Avoiding “Hobby Loss” or “Not-for-Profit” Classification By A.J. Cataldo, Ph.D., CPA, CMA
It’s almost tax time again! And, as in the past, A.J. Cataldo offers his tax wisdom to self-employed writers.
A Letter to the Editor Criticized My Article!
