7 Tips for Organizing Your Writing Business – Ramona Heikel

They say we should write what we know, and what I know is how to be organized and deal with numbers. In fact, organizing seems to be one of the most common interruptions of my writing. But today I chose to turn the tables and interrupt my organizing (taxes) to write this post. I hope you’ll some of these tips useful!

1. Record Your Writing Activities in a Day Timer or Calendar

When it’s tax time, you have many other things on your mind besides remembering a year ago how much time you spent writing, researching or marketing, and when you submitted your stories or articles, and to whom. But you may need this type of information, so try to jot it down as regularly as possible.


2. Keep a Portfolio and a Log of Your Submissions

Keeping records of all your work (published and unpublished) is one way you can double-check that you have documented all income and expenses related to each piece. My Submissions Log* includes columns to record postage expenses (outgoing and SASE), and boy, did that come in handy this year. It is also a good way to prove to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that you are actually working at your writing business, if they ever inquire or do an audit.


3. File Copies of Electronic Receipts and Payments in One Place

When I receive a copy of an electronic receipt or some kind of notification via email or online, I make a pdf copy of it and save it in my computer’s Writing Expenses folder. My electronic Writing Income folder contains scans of cheques, cheque stubs and related emails or documents. (I try to have all my paper documents scanned as well, as a backup.)

By the way, if you want to be relatively paperless and don’t have Adobe Acrobat to make a pdf of a document, I recommend downloading a free alternative called CutePDF.


4. Claim Your Writing Expenses as Deductions

I do diligently keep all my receipts in one folder, and I do enter all information onto my Expense Spreadsheet* at tax time. (Using the previous year’s spreadsheet as a template for the new year makes things very easy!)

Some examples of expenses you can claim as deductions to your writing income include:

• Office supplies, postage, writing or reference books
• Memberships, subscriptions, contests
• Courses & conferences
• Magazine samples or publisher catalogues
• Webpage fees: annual domain mapping and registration

5. Claim Business Use of Home Expense

I calculate my Business Use of Home expense for my writing business, and although it isn’t a significant savings, I still claim it. Setting up the use-of-home spreadsheet* with the formulas took a while, but now it’s easy to punch in the numbers each year.


6. Check out the Canada Revenue Agency Website

I find CRA’s website useful and easy to understand. They have loads of information specifically for small businesses. Start here, at the business topics help page .


7. Report Consistently

I have been told that CRA likes to see activity documented in the tax year it occurred in order to see that the writer is consistently working at the business. So even for a year when I have little or no writing income—when it would be tempting to save the time and trouble by not filling out all those forms—I still indicate my expenses, to let the government know that I’m still working at making money writing.

April 30th is just around the corner, but I hope these tips will take the sting out of your tax time this year.

*I am happy to share my log and spreadsheet templates!



Posted by Ramona
www.happilywriting.com

What is My New Role as a Published Author? - Janis Cox

Life has changed since I published Tadeo Turtle last fall.

 My learning curve has exponentially increased.

It is a good thing that I am taking tap dance lessons at the same time. I have found that learning new dances through my feet helps my brain develop faster. Also I am memorizing Scripture (or trying to).

Because what happens when you become a published author? People expect more of you. The first question they ask is, "When is your next book?". Right - I just want to get this one born and crawling first.

I have been blogging since 2008 - lightly - no real following, a few friends. Fun.

All of a sudden what I say has to have "value". More prayer goes into each post. More thought. Lots of pictures.

Here are a few of the things I have done since publishing Tadeo Turtle:

1. Made a self-hosted blog www.janiscox.com
2. Made 2 Facebook pages - one for me and one for Tadeo
3. Made a Pinterest page
4. Joined Twitter and Hootsuite.

Then I started to learn about Platform, Podcasting, Social Networking.

My head is full.

Then came TAX TIME. My hubby says, "Okay give me all the information for your expenses and all your income." HUH? You want what?

I had a little book with the number of books sold (and to whom). I add receipts stuffed into an envelope. Now I had to make an Excel Spreadsheet and put all of this into some sort of organization.

Finally I had it figured out.

But this year  - 2013 I started out better. I now have a book with a page for sales; a page for books sent out for review or gifts. I know I should do that on computer - but I am on this computer so much I like to do something in pen. That's why I do watercolour too!!!

I now have a folder that holds the receipts and each section is labelled (postage, supplies, business fees, purchase of goods, advertising, travelling expenses) so I stick each receipt in the correct section. That will make it easier come tax time when I make the Excel Spreadsheet.

But yes it is fun. It is exciting and I am learning so much. Do I have it all organized? Absolutely not.

But I have learned something very important. None of this matters as much as watching what God is doing and following Him there. I am not so tied to my "work" that I can't make excursions when God tells me to.

Breathe. Yes that is what I do best. I find that no matter what I do I must breathe in the breath of the Holy Spirit. When I think I have no strength left - He does. I start my day always with God. He is the steadying factor for each day.

One thing I want to tell all bloggers - please put your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google, RSS feeds - all of that at the top of your page. More people will link on those icons if you don't hide them.

