Even With Your Ducks in a Row, You Have to Watch Your Step

There are two ways for a single man to do anything; the right way or the wrong way. If the man is married, he also has two choices for how to do anything. His choices are the wife’s way or the wrong way. In most cases, I have discovered that the wife’s way is the best. (And, no, I’m not saying this just to keep from sleeping on the couch. I find our couch comfortable and have no problem falling asleep on it.) There are some things, however, that my wife will admit she doesn’t know.

Taxes for writers is one of those things, and so—without any help from my wife—that is what I want to briefly address.

Before taking the literary world by storm and becoming rich and famous, I decided to learn a little bit about the business side of writing. That means taxes, taxes, and more taxes. One of the first bits of information my boss gave me when I started this blog was to keep a record of everything I spent in pursuit of my goal to become a professional writer. With this in mind, I began the research process to see what was, and was not, tax deductible. There are numerous websites that tell you what you can and cannot claim and—in truth—I found it a bit confusing. As much as I hated it, I needed professional help (there are people who will say I’ve needed it for quite a while.)

Fortunately, I have a cousin who works in the tax field. I told her what I knew of keeping records and filing Form 1040 Schedule C, which wasn’t much. She has been providing me with advice and information, and I am slowly learning what I need to do.

There’s nothing wrong with jumping headlong into the job or career you want, just don’t make the leap blind. Learning the parts of the job that don’t seem like fun will make what you really want to do a lot more enjoyable. It will also help keep you out of trouble at some future point.

Just thought I would jot this down.