Jen's Writing Journey

What did you imagine when you decided to become a writer?

I didn’t think it was all lolling about eating bonbons while the words flowed steadily from you, but I will admit to a few misconceptions. For one thing, I don’t get to sit in a cozy, romantic garret composing epistles in longhand, like Jo March. And, I’m not writing on a manual typewriter I’m lugging with me on my world travels, as I always envision Hemingway doing.

Instead, it is a careful balancing act, ensuring that writing doesn’t encroach on the day job or family obligations, but still striving to get in your daily writing. It is a frustrating exercise in rejection and fear. And it is often a life of stolen moments in the early morning or the middle of the night, frantic scribblings on notepads at the red lights, and obsessive backups of your computer files.

How does your writing life compare to what you thought it would be?

Related Posts:

• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers
• Health Insurance and Writers

A couple weeks ago, I asked whether you were writing in the cloud.

Since then, I moved some of my documents to Google Docs, and I love it. I know the files exist in an easily accessible location no matter which computer I am using.

The only drawback is that I frequently use my Netbook in areas where I have no Internet access. (Yes, I know it seems silly to use a Netbook without the Internet, but I bought it for size and portability, too.) If I know what I will be working on, though, I just download it to my hard drive before I leave the house. This method of working has the added benefit of adding an extra backup of the file, which pleases me to no end.

I don’t use Google Documents for everything. The novel and novella still live on my hard drive—the type of writing I do for those pieces just isn’t conducive to a quick in and out. I need to focus, and I frequently need to turn off my wireless Internet to minimize my distractions.

But Google Docs is perfect for short stories, articles in progress, query letters, and assignments for my Perfect Pitching class. (I am loving the class so far, by the way. I’ll post a review at the end.) I also keep my submissions tracking spreadsheet there.

Let me know how you are using the cloud.

Related Posts:

• Writing in the Cloud
• Cool Tools
• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers

Has Google documents changed the way you write?

I had myriad issues with my previous laptop, and because of those issues, I became a huge fan of free online file storage. I created multiple drop.io sites to store documents, I kept things in my Gmail and other online mail accounts, and I told my mail client to leave messages on the server for 10 days, just in case. Of course, when my laptop died, I realized that 10 days isn’t enough, because I lost all of my email older than 10 days, as well as any messages I sent using the client instead of webmail, but that is neither here nor there, and I will recover that email as soon as I pull out the old hard drive and connect it to a working computer.

Backups are important, and Web services are a great way to backup your important files at no cost. But, what about the other cloud computing options available to you?

I have made some use of Google documents, either to open a file attached to my email and check that it is the most recent version or to store copies of my resume and CV for use at any time (hey, you never know when you might need to send out a query or respond to a job posting).

But I haven’t used it for drafting. I was using Word and Works for that, and I recently put Open Office on both the laptop and the netbook. I still need to have access to my files without finding Internet access, so for me the cloud is my backup.

What about you? Are you writing in the cloud, or are you sticking firmly with the safety of your own hard drive?

Related Posts:

• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Cool Tools
• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers

As you know, I’m now working on a brand-new laptop.

Seven days after the warranty expired on my HP laptop, so did the motherboard. After much discussion with the customer service representatives and case managers, the best offer they could gve me was a $400 price tag to replace it. I thought that was a ridiculous amount of money to spend repairing a laptop when a new laptop is only $500. HP suggested that the solution was that I should have bought an extended warranty. Believe me, if I invent a time machine, buying an extended warranty on my now defunct laptop will not be my first order of business. There’s a little matter of a Microsoft IPO I’ll want to get in on.

So, I decided to buy a new laptop, a Toshiba L505. It is working swimmingly so far. In fact, I got all of my backed up files back on it and organized last night.

Which brings me to the point of my post. After losing an entire 95% complete book manuscript one month before it was due and having to rewrite it from scratch, I became a bit of a backup fascist. I have backups on other computers in the house and in more than one online location. Here are a few suggestions of free and low-cost places to backup your files.

1. Another computer in your house. Just set up a network and drag your files to a folder on a second computer when you finish working on them for the day. As a household whose computer count is only slightly dwarfed by its TV count, we have multiple options for in-house backups.
2. A stand-alone hard drive. This is even easier than another computer, because you can just plug the hard drive in and copy your files. Hard drive space is so cheap, so you can get a good-size backup drive for less than $100.
3. drop.io. This site allows you to set up free online drops of up to 100 MB each. Pick your drop name and password, write them down, then upload your files. Drops expire after one year of inactivity, so visit often to keep it alive.
4. Gmail. I saw this tip on Twitter a while back, I believe from Yasmine Galenorn. At the end of the day, email a copy of your files to a Gmail account. Not every writer trusts Google to protect our intellectual property rights (the Google Books settlement still elicits multiple angry blog posts each month), but we can probably trust them to protect our files.
5. Online backup through your anti-virus software. I have Norton 360 on three of our computers, and it includes 2GB of online backup space. This is nowhere near enough for our photos or music, but it is more than adequate for my books, short stories, and articles. The software version I bought is $60 a year, and the backup was part of the reason I upgraded from the cheaper product.

