Taxes and Anthology News

It's that time of year when we start thinking about those taxes. Those of you who are self-employed (writers) know there can be a lot of paperwork involved in trying desperately to hold onto your earnings instead of handing them over to the government. It's easy enough to google what you need to know about taxes as a writer, what forms to use, what deductions you can claim and learn that the wine you drink while writing isn't one of those deductions.

“The taxpayer: that’s someone who works for the federal government, but doesn’t have to take a civil service examination.” – Ronald Reagan

I've been doing it for almost ten years now, so I pretty much know what is what. One thing I learned back at the beginning is to organized all year long. I keep every minor postal receipt, ink receipt, travel mileage, paper purchase, membership dues, conference fees, ... you get the idea. I fill out a ledger every few weeks and mark them in their proper category. When January arrives, all I have to do is add up columns. All the receipts are kept in a folder, all in order by date. It's easy because I keep up with it. My advice for taxes, stay organized and be grateful that you have income so that you have to be concerned about deductions.

If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, he should see how bad it is with representation.— Farmer’s Almanac

Now for some good news. The next IWSG anthology will be released May 2nd in print and Ebook. I love having those print copies on my bookshelf. Here's a blurb and the lovely cover.

Hero Lost

Mysteries of Death and Life

An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

Can a lost hero find redemption?

What if Death himself wanted to die? Can deliverance be found on a bloody battlefield? Could the gift of silvering become a prison for those who possessed it? Will an ancient warrior be forever the caretaker of a house of mystery?

Delving into the depths of the tortured hero, twelve authors explore the realms of fantasy in this enthralling and thought-provoking collection. Featuring the talents of Jen Chandler, L. Nahay, Renee Cheung, Roland Yeomans, Elizabeth Seckman, Olga Godim, Yvonne Ventresca, Ellen Jacobson, Sean McLachlan, Erika Beebe, Tyrean Martinson, and Sarah Foster.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these twelve tales will take you into the heart of heroes who have fallen from grace. Join the journey and discover a hero’s redemption!

Fell back a little on my word count this past week but it was for a good cause. I hosted a baby shower for my upcoming granddaughter on Saturday. It meant a lot of prep work and a lot of shopping. Babies are expensive. I'm not glad to be old but I'm also happy not to be juggling all those expenses. Fun was had by all and the expectant parents received some wonderful gifts. One of the best parts was all of Team Gourley showing up to help with setup and cleanup. They even helped transport to and carry in all the gifts to my son's home.

The mild temperatures means more outside exercise than I usually get in January but that's a good thing. I know it probably doesn't mean good things for the planet, but I'm feeling selfish about it in the short term.

Are you ready for tax season? Do you do your own taxes or pay someone? Do you try to sneak in some questionable tax deductions? Is winter acting out of character in your neck of the woods? 

Bonus quote:

People who complain about paying their income tax can be divided into two types: men and women. — anonymous 

IWSG: February 2016

New image for IWSG

It's the first Wednesday of the month and that means IWSG blog hop. This terrific group started by Alex J. Cavanaugh, is a time for writers to share our insecurities, ask for help and offer support and advice to each other. Though you may write alone at your desk, it doesn't have to be a lonely occupation. So join us and share.

Insecurity
It's that time of year when we gather our tax information in preparation of paying with blood and tears.
“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”–Albert Einstein
My husband is a self-employed painter and I'm a self-employed writer so we always have to pay taxes rather than have any refunded. We do both have a lot of taxes withheld from our teacher pension checks but it's not enough to cover our other income. But as much as I groan at owing taxes, when I add up my writing income, I cringe. All those hours and so little money to show for it. What does that hourly rate work out to? About $.25 per hour. Add in the time spent promoting or the work I do for various writing groups and we're at about $.18 per hour. I'm making those numbers up but you get the idea. Why am I doing this?

Answer
I really do love writing. I like creating stories. I love it when a characters motivations and fears become so clear I can't wait to cause them more angst. I revel in that moment when my own writing makes me laugh or cry. I love being part of the writing community both those I attend in person and the online community I've come to know. I adore the emails I get from readers and the reviews from so many others. So few writers are actually able to earn a living from their writing alone. Most of us are like me, earning income from another source. But I'm going to keep writing. It may never make me rich but I didn't expect it to when I started. And who knows, maybe the SyFy channel will make one of my books into the next Sharknado. So I'll keep on trying.

Taxes
Yes, every time I go to Boston, I feel like spilling a little tea in the harbor. Except I don't like to waste good tea. Many of you know I live in Pennsylvania. I don't like to talk politics but our state government has yet to agree on and pass a state budget that was due last July 1st. The question in the street is why can't we fire the bunch of them? So it is with great resentment that Pennsylvanians fill out those state income tax forms this year. It's better to laugh about taxes than cry.

“The IRS spends God knows how much of your tax money on these toll-free information hot lines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly. If you ask them a real tax question, such as how you can cheat, they’re useless.”–Dave Barry
The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”–Will Rogers

Are you feeling insecure this month? Dreading tax season? (Why do taxes get their own season?) How much do you think you make per hour writing? 

It's a Business

Tax time again. Not something I like to think about. Fortunately, my husband is retired, kind of, and takes care of all the meetings with the accountant and just tells me where to sign. With my writing income and my husband's part time business in addition to my teaching income, the whole process gets a little complicated. I love our tax guy. He really looks out for ways for us to save and is really up to date on what we can deduct and what we can't. The stack of paperwork astounds me. How do people ever do it on their own?
It's not only the federal that gets you. You have the state, the local and then all my kids have their own forms. They're all still in school, but my husband pays them for helping in his business so they need to file and pay those state and local taxes.
My husband and I sat down and looked at what we paid in 2008 and decided I'm working for over one fourth of the year to pay taxes and that's not counting the 6% sales tax Pennsylvania charges on almost everything. Where does it go? The country if ever further in debt and I'm paying more and more every year. Can't someone get a handle on the spending, locally, statewide and at the federal level?
Back to my writing income. It's bittersweet to finally be making some money with my books and now have to pay out for it. Sometimes I feel like I'm working a hundred hours a week between teaching and writing. Can I please keep a little more of my money?
I'm sure it's the same for everyone. How does this time of year hit you? Is it as painful for you as it is for me?