Bean Counting for Authors

One of my original critique partners, Christina Mercer, has a secret identity as a CPA, and she's written a book especially with authors and artists in mind! She's taking over my blog today to tell you about it:

Authoring books is amazingly fun and creative and never, EVER dull . . . However, along with all that imaginative wonderment, Authors come closer to becoming mini-accountants than they realize. Why? Because once anyone becomes an official business owner, he/she crosses into the realm of accounting and taxes. 

Oh, the horrors of it, right? But never fear! 

When Authors Mean Business, they have propelled themselves from merely writing for “fun” to reaping well-earned monetary rewards. AND THAT IS A GOOD THING, RIGHT? Authors are not only wand-waving story weavers, but also real-world professionals running businesses that earn money. And, yes, along with that comes accounting and taxes. If that causes some of you Authors out there to squirm, just remind yourselves that it’s a sign of monetary success if your books are earning ENOUGH profits to generate said taxes. And you don’t have to figure it all out on your own!

In order to help fellow creatives with all of this business and accounting stuff, I offer a handy little guide with some important must-knows of accounting, taxation, budgeting, and planning for the future. Learn the differences between a hobby and a business; get a handle on different business structures; learn about proper bookkeeping, sales tax, common and complex tax deductions, retirement options and more!

BEANCOUNTING FOR AUTHORS-Helping Writers& Creative Business Owners Grasp Accounting & Taxes

NOW AVAILABLE!!

Counting each and every “Bean” earned may not be the idea of fun and adventure for most, but having lots of beans in the bank is a pretty great way for Authors to keep on doing what they do love most—WRITING BOOKS! And understanding some important business and financial basics is a big step toward making that happen.

Once-upon-a-time, Christina Mercer worked as a CPA. Though she retired that formal hat, you can still find numbers buzzing around her head. She is also an award-winning author of fiction for children and young adults. She currently resides in Northern California enjoying life with her husband, sons, pack of large dogs, and about 100,000 honeybees.

WebSite | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest 

Retreat Scholarship Opportunity

Author Deborah Underwood shared this news on Facebook over the weekend:

RETREAT SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

In 2008, several children's writers joined together for a retreat in Boyds Mills, PA, the home of Highlights Magazine and the wonderful Highlights Foundation. We were all working on different stories in different genres, and so we planned a working retreat, not one where we would meet often to learn from a speaker, but one that would allow us the time we needed to dive deep into our stories and come up for air when we needed it. As it turned out, we usually came up for air about 4:00 pm every day, meeting together to share not only what we had written, but also a few tears and a lot of laughter.

The time we spent alone writing and the time we spent together encouraging one another was important for the stories we were working on at the time and to prepare us for the stories we would work on after our retreat at Boyds Mills. It was so important for us that we want to provide the same opportunity for another writer. The Highlights Foundation is offering Unworkshops during various dates throughout 2014. Consider it time to get away and write what your heart most wants to work on. We can't work it out for any of us to go back right now, so we're sending one of you!

If you are a sincere and dedicated writer who could use this focused time, our retreat group is offering 5 night's stay at a Highlights Foundation Unworkshop, daily writing prompts/encouragement from the members of our retreat group (picture book, non-fiction, middle grade and young adult authors) for the length of your workshop and hopefully even a Skype gab session with one or more of us during your Unworkshop (depending on dates and availability.) (You would be responsible for your own transportation to Boyds Mills.)

To qualify for consideration for this prize, send a statement by March 31, 2014 (to retreatscholarship@gmail.com) explaining why this retreat could be important to you as a writer/illustrator of children's literature. Share a little about the project you would plan to work on during the retreat and your experience writing or illustrating for children. We'll consider all entries and announce the recipient on April 15, 2014.

Happy Writing!

Loree Griffin Burns
Kristy Dempsey
Katy Traffanstedt Duffield
Kathy Erskine
Alma Fullerton
Sara Lewis Holmes

Anne Marie Pace
Tanya Goulette Seale
Linda Urban
Cassandra Reigel Whetstone

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What an awesome opportunity! I tend to do my best retreats in my own home (and with my husband elsewhere), but this is awfully tempting. Good luck if you apply! 

 

Pens for Paws Auction Will Run July 14-19, 2014

This year, I won't be able to hold the Pens for Paws Auction in the spring, but I found a gap in my schedule for July. So it's on for July 14-19, yay! But I'm worried that people will already be committed for their charity activities if I wait until summer to send out requests, so I'll be sending them out over the next month or so during breaks in my WIP revisions.

If you'd like to donate, here is the info:

After raising over $2,200 dollars for Fat Kitty City in 2013, let's make 2014 even bigger for the Pens for Paws Auction! Items will be posted on the Pens for Paws blog from July 14 through the 18th, with bidding open for TWO days on each item.

Donations will be accepted through July 10, but the earlier you can let me know what you'd like to donate the better, so that I can get everything scheduled ahead of time. Please keep the following in mind as you consider what you would like to donate:

• The donor is responsible for postage/mailing their item to the winner. Please take that into consideration for the value of your item.
• Minimum bids will not be set on any items. This may mean that your item goes for less than you expected, but it also allows people (including kids) who may not have as much funds available to participate

So what kinds of items are we looking for?

• Books: signed editions, ARCs, swag (bookmarks, postcards, tie-ins), etc. In addition to individual writers stepping up, we've also had group bloggers, or writers from the same publisher, offer a collection of books and that's a lot of fun.
• Critiques or editorial services: these generate a lot of interest on their own, or you may want to donate a critique along with your book. Or, maybe you know your agent loves animals too and think they're more likely to say yes to offering a critique if one of their clients is asking, you can go in on a critique with them.
• Artwork: prints, jewelry, crochet, knitwork, custom art or web design. Remember you will likely be mailing it, so large items or fragile items may not be the best choice.
• Your item does not need to be cat- or pet-oriented--it's all good!

 If you'd like to donate something for the auction, please copy and paste the questions below, along with your answers, into an email to pensforpawsauction (at) yahoo (dot) com . You may also attach a photo of the item to use for the listing.

What is the item you'd like to donate? (short description for listing title)

Your name (as you wish it to appear in the listing)

Your contact info (email address is fine; if you need a tax letter, we will need a mailing address. No addresses are added to a list--they will be used strictly for correspondence regarding your item)

 Item description (for the actual listing--may include whether it's signed, a special edition, back copy of book, etc)

Ship to U.S. addresses only, or open internationally? (obviously not an issue with items that will be fulfilled electronically, but international postage can add up so some donors choose to limit the shipping domestically)

Attaching a photo? You may also include a link to the photo you'd like to use if it's already on the web.


Thank you!

Gift Idea for Writers

I've seen this pop up on a few Facebook pages, but wanted to share this gift idea here too--I get some of my best ideas in the bathtub or shower!



Happy holidays everyone!

Connections

This might read like Six Degrees of the Writer World, but some years ago I approached Brigid Kemmerer about beta reading one of my manuscripts. We'd commented on a lot of the same threads on Absolute Write's Water Cooler forum and seemed like a good writerly match.

Alas, Brigid was just starting the sweet insanity of deadlines for multiple books under contract and wasn't able to read for me then. But, she did have another writer-friend, Alison Kemper who was willing to give my pages a look. Brigid thought we'd be a good team, and she was right! Alison and I share a quirky sense of humor and a mutual love of each other's sarcastic main characters.

Then, last year, Alison sent another writer my way who was looking for some query help. Karen McCoy and I ended up trading manuscripts and cheering each other along on our writing journeys. So when Karen said she'd be passing through Sacramento, I jumped at the chance to meet up with her in person.

We chose the Crocker Art Museum because it's right off I-5--and because I love their exhibits and cafe. We didn't have too much time to see the exhibits (there were Important Writing Conversations to be had!) but we each got fantastic salads and had a great visit. And because Alison was in our thoughts and conversation, I added her to the souvenir photo of the day.

That's Karen on the left (who looks so young that the guy at the desk gave her a "Youth" sticker when I checked us in on my membership), me in the middle, and Alison on the right, all the way from North Carolina. Yay for writer friends, and their support in this crazy undertaking called writing!

P.S. I'd be remiss not to mention another writer connection--I met Laurie Dennison at LA SCBWI last year, and I sent her Karen's way when they were looking for an additional beta. They each thanked me for that, so it must have been another successful connection!

Maybe I should add Laurie next to Karen in the photo?

Grants Available for Readings and Workshops

Poets & Writers is offering grants to fund readings and workshops in selected areas, so if you're lucky enough to be in one of these locales you can apply for a grant:

"Organizations that sponsor readings and workshops in New York State or California, or Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, New Orleans, Seattle, Tucson, or Washington, D.C., may apply for grants to be used for writers' fees.

We make grants for writers' fee payments only. Grant checks are payable to the writer and sent to the sponsor, which is responsible for delivering them to the author. We do not fund administrative costs, publicity, transportation, or other expenses related to producing events. We do not fund in-school events, children's events, staged dramatic readings, or storytelling events featuring non-original or adapted works."

There are lots of other details, so go check it out for yourself. Please note that you must apply at least eight weeks before the event--breaking that rule alone is enough to disqualify your application!

Also, new to my critique partner Christina Mercer's blog is a section called Events listing upcoming workshops, conferences, and contests. Go over there and check out her list, too.

Pitch Contest over at YAtopia

Writers of young adult fiction seem to love collaborating on blogs (YA Highway and Operation Awesome for example), and another gem called YAtopia started up at the end of 2010. In just a few months, YAtopia has gained over 350 followers!

Today, they are starting a pitch contest with Natalie Fischer. The 8 contributors to YAtopia will narrow the entries down to 20, and then Ms. Fischer will pick her winners from those finalists. She's currently closed to queries (I missed her by about a week when she closed, and I was so mad because an interview with her listed her "wants" as an almost-exact match to my book!) so this is a great opportunity to get to her inbox.

So head on over and enter the contest! It ends April 21 or at 150 entries.

Resources for Writers

Poets & Writers Magazine is celebrating forty years, and their website has grown into a valuable resource. Along with making some of their articles available online, they have a database for job listings, literary markets, and grants and awards.

This last one, the grants and awards (including contests), is what I find so helpful. You can filter by entry fee, genre, and deadline.

The Absolute Write forum is a phenomenal resource; I lurked for years and finally signed on last year. I've made some wonderful contacts, gotten helpful critiques (and hopefully reciprocated in a useful way), and heard about books that I otherwise might have entirely missed.

In the Young Adult forum, they've started a blogroll, and they do a Teaser Tuesday, with members posting a link to a short excerpt from their work. I will be participating for the first time tomorrow.

Fellowship Opportunity for Historical Writers

Do you write historical fiction, plays or poetry and have a stack of research questions you've been waiting to answer? The American Antiquarian Society offers a fellowship, including a stipend and housing, while you use their resources.

The AAS is "calling for applications for visiting fellowships for historical research by creative and performing artists, writers, film makers, journalists, and other persons whose goals are to produce imaginative, non-formulaic works dealing with pre-twentieth-century American history. Successful applicants are those whose work is for the general public rather than for academic or educational audiences."

The deadline to apply is October 5, and best of all there is NO ENTRY FEE.