A Writer's Journey: From Blank Page to Published

Let me say right off the bat, I am not a tax professional. As such, in this article I am in no way pretending to dispense advice about what to do given your unique business status and tax situation, but I am happy to tell you the sorts of things that you can consider if you are genuinely trying to build a profitable writing business and save money on your taxes while you’re at it.

Here are examples of some of the expenses writer’s commonly have:

Travel

If you make any trips (such as to a writing conference, speaking engagement, or something else specifically related to your book, such as research) save your receipts. Some examples are:

* Conference fees* Meals* Gas* Lodging

If you drive for something related to your writing business, keep a record of your miles in a notebook or file so that you have documentation come tax time.

Writing Tools

As a writer, the tools of your trade are tax-deductible.

Some examples might be:

* Writing software (like Word or Scrivener)* Pens, pencils, highlighters* Notebooks and journals* Paper* Index cards

Business and Marketing Tools

* Computer used for writing and managing your writing business* Software used to manage your writing business (such as Quickbooks or other accounting software)* Dropbox or other cloud computing subscription – You want backups of your work! Don’t just save them on your hard drive.)* Domain name(s) – You might have one for your personal writer website, another for your publishing company if you are indie, and yet another for specific book titles (if you choose.)* Web hosting – You’ll need a way to host those websites. GoDaddy and HostGator are both good options.* Postage – This can add up when you send out copies of your manuscript to beta readers.* Mailing Supplies* Photocopies – If you’re doing research at a library or archives, you might need to make photocopies of relevant information found in reference books.

Professional Services and Fees

You might not need these if you’re publishing traditionally, but if you’re a fellow indie author like me, you’ll need at least the first two on this list.

* ISBNs and barcodes from Bowker* Editing services – If you’re publishing independently, it’s worth it to hire one or more editors depending on the services you need. You’ll definitely want a copyeditor if you can possibly budget for it.* Book cover design – If you’re skilled with graphics software, you might not need this service. If you’re not, while you can use a free cover designer like the one on Amazon (read more about that here), you might find it’s worth it to just hire a designer to create a cover for you.* Book layout design – Hopefully, you won’t need to hire someone to help you with this, but if you do,

In this episode, Terrance and I discuss blogging versus social media. We definitely have some differences of opinion on the topic, but we also find some common ground! Tune in to find out the things upon which we agree are good practice for any author.

By the way, you can find me on social media here:

* Facebook – facebook.com/sarawhitford.author

* Instagram – instagram.com/sarawhitford.author

* Pinterest – pinterest.com/sarawhitford

Just a heads-up… At around the 11-minute mark, if you hear a little tapping in the background — although it’s faint — just know that I apologize. It was my little girl dog, Lucy, who decided at that particular time that she wanted to dig a hole in the hard floor so you hear her little “toenails” tapping away on and off for a minute or two. It does stop, though!

Terrance Zepke and I have joined forces again to bring you a brand new episode of A Writer’s Journey podcast.

At the end of the second season, we said going forward, we would likely only record special topical episodes, and this one seemed like a great idea — especially with Terrance’s extensive experience writing non-fiction series and my own experience writing the Adam Fletcher Adventure Series.

In this show, we talk about six key areas that you need to consider when it comes to writing a series.

 

Terrance Zepke and I have joined forces again to bring you a brand new episode of A Writer’s Journey podcast.

At the end of the second season, we said going forward, we would likely only record special topical episodes, and this one seemed like a great idea — especially with Terrance’s extensive experience writing non-fiction series and my own experience writing the Adam Fletcher Adventure Series.

In this show, we talk about six key areas that you need to consider when it comes to writing a series.

 

During this episode, Terrance and I discussed how to think like a publisher. More specifically, five things you’ll need to think about when it comes to publishing your book, such as:

* Pricing your book

* DRM

* Book release date

* Sales/distribution

* Attitude

And for your reference, we already talked about Bowker and ISBNs and barcodes, and all the other things publishers have to address during Episode #22: The Nuts & Bolts of Publishing.

Finally, I want to mention that Terrance is coming out with three titles in the very near future inspired by this podcast: Stop Talking & Start Writing Your Book, Stop Talking & Start Publishing Your Book, and Stop Writing & Start Selling Your Book. Keep an eye out for those at Amazon.com.

In this episode, Terrance and I discuss the nuts and bolts of publishing, including BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communication) codes, ISBNs, keywords, and genre.

In this episode, Terrance and I discuss the nuts and bolts of publishing, including BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communication) codes, ISBNs, keywords, and genre.

Special guest Sydney Strand began her novel-writing career under a different name with Penguin Random. After publishing two books and being disillusioned with the process, she decided to go indie to get back her love of writing—just for the fun of it. Now, she’s going back to traditional, but not all the way. She’ll continue to publish some of her work as an indie author.

We talk about all kinds of things in this 45-minute episode! Some of the things that get mentioned are effective advertising strategies, advice for aspiring authors (hint: grow a thick skin!), KDP Select, Goodreads Giveaways, and the Twitter Writing Challenge community, which is how Sydney and I met.

Find Sydney here: 

* Her website

* Her Instagram

* Her Twitter

* Her Facebook

 

In this episode, Terrance and I discuss the different publishing options available for independent authors.

We talk about CreateSpace and IngramSpark, as well as why you might want to consider using both services. We also talk a bit about e-books and touch on ISBNs, distribution options and audiobooks.

Click here if you’d like to read about my own book publishing and marketing strategy.

Royalties & Publishing Service Fees

CreateSpace

Royalty Calculators – Click on the Royalties tab for information on what you’d make based on various distribution options. Click on the Buying Copies tab to find out what it will cost you to order copies for book signings or local booksellers.

Fees for A La Carte Professional Services – CreateSpace offers help with cover and interior design, copy editing, and marketing at various prices.

IngramSpark

* Royalty Calculators

* Printing & Shipping – This will tell you what it will cost you to have your books printed and shipped to you or drop-shipped to a bookseller based on your book trim size, page count, cover type and quantity. Note: Printing larger quantities of books (in the hundreds) will result in lower per book prices.

* Publisher Compensation – This will tell you what your compensation will be based on book trim size, page count, cover type and publisher discount.

* Setup and Revision Fees

For an in-depth breakdown on why you should use both CreateSpace and IngramSpark, read this feature by Giacomo Giammatteo: Part 1 | Part 2 (Note: A condensed version of this can be found on the Alliance of Independent Authors website.

E-book Options

Kindle Direct Publishing – KDP is the e-book counterpart to CreateSpace’s print book publishing. Regular Microsoft Word documents (*.doc, *.docx) or HTML files are preferred. They also accept several other formats such as MOBI, EPUB, Rich Text Format (*.rtf), and more. If you upload your file directly to KDP, setup is free. If you have CreateSpace convert a different type of file (for instance a PDF), you will have to pay a fee.

Kobo Writing Life – Kobo has its own e-reader and is a popular format in Canada and Europe. File setup with Kobo is free and they will convert your Microsoft Word document (*.doc, *.docx), MOBI,

During this show, Terrance and I talk about the five things you MUST DO if you’re interested in getting an agent and/or a traditional publishing contract.