Your Self-Supporting Hobby: Some Resources for Freelance Writing

Last post I talked about why you might want to think about freelancing (to support that writing habit of yours financially and to fill up that one sheet for starters) and gave some ideas for discovering what topics YOU specifically can share with others. 

Today, I want to focus on some specific resources that will help you get started in freelancing.

First, take out that list of topics you could write about.

Plenty of these markets are also for poetry and short stories. Keep posted!

You probably already know about The Writer's Market. Published by Writer's Digest this book has been available for a number of years and is now online. Have you ever considered investing in the online version?

The fee is $39.99 per year, in many cases selling a single article would recoup that cost. The online edition can be searched with the touch of a button. I remember spending hours flipping page by page in the written edition. You can also create personalized folders to organize the markets you are most interested in. As the opportunities float in, keep an online calendar and have reminders sent with due dates. There's also a guide with suggestions for how much to charge for an article.

Another major advantage of using the online Writer's Market is the constant changeability of the writing world. It is a major faux pas to address a letter to a past editor. Or why waste your time sending a poem out to a literary magazine that is no longer accepting submissions? 

Funds for Writers has "tips and tools for serious writers to advance their careers." Author Hope Clark discovered it was difficult to pay for all the expenses of writing. She has a background in finance and this opened up the doors to giving money advice to other writers. They have several free newsletters for adults and one for children who like to write. All of the markets they include in the newsletters are paying. They also offer a newsletter with a $1 a month charge behind it that lists over 150 new markets per month. Grants, contests, freelance markets, and contract jobs are all listed in Clark's publications. Its easy to see why this site is one of Writer's Digest's 101 Best Sites for Writers.

Linda Formichelli has an excellent blog for freelancers called The Renegade Writer. Subtitled "living and loving the freelance life on your own terms," it offers prime resources for anyone trying to break into magazines. There are many great freebies here, including help for creating query letters. Some are focused on the financial aspect. Cold calling, knowing what an editor wants, and how to tweak an article fora  particular publication are some recent topics. Another top 101 site I recommend.

Are you interested in poetry or short story markets? Duotrope is a gigantic database specially focused in online markets for your work. Organize and track submissions on this site where hundreds of listings are added and revised weekly. If you are hoping for publication in a literary magazine you will find 4,706 markets and more added daily. The databases comparing various magazines and journals aid in finding the perfect market for your piece.

Short on ideas? One of my favorite features of Duotrope is a writing calendar. Upcoming themes for magazines/journals are included on the calendar. You can also add to the calendar your own submissions. Many magazine editors also use Duotrope to find authors. You can add your writing qualifications and your webistes to your tagline.

Another great megasite for freelance writing is freelancewriting.com. Contest databases are arranged by deadline. There are video tutorials, samples of query letters, and a blogtalk radio audio archive with freelance-related shows. The forums are active with many other writers offering help on a variety of topics.

These are some of my favorite sites for freelancing. Don't forget your own favorite magazines and online publications. Before too long with a bit of guidance you can add to your one sheet and your paycheck.


Do you have a favorite website that has helped your writing career?

Julia enjoys writing women's fiction whenever she can find a chair free of smushed peanut butter sandwiches and lego blocks. She is a wife and homeschooling mama of two littles. She also enjoys reading and reviewing books for Library Journal, The Title Trakk, and Christian Library Journal.

Money & Writing III: The big tax debate - WHAT

To recap:

• We are on a budget and saving money and not counting on our writing to take us from rags to riches.
• We are being wise about when we start functioning as a business (per the IRS.)

Now... *rub hands together* TAX DEDUCTIONS!!!!

Before I get too far into this, a disclaimer:

I am NOT a certified tax professional. So don't point to this post and say... "Krista said I could!" The IRS will roll their eyes at you. Really, no matter WHO gives you advice on tax matters, you should always double check it. This is for guidance and to steer you in the right direction, not schedule C filing instructions here:-)

So anyway, what expenses CAN you write off as qualified business expenses? To list them all would be just comical and you'd be yawning. But here are a few common ones, and some common ones to be leary of.

CARS

NO, you don't write off a portion of your car payment... or that brand used KIA you bought with your advance. You don't write off car maintenance or insurance either. You don't even write off your gas purchases (usually.)

What you write off is your mileage. The IRS has a standard mileage rate that you can use to calculate business use of a personal car for tax write off purposes. I won't quote one here, because it changes periodically, especially the last few years with the yo-yo gas prices. So track your mileage. To writer's groups, conferences, meetings with editors/agent, to the post office to mail your contract. Make sure you document where you went and the mileage. It's good to keep a mileage log! The IRS will want to see it if you ever get audited.

Exception is rental cars for while you are away. You just write-off actual expenses then including gas.

HOME OFFICE

Most of us writers use our home as our office. So can we deduct our home expenses, aka mortgage/utilities?

Kinda yes, kinda no. I've heard a lot of opinions on this, so I won't give you another one. But if this is something you plan to do, I'd HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend a tax professional to assist you in your taxes vs "doing" it yourself. There are ramifications, especially if you own your home and later sell it, so you'll want to make sure you know exactly what you are doing before you do it.

You can write off a portion of computer expenses (if you use your laptop 50% personal and 50% business... you'd write off 50% of it...), and any home office items such as pens, pencils, paper, computer paper, ink, printer, etc that is used for your business.

MISC

There are the obvious other expenses as well. Contest fees. Editing fees. Conference fees and travel expenses (airfare, hotel, car rental.) Normal expenses for eating out while at conferences should be write-off-able as well.

THE KEY

The BIGGEST thing to remember is this:

SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS! and DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT!

Even if you don't think you'll be writing anything off this year... you could get to November and get that coveted contract... and you'll need those receipts!

And even if you aren't sure you can write it off... SAVE THE RECEIPT and ask your tax professional. The worst they can say is no.

Here is a good link (with subsequent good links) on what is deductible for small businesses. Some of this doesn't apply to us (i.e. cost of goods sold... unless maybe if you are self-pubbing or selling your own stuff) but it has some good info and links.

Discussion: Any questions on what you can deduct? Any expense you were curious about? And here is a fun question: Who does their taxes themselves... or hires someone to do them?? Will that change (or did that change) once you're published?

Money & Writing II: The big tax debate - WHEN

Don't ya just love taxes??  I know... dumb question... of COURSE you do! *wink*

The million dollar tax questions many unpubbed/newly pubbed writers ask are these:

When can I start writing off my writing expenses on my taxes?

and

What expenses can I write off?

While I'm no expert (my expertise is more in the payroll side of taxes vs the reporting side), I can give you a few clues and point you in the right direction!

The When (I'll talk about the what in my next post...)

As a very general rule of thumb, you can write off expenses when your writing turns from hobby to business.

WHEN that occurs is subject to a LOT of subjection!

It doesn't necessarily have to be when you are "making money" from your writing. This is when you are spending money to try to "make" money. Many writer's spend years writing their first novel, or for four novels, before they actively start trying to make money from them. So it's kinda hard sometimes to know when you've flipped over from hobby to side-job.

Questions to ask:

Do you have an agent?
Is an editor seriously considering publishing your work?
Are you writing articles and getting payments (even small) for them?
Are you actively writing on a continuous basis, not just when you "feel" like it, and tracking your hours?

If you answered yes to most of these questions (not just one...), then you might have a "business."

But then again, you might not.

The thing about taxes is this: It's not really black and white. Not this particular issue anyway. There are many things left up to interpretation, and an auditor could side either way.

So beware, if you claim your expenses as business expenses and write them off with no income associated to them, this may raise a red flag with the IRS. If this is your situation, I'd HIGHLY recommend consulting with a tax professional when filing your return, especially if taxes make you a wee bit nervous!

The other note is that you can only file a return writing off expenses with no income for a short period of time (I believe 3 out of a 5 year period...). On one hand, if you are spending a lot of money THIS year, and see the fruits of your labor NEXT year, it would stink not to be able to write off those expenses. On the other hand... writing them off TOO early might be to your detriment too (see note about IRS red flag earlier.)

Have I mentioned how much I love taxes? *grin*

Regardless of if you think you can write off your expenses yet... start tracking them NOW! Get a system down, track your hours (good proof that you are spending dedicated time on a regular basis... points to more of a business vs hobby) and keep your receipts.

You'll be much more prepared for when you DO start rolling in the dough. (Here's to dreaming!)

Discussion: Have you started to track your expenses yet? Don't you just LOVE taxes??

Money I : Preparation

We write a lot about "how" to write. But what about "why" we write?

Most of us would say we write because we have to. Because of this in-depth need to put the story in our head down on paper. Because of our love of putting words together to tell that story.

I don't think it is too far-fetched to say most, if not all, of us would LOVE to make a little money from our writing.

The wonderful dream of sitting in your big ol' house, with your nice, plush office, pounding out words, when your maid brings you a nice glass of Sprite as your agent calls and tells you about the next seven figure advance Random House has offered you and the two other houses that were prepared to offer even more...

ERCH.

I am a big believer in dreaming and having goals and not limiting yourself. But if this is your day-dream, you might want to get a bit of a reality check. That doesn't mean that you can't have a goal of making SOME money... and maybe even, if you are realistic about timing, making a living with your writing.

I think, I hope, we all realize by now that this writing thing is rarely a path to "fame and fortune."

By day, I worked with money. So the "money" side of writing is something I'm interested in too... not JUST because I want to make some (someday) but because I like to work with it too! I thought I'd use my next few posts to give some good tips on finances/money as it relates to our writing.

The Preparation

You've written a book. You're doing everything you're supposed to do, submitting to crit groups, learning craft, continuing to write more books. Someday, you'd love to quit that day job and write, or at least go to part time, or maybe fund a family vacation, or you're a stay-at-home Mom and you'd love to add a little to the family budget too.


You aren't making money quite yet... but what can you do now to prepare for your future money-making writing career?

Get a handle

Get a handle of your finances NOW. Don't view your writing as a way to "get you out of your no-money pit" because it will cause a lot of stress when you are writing, thus make you not write as well. Now is still the time to ENJOY your writing, not feel pressured into the whole money thing. Write for the HOPE of selling it later... not out of desperation.

I'm a BIG believer in the Total Money Makeover from Dave Ramsey. My husband and I went through it a few years ago, paid off ALL our credit cards and our cars, and built up our emergency fund. Then, well, then Annabelle was born. Let's just say, I'm very very thankful we worked hard THEN. I won't lie. Given job situations and obvious medical stuff, I'm SO SO SO thankful we are as prepared as we are. If we were still paying on credit cards and things... I don't know what we would do.

If you get your finances in order now, then you can guilt-free set aside funds for writer's conferences, books and other things that you'll need. You'll be able to enjoy that first sale MUCH better if you get to use a few dollars of it to splurge (and save the rest!) verses having to put it all to do something boring like make a car payment... And you'll have a little nest egg for the potential to maybe, possibly, someday, MANY published books down the line... make a living from your writing!

Discussion: What are your "money" goals regarding your writing? Do you want to say adios to the ol' 9 to 5, or would you settle just for a few bucks to splurge on? Or are you REALLY not it in at ALL for the money? And here is a fun one: If God told you that he never had plans for you to "sell" any of your writing... EVER... would you still be writing? And if so, would your writing habits change?