A Step in the Write Direction
January 26, 2015
Update: Today is our youngest
daughter’s 50th
birthday. Hard to believe! How quickly the years pass by. Happy birthday,
Patty!…My husband has a couple of medical tests coming up—one today and one a
week from tomorrow, so appreciate your prayers, as always… There's a really good
FREE writers' weekly newsletter it'll pay you to subscribe to. Go to www.fundsforwriters.com It gives new
markets, contests, grants, etc., and purchases one short writers' article each
week. I sold them one last week titled "I'm a Caregiver! How Do I Find Time to
Write?"
QUESTION: I want this blog to be yours, not all about me. I know
the last couple of months have been writers’ devotions and tax tips, but now
back to writers’ tips. What would YOU like to see? Do you have writing questions
you’d like answered? Send them in! Also, if you enjoy receiving this blog, tell
your friends. I'd like to add more to the mailing list.
Thought for
Today: “Nobody
reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it’s a
letdown, they won’t buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page
sells your next book” (Mickey Spillane).
Song
for Today:
If
at the dawn of the early morning
He
shall call us one by one,
When
to the Lord we restore our talents,
Will
He answer thee, “Well done”?
Fanny J. Crosby “Will Jesus Find Us
Watching?”
Laugh
for Today:
A
highway patrolman pulled an older woman over for going too slow. “You’re only
going 35 miles an hour,” he told her. “But that’s what the sign says,” she
replied. “That’s the route number,”
he told her, “not the speed limit.” “Oh,” she said. “No wonder the women in the
backseat were screaming when I was on Route 101.”
Income
Tax Deductions for Writers
(miscellaneous; this is the last of the deductions. If you have any tax
questions, feel free to email me at: dgood648@aol.com.)
Line
27, Other expenses.
These expenses are covered in Part V, page 2, of your Schedule C and include
such things as:
Conferences/courses.
Note:
These conferences or courses must be to “improve your skills in your present
occupation,” not to learn a new one. In other words, you must show in some
way—submission records, rejection letters, assignments, and so on—that you’ve
been working at writing for a while and want to improve your skills. You’re not
taking a course or attending a conference just to learn how to become a
writer.
Permissions.
Did you pay to use a quotation in a book or article? Deduct this
here.
Contest
fees.
Any fee to enter a manuscript in a contest.
Critiquing/editing.
Did you pay someone to edit your manuscript? That cost is
deductible.
Postage.
Until editors began accepting queries and manuscripts via e-mail, this was a
writer’s biggest expense. You can buy
a roll of stamps strictly for business, keep track of the expense as it happens,
or invest in a postage meter.
Books/publications/tapes/CDs.
As a writer, you are fortunate that almost every periodical you buy can be
deducted as it is a possible market. Be honest, however, and don’t count a
magazine you buy purely for entertainment without any thought of ever submitting
anything to that editor. Books on writing or reference materials can be counted
here, as well as tapes and CDs bought at writers’
conferences.
Printing/copies.
This includes letterhead stationery (or that could also go under advertising or
supplies), photocopies of manuscripts, copies of handouts for conferences,
posters/postcards, and any books/booklets you
self-publish.
Gifts/cards.
Keep track of gifts and cards you buy for other writers, or for someone who
helped you with a project or a workshop. (Right now the deductible limit for
gifts per person is $25.)
Camera/film/developing.
A camera you buy strictly for business can be deducted 100 percent here, or
prorated if you only use it partly in your writing. Film and developing for
writing-related photographs are also deducted here, along with professional
photos you have taken at a studio.
Tape
recorder/tapes/digital recorders.
Used for interviewing purposes.
Hotel/motel.
This can also go under travel, and includes any overnight trips for a conference
or writing project. If you stayed extra nights for personal reasons, deduct only
the nights required for business. If you took your spouse along, determine what
the cost would be for one person
only, and deduct only that amount unless it’s necessary for him or her to
accompany you to help with your business.
Dues.
This relates to dues for a writers’ association, not a club for entertainment
purposes only.
Phone/Internet.
At one time IRS allowed you to prorate your personal phone and take a percentage
for business. Now, in order to deduct telephone expenses, you need a separate
line. If you have only one line, however, you still can deduct any long-distance
business calls, along with such things as Call Waiting or Conference Calling
installed specifically for business. Your monthly Internet cost can also be
deducted here, as well as a cell phone used mainly for
business.
Bank
charges.
If you have a separate business account, you can deduct any monthly charges and
the cost of your checks.
Office
in home. This
can be complicated, so I will just touch on the subject here, but suffice it to
say that it must be a room or a portion of a room used only for business. The IRS can get
particular on this, especially if you also have W-2 income from an outside job.
Be ready to show proof if you take this deduction. If you choose to take it,
keep records on such things as real estate taxes; mortgage interest; home
insurance; repairs such as roof, air conditioning, heating, and plumbing;
landscaping; exterminating; carpet cleaning; and so on. Figure the percentage of
square feet you use for business and multiply these expenses by this percentage.
You can also depreciate the business portion of your home but that’s a little
too much to get into in this blog. Talk to your accountant about
this.
Have
a good week spreading the
gospel
through the printed page.
Donna
Clark Goodrich
·
A
Step in the Write Direction—the
Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers (with assignments throughout);
original copies now on sale for half-price--$12.50, $3.17
s&h)
·
The
Freedom of Letting Go (with
discussion questions; can be used in S.S. class or small group); original copies
without questions now on sale for half-price--$7.50, $2.69
s&h)
·
Healing
in God’s Time (story
of Dave Clark, composer of 25 songs that have gone to #1 on the charts); was
$15; now $10, $2.69 s&h)
·
The
Little Book of Big Laughs (105
purse/pocket-size book of clean jokes); up to 4 for same
s&h—$2.32
·
Preparing
Your Heart for Christmas (31 Advent Devotions)
half-price - $5
·
Michigan and Ohio
Cookbooks; half-price $5 each,
plus s&h (depending on number ordered)
·
100-Plus
Motivational Moments for Writers and Speakers
– half-price $5, $2.69 s&h (This is free if you purchase 4 other
books.)
·
Grandmother,
Mother, and Me Anthology
(stories, poetry, and recipes);
·
Grandfather,
Father, and Me Anthology
(stories, poetry, and recipes)
·
Celebrating
Christmas with…Memories, Poetry, and Good Food
(above
three anthologies now half price--$12.50, $3.17
s&h)
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