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…
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 You might be surprised if you “lawyer up,” your contract offer may be withdrawn.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]
Filed Under: advances, Authors Guild, contracts, Copyright, Fair Contract Initiative, remainders, rights, royalties
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“You know, there’s no market for writers anymore.” “So, you’re going to be a teacher.” “I hope you like Ramen.” These are the three most common responses when I tell someone my major in college. While poking fun at English majors is one of America’s favorite past times, it is discouraging to have my main interest written off (pun intended) as something I cannot pursue… [Read More]
If you are a writer, you have likely been asked this question. Perhaps more than once. Before you answer, recognize the question is loaded like a gun and it could go off and hurt you. These requests from some authors contain two unjustified assumptions: one, you plan to read it, and two, you will write something nice about it. Caveat emptor – Buyer beware. More… [Read More]
You have polished a piece of your writing and are ready for someone else to read it. You take an enormous risk when you ask someone else for feedback. You make yourself vulnerable to being misunderstood or worse. It’s more than words on a piece of paper which stand in judgment. It’s you—your soul—on the line. Every red pen mark on the page feels like… [Read More]
Filed Under: criticism, Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, feedback, Harper Lee, inner critic, Max Perkins, self-esteem, Tay Hohoff
Sometimes you just know when something is right. A combination of factors led me to sign up for my first writing retreat and it started with an email from a classmate of mine. Launched by Dulcie Witman and Regina Tingle, both MFA graduates of Goddard College, the retreat Wide Open Writing brings together creative people at a farmhouse in Tuscany. It was easy to say… [Read More]