Welcome to the DollarsandSense4Writers.com Bits of Business blog.  I am delighted that you stopped by for a visit and hope you will return often. 

This is the first post to what will be a weekly look at the business side of writing.  We’ll examine publishing industry news, tax rules, and anything that might impact the way we manage our writing business. I won’t tell you how to get an agent or how to market your work.  There are hundreds of other resources for that information.  In this blog, we will look only at business matters and how they affect us. 

I wrote Dollars & Sense for Writers because two librarians, writers themselves, asked me to. They said there was no simple reference work available that addressed the peculiarities of the writing business.  Whole books are devoted to the craft of writing, getting an agent, or preparing a query letter.  But I found none that addressed basic business subjects such as working with an accountant, recordkeeping, or sales taxes.  When I make author appearances,writers bombard me with questions about how to dissect a contract and whether or not advertising is worth the expense.

While the writing process for Dollars &Sense for Writers began like any research project I undertook in the past, facts frequently changed as I progressed.  Writing organizations updated their by-laws, publishers went out of business, and new forms of digital communication altered the way writers market. 

Working for an accounting firm, I am accustomed to an industry that experiences constant change.  Congress, no matter which political party is in control, cannot resist messing with tax law.  Rapid change also afflicts publishing and I was struck by how reluctant much of the industry is about accepting that transformation.

In this space, I will share my reaction to those changes and my insight as to how they might impact your writing business, whether you write novels, freelance, or are a poet.  Together we will also look at some of the business issues we all confront.