Publishers Weekly Morning Report

Two things caught my attention today on the PW morning report:

- What President Obama took on vacation to read

- The announcement of Oprah’s pending announcement via twitter of her next pick for her book club.

What author wouldn’t love to be on either one of these two’s reading list!

Most of us aren’t so lucky as to be in the situation of having one of these two famous individuals pick up our work and instantly provide international attention. So, how do the rest of us get noticed? How do we get the word out on our own works of fiction or non-fiction so that lots of people will notice.

Well, that’s always been a struggle for most authors and lately it’s not limited to the less published authors. I know writers with more than a dozen books published that still have to go out and pound the pavement at bookstores, conferences, libraries, and just about any venue where they think their book will find an audience, especially a paying one.

Other things we do for exposure - mostly with our clothes on - is to participate in blogs, leave comments at blogs, conduct interviews, be interviewed, hand out free bookmarks, talk to book clubs, participate in panels at conferences, and so much more. Anyone who has been to some of the larger writers conferences know that there is a wide range of promotional items that authors have to chose from but often at great expense and not necessarily with a great return on the investment.

So, let’s see how creative writers can be without losing their financial shirt. I’d love to see what others are doing to expose themselves - legally - to expand their readership.

In the meantime, for more information on how to access or sign up for Publishers Weekly reports visit the following website:

www.publishersweekly.com

Clearing out the clutter

Been working real hard lately to clear out the clutter in my life. It's not easy going through and making decisions about what to keep and what not to keep, especially for someone with OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. But unlike Monk, mine manifested itself in keeping stacks and stacks of stuff like magazines, books, newspapers, etc. Don't think I'll be getting my own show - not quite as quirky as Monk. Anyway, been recycling and giving away bunches and bunches of stuff.

It was amusing to take magazines to the train station where I live. The magazines disappeared almost as soon as I put them in the magazine rack. At least folks like my taste in reading materials. I don't think the recycle guy is as amused, however. He's really had to work hard these past few weeks at my stop and he'll have to continue to work in the weeks to come. Feels good to get rid of things that have been weighing me down.

OCD has also gotten in the way of my writing and I realize now it's kept me from making the kind of progress I've wanted to. But now than I'm actively getting rid of clutter and moving forward my writing has started to flow.

One of my projects is a episodic blog about a therapist who is struggling to maintain a healthy relationship with her rebellious teenage daughter while going through her own emotional upheaval triggered by some of the experiences of her patients. Check it out:

http://therapy-101.blogspot.com/

I'm working on episode 2 this week. So, we'll see how this goes.

The Tax Man Cometh

Are you ready?


Most writers don’t realize that at some point they can become a small business, especially if they want to be a career author. As writers, we struggle for so long to become published - taking classes, attending conferences, listening to those who've made it tell us their story in the hopes that they will reveal the secret of how they 'made it' so we can follow suit.

If only it were that easy.

We often go from dreaming about becoming a pubished author to actually writing - often as a hobby - and the next thing we know we're a small business.

So, at what point are you as a writer a business?

Basically when you have a realistic expectation of earning money from your writing and intend to make a profit. And it's not something you choose. Within the context of the federal tax code you are what you are based on definitions set forth in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publications that exist because Congress has passed laws that the IRS must enforce.

As a writer if you receive any kind of compensation - monetary or not - you are either a hobby, a business, or in rare cases receving what the IRS defines as royalties, not to be confused with the publishing industry's definition. How you report this compenstion to the IRS and other government agencies will depend on how it is recieved and structured. It is critical that writers understand this concept because reporting compensation as a hobby that should be reported as a business - and vice versa - can result in potentially significant monetary setbacks in an audit.

There are pros and cons to acting as a hobby and there are pros and cons to acting as a business. This blog is not the place to go into all the details that address these points, but a good place to start is with select IRS Publications that can be found at http://www.irs.gov/. At a minimum writers need to review IRS Publications 334 (Tax Guide for Small Business) and Publication 535 (Business Expenses). In addition, every year writers need to download a copy of Schedule C and the Schedule C instructions and review both for any changes that are reflected.

Sounds complicated - doesn't it?

So remember when writing and becoming a published author was just a dream? Remember thinking that once you were published everything would be so easy? Just like in marriage the real work begins when the honeymoon is over and the reality of the relationship sets in. It's important to start your relationship as a writer with not only an agent or a publisher or even other writers on solid ground, but also with the IRS.

Careful what you wish for!

Reality Gets In The Way

One of the joys of writing is the ability to escape to other places and pretend to be whomever you want to be or create characters who do many of the things you might be afraid to do yourself. Writing is also a way to work through personal difficulties.

One of my ancestors, Wallace Bruce - or WB as I call him, was a world-renowned Robert Burns scholar and poet. In fact Wallace Bruce held the same Poet Laureate post in Scotland in the late 1800's that Robert Burns had held a century before and it is through WB that I am a descendent of Robert the Bruce according to genealogical records. While I'm not putting my self anywhere near WB's league in my writings I find myself drawn more and more to poetry to work through some difficult times.

Here's my offering of a poem-in-progress (the name I use is another story):

Learning to Fly by Vashtie

I learned to walk
I wanted to learn to fly
I learned to smile and talk
And I learned how to cry

Every step I take a treasure
In this journey called life
Bringing both pain and pleasure
With intense joy and strife

At times the pain is too great
At times the joy euphoric
I hang onto the ride each takes
The highs, the lows are chaotic

I dared to love but life stalled
While I tried learning to fly
My wings breaking in the fall –
I fell hard looking up at the sky

But I will take these broken wings
And learn to fly again and again
Because to not try, to not fly nor sing
Is like slowly dying before the end

As I put one foot in front of the other
I console myself that I can even feel
But these feelings threaten to smother
Both what is farce and what is real

Every step is part of life's journey
Every joy and pain part of a story
Every story is a journey
Every journey has a story