Any other good tips for keeping good backups?

Edited to add: Here is a link to a comparison of some online backup services, courtesy of a post earlier this week on Rachelle Gardner’s blog.

Related Posts:

• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• Tax Tips for Writers
• Health Insurance and Writers

We’re just over one month away from the deadline for filing your taxes. Have you put it off, or have you already taken care of them? I have put it off, not because of the IRS fear, but because this year has completely gotten away from me so far. I mean, really, how did it get to be March so soon?

I enlisted the help of a few experts to create list of tips to help you prepare this year’s tax returns and to prepare for next year.

1. Make record-keeping easy on yourself. Debra Yergen, author of the Creating Job Security series, has an easy system for keeping your receipts organized. “Carry a ‘receipts’ envelope in your purse, briefcase, or car. When you get a business-related receipt, jot any relevant notes on it and add it to your envelope. When the envelope begins to get thick, drop it in an IRS box at home and grab a fresh envelope. Every few months organize your receipts,” Yergen said. Having your receipts together and labeled when tax time comes around will make it easy to account for all of your deductions.
2. All expenses directly related to your business are fair game. Many writers forget some eligible expenses when completing their tax returns. Retired CPA and author Jeffrey Taylor reminds us that “anything that has the direct benefit of generating income, i.e., computer, business phone, isp, website development, publicist, accountant, tax advisory, book publisher, business driving and travel to conferences, education” are eligible deductions.
3. All deductions should make sense. When writing off an expense, think about whether you can justify it easily. Because, Yergen said, “if you get audited, you are going to have to make a case to the IRS for the decisions you made.”
4. Sometimes, its better not to deduct everything. “The worst threat is being declared a hobby by the IRS instead of a business,” said Taylor. “A business must generate income at least for two years within a five year period.” If you haven’t generated a profit recently, you may not want to write off everything. Generate a profit this year to keep your status as a business.
5. Keep up on your quarterlies. Cathy Golsticker, a CPA who works with freelance writers, has an equation to help writers who have day jobs know when they need to makes quarterly estimated tax payments:Self-employment tax rate of 15.4% (assuming day job wages are below $106,800, other-wise SE tax rate is 2.9%) + income tax rate (estimated (25-28%) = 40% (rounded) tax rate times net income from freelance

   Deduct from this amount the expected tax refund (what you usually receive in a typical year)

   Equals: Annual federal tax estimates to pay in

   Now divide by 4 for the quarterly amount.

   Goldsticker also cautions writers not to forget about state estimated tax payments. Check with your accountant or your state’s department of revenue to get rates and deadlines.

6. Consider incorporating. According to Michael T. Hanley, CPA and author of Effective Tax Planning for the Microbusiness, “Most writers who earn $250 or more each year will end up paying less tax each year by operating as an S-Corporation.” In addition, Hanley said, writers who incorporate have “an audit risk that is approximately nine times lower than the audit risk of any writers who report all income/expenses as if they were personal income/expenses.” [Note: I'll be going back to Hanley to find out a little more about incorporating. Stay tuned for an April post on this topic.]

Writer’s Digest also posted some further tax tips. What are your favorites?

Related Posts:

• Book Review: Overcoming Underearning by Barbara Stanny
• Writing Roundup, July 22
• Writing Roundup, June 24
• Writing Roundup, May 9
• Writing Roundup, April 18

In my informal poll on Twitter and Facebook, it became clear that health insurance is one of the main things that keeps we U.S.-based writers from being full-time writers. Seriously, I don’t know how families with children make it on one income until the writer’s income picks up.

For example, Nancy Brauer keeps a full-time job mainly because of the benefits. “I don’t yet have enough money saved to be able to support myself with a part-time job and purchase private health insurance,” she said. Brauer is working toward that goal. You can find out more about Brauer and her freelance life at Strange Little Band.

Writers in other countries where health care is subsidized and provided universally believe that the benefit of having available health care definitely removes an obstacle to freelancing. However, Dave Sherohman, who has freelanced in both the U.S. and abroad, pointed out on Facebook that the tax and regulatory structures can make it more challenging to manage your business once you make the break from the day job.

But, we’re here today to talk about health insurance, not taxes. COBRA coverage is a nice gesture, but it is extremely expensive. Private insurance may be an option, if your health is impeccable, but as designer Melissa Ek mentioned on Facebook, it can also be costly.

How can you find affordable health care options?

1. Check your memberships. College alumni associations, membership groups, and other personal and professional affiliations can offer discounts on group health coverage. The Freelancers Union, Author’s Guild, and even MediaBistro offer health insurance for you to purchase, although restrictions apply and it is not available in all states.
2. Ask your local or state government. Some government agencies may be able to point you toward insurance consortia that may offer affordable coverage.
3. Look at your spouse’s plan. Is it cost-effective to simply add you (and your children, if applicable) to your spouse’s insurance policy? The cost of the coverage may be taken from pretax dollars, which can lessen the sting of the monthly expenditure.
4. Price out the private plans. Start with the insurance coverage your employer currently offers–you’re familiar with the policies and restrictions, and you’ll be able to easily compare your options. Find a level of coverage that you are comfortable with, then look at other companies that offer similar options. Comparison shopping is essential on such a costly long-term expense.

Those of you who are already writing full time, how do you make sure you and your family have the insurance coverage you need?

Related Posts:

• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers

The end of the year is a great time to review your goals and plan for the coming year. What are your plans for 2010? Will that be the year you finally polish that novel up and send it off to agents or publishers? The year when you make the break and become a full-time freelancer? Or that year when you finally get serious about writing and submitting short stories?

Let me know in the comments.

Related Posts:

• How Are You Furthering Your Writing Career?
• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• The Importance of Backups

• The Business of Writing
• Craft
• Fiction
• Freelancing
• Platform

The Business of Writing

What Can I Expect of My Agent?
Moonrat posts a nice description of what you can expect in your relationship with your agent. Read this post, then visit agent Kate Schafer Testerman’s blog for a follow-up and expansion on the ideas from an agent’s point of view.

Publishing Your Book: Is It Worth It? (Or, the Costs of Publishing)
Rebecca Emrich looks at the financial and emotional costs of publishing. We all pursue that goal with such determination, but it has some non-monetary costs that we don’t always anticipate.

Craft

How to Respond to a Manuscript Critique/Editorial Letter
Agent Nathan Bransford moves into the craft section this week as he gives solid tips to help you deal with feedback and criticism of your work. Remember that no matter how much you love your story or characters, you must also take a detached perspective and look at your work without emotion in the shoes of your ideal reader.

Hitchcock, The Birds, and Me
Writer Joanna D’Angelo discusses how a skilled storyteller can manipulate the audience into empathizing with even the least sympathetic character. How can you apply Hitchcock’s techniques to your own work?

What We Learn from Writing
Agent Rachelle Gardner opened up her blog to her writer followers. She asked what they had learned and experienced during NaNoWriMo. See what they said, then let me know if you agreed or if your experiences differed.

Tips to Maximize Research
Tricia Goyer gives some great tips to help you make the most of your research time. The more efficient your research time is, the more time you have for the actual writing, right?

Fiction

Interview with John Olson
Randy Ingermanson discusses the concept of “writing in the shadows” with John Olson. Olson provides some great advice that I know will help my fiction. How can you apply his lessons to your own projects?

Freelancing

Tough Mommies Work at Home
Do you dream of an easy life of working at home as a freelance writer? According to this post, easy may never be part of your vocabulary.

10 Ways Twitter Helps Me to Become a Better Freelance Writer
Is your social media a time waster or a skill builder? Deb Ng has some ideas to help you ensure that you build skills and your client base while you work online.

Platform

Upcoming Classes
Platform master Christina Katz is offering some courses that could help you build your writing business in the coming year.

Creative Ways to Use Your Email Signature
Do you build your platform constantly? If so, you probably already use your email signature to build new business or market your work. If not, Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen has some ideas to help you leverage that tool.

Related Posts:

• Writing Roundup, August 28
• Writing Roundup, June 25
• Writing Roundup, June 18
• Writing Roundup, June 4
• Writing Roundup, May 28

We writers talk a lot about different ways to save money on health care, Internet service, writing supplies, and so on.

One way to save money is to make your own home remedies when you have a cold or mild flu.

Now, you should not rely on home remedies if you have a serious illness, and avoiding the doctor is not always the best way to save money in the long term. But, for the minor wintertime illnesses that don’t require a doctor’s care, you can pull together some low-cost cure-alls.

I shared my recipes for ginger lemonade and ginger tea on Pop Culture Curmudgeon today. Earlier this cold and flu season, Christina Katz tweeted her prescription for cold symptoms.

What remedies or combinations of cold medications do you rely on when you are under the weather?

Related Posts:

• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers

Holidays are a funny thing for we writers. Many of us have day jobs, and many of us have the day off from them today. Yay!

But, I will be spending a large portion of my day writing, networking, researching–you know, working. Labor Day will be like any other weekend day, when I work on my non-day job work to further my writing career. And I would bet that I’m not alone.

So I’m going to open it up to you. Let me know what you are working on today. Let me know how your family feels about you spending so much of your leisure time on this uncertain pursuit. If you are not working today, let us all know how you have worked your schedule to ensure that you get the rest and relaxation necessary to thrive in your writing career.

Related Posts:

• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers