McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Practical aspects of professional writing. TAXES
gravesbane:
How do you write off expenses in year one of writing when you won't see any income till years two? What if you can't get the thing published at all? Any comments from you all will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
AverageGuy:
--- Quote from: gravesbane on May 27, 2008, 01:07:52 PM ---What if you can't get the thing published at all?
--- End quote ---
Not an issue in that case.
Yeratel:
You can only deduct writing expenses to offset income from writing. If you don't sell anything for money, you've just got a hobby. If you keep really good records, though, and manage to sell something for a hefty payday a few years down the road, you can go back several years (5, I think) and deduct expenses leading up to the sale.
gravesbane:
Thanks! that's the kind of response I wanted. OK here goes. Let's see I need a new computer, notebooks, pens, general supplies. Oh, I need to add a new room to the house (my private office). Hire JB as an consultant. I'll need to attend every Con from San Diego to New York. Happy deductions everyone. ;)
meg_evonne:
--- Quote from: gravesbane on May 28, 2008, 08:13:41 PM ---Thanks! that's the kind of response I wanted. OK here goes. Let's see I need a new computer, notebooks, pens, general supplies. Oh, I need to add a new room to the house (my private office). Hire JB as an consultant. I'll need to attend every Con from San Diego to New York. Happy deductions everyone. ;)
--- End quote ---
From a practical stand point... You left out some writers conference that is a WHOLE BLASTED 6 weeks called Clarion or something similar. Mickey mentioned it about a year ago and I've since had someone else mention it. Yeah, my staff have patience but I run a democracy here and they would be justified in lynching me if i even brought it up....
Seriously, spend a little bit of time with the trade magazines for whatever you do for a 'normal' job and crank out a couple interesting articles. Adds to your resume and you can at least deduct anything up to that amount. If you hit the big time, that self-employment tax is a killer. (Hint Incorporate!)
Reading agent websites has become a hobby. I feel like a lurker... One suggested authors shoot for one fiction and one non-fiction. Don't laugh. The online classes I took all said that getting a non-fiction book published was a breeze compared to fiction. Also beefs up a resume. My trouble? Why do I want to take my writing time to write something i do all day at work? Still--it's another avenue.
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