Janis, a former school teacher and small business owner, found a new passion in writing in her retirement. She has published a couple of devotionals and a number of articles.
As owner of a group blog Under the Cover of Prayer and a blogger at He Cares for Us she writes often.
Her children's book, Tadeo Turtle, is now available. A free curriculum can be obtained as well.

Email her at Janis or visit her at www. janiscox.com.

Of Muse Jars and Other Essential Things - M. Laycock

I was chatting with a friend this morning and sharing about how nervous I was when I had to go about asking people for endorsements for my work. I confided that I was afraid that those I asked would respond in a negative way. (What if they hate my writing?)

My friend was amazed. "How could you think that?" she said.

"Self-doubt is a plague a lot of writers struggle with," I responded. It's one with which I am very familiar.

I was feeling quite discouraged not long ago and sat at my computer desk with all kinds of negative thoughts running rampant. Then I glanced up. I have a hodge-podge of photos and memorabilia on a ledge above my monitor. Just as I scanned them that day, my eyes rested on my muse jar. If you have been attending InScribe's Fall conference for a while you might have one too. I made one for each table one year. Someone at each table got to take the muse jar home. I saved a special one for myself, it's an old antique sealer jar that has a few pebbles in the bottom anchoring a picture of Lucy Maude Montgomery, author of the Anne and Emily books. I chose Lucy because it was after reading Emily of New Moon at the age of eleven that I decided to become a writer. Looking up at my muse jar encouraged me again and I turned back to my work.

Discouragement is a common problem for writers so it's advisable to keep things around you that will inspire you. Photos are good, especially those of friends and loved ones smiling back at you - I have a couple of myself with friends from writers' conferences that always make me smile. Things like my muse jar help too, and award certificates are physical reminders that my work has meant something to someone. A photo with Rudy Wiebe taken at his mentoring workshop reminds me of his words, "this is good writing," spoken as he critiqued my manuscript. A tiny crystal mouse, given to me by my brother when I was quite young reminds me that even small and seemingly insignificant things have purpose. A card my daughter gave me often helps - it's a picture of a woman doing a headstand on a mountaintop and bears the words, "unsteady at first, it was perseverance that saw her through." A photo of me teaching a workshop reminds me that I have skills to offer, things I can give others.

So fill your workspace with encouraging things. You never know when you might need them. You never know when the Lord will use them to lift your heart and remember you are doing what he created you to do.

****

Learn more about Marcia's writing and speaking ministry on her website .

Something Fresh and Beautiful -- Eunice Matchett

 



Thank you, Eunice, for joining InScribe Writers Online as our Guest Blogger today.   


As I jogged along the trail today only one thought came to mind. Spring is here. Yes, snow still covered the landscape but beneath it, water poured into ponds and low lying areas. Naked trees still shivered in the breeze, but the breeze no longer bit. I slowed down as I jogged passed the willows, noticing tiny buds on their stems. A promise of pussy willows. A bright yellow sun shone from a cloudless sky turning my hoodie into a sauna. I removed it, tied it around my waist, and without the extra weight on my shoulders, my speed picked up.

Thoughts zoomed through my mind as if on steroids. The Easter story rose above the rest. What Jesus did for me all those years ago. Sure, I was a good girl. Going to church on Sunday was what we did. Do for others what you want them to do for you was not an option. Yet, my life wasn’t much different from the snow banks hugging the trail I jogged upon. On the outside I was like the clean white top layer of snow that glistened in the sunlight. Those millions of snowflakes huddled together, suggesting softness and purity. They begged me to lie down in the midst of them and make a snow angel. But the wisdom I’d gained from living through many springs dismissed the invitation. These snow banks, like many other things in life were not what they appeared to be.

Beneath that pure white surface, skulked layers of deteriorating snow and filthy water. As the water flowed across gentle inclines in search of a place to pool, debris of all descriptions hitch hiked a ride, changing its course, slowing its progress, making it filthier. A far cry from the sheet of driven snow it started out to be.

My heart ached. Tears blurred my vision. I had been born pure and clean as a fresh snowfall, but years of disobedience and wrong choices made my life personify a March landscape. Until I met Jesus for whom He really is. The Savior of my soul. The forgiver of my life-threatening sins. The healer of my aging body.

I stopped jogging, my gaze sweeping my surroundings. It came to a rest on a small knoll rising above its frozen surroundings. Brown grass and dead leaves covered it, making it appear drab against the snow. Almost unsightly. Picking my way through the snow, I walked toward it, and squatted. Beneath the rotting foliage tiny, green blades of grass reached for the sun.

A small discovery as seen through my human eyes. But my spiritual eyes saw so much more. It reminded me of how often Christ had brought something fresh and beautiful out of situations I had written off as wasted.

For me a walk/jog is not just an exercise to keep my physical body in shape. It is a time I meet with God. Sometimes, through earnest prayer, but more often, small things like new grass, dandelions and melting snow whisper to me How Great is my God.



Eunice, a longtime InScribe member, is a storyteller and is InScribe's current exchequer.