked as an independent contractor but were paid less than $600 in the last year, you still need to declare this as income, but don’t expect to receive a 1099-MISC form. If you worked as an employee (writer, editor, teacher, workshop leader) then social security and income tax has already been taken out of your payments. Expect to receive a W-4 which declares your income and taxes paid to the IRS. On the expense…
ONE Record your mileage of your vehicle on December 31, 2016. If you’ve been keeping a log of your mileage for business trips this year, you will need to know the actual odometer reading for your tax calculations. You’ll need to document your mileage on business separate from the vehicle’s mileage used for personal purposes. TWO Prepare a list of business expenses related to your… [Read More]
Filed Under: account settings, annual tasks, business expenses, change passwords, user profiles, Website updates
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During this month of December, I offer a one-time special to writers who seek professional editorial feedback on their work-in-progress. Send me 10 pages of your writing and I’ll do a developmental edit and provide you with a tracked version of your Word document with a one-hour consultation by phone or Skype for the special rate of $150. Why 10 pages? I can diagnose common… [Read More]
The shortest days of the year are here. In my family’s Scandinavian tradition, TODAY, December 13 is Santa Lucia Day. According to legend, she brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs in the third century. In the annual holiday festivals, Lucia is represented by a blonde girl in a white dress with a red sash who wears a crown of candles on her… [Read More]
Filed Under: daylighting, energy savings, National Sleep Foundation, sleep, sleep deprivation, Thomas Wehr
During these cold winter months I love to curl up with a book and escape to other worlds between the pages. I bet you do, too. Finding more time to enjoy reading for pleasure is the best gift you can give yourself this year. When I think about the books I’ve read during the last year there are some which stayed with me a long… [Read More]
As the year begins to come to a close, the Thanksgiving holiday reminds me of how much light there is in my life. I live in a community that reads, celebrates books, and supports literary artists and libraries. Books are something I feel passionately about and I’m grateful to have made them my calling, my livelihood, in this chapter of my life. For her skills… [Read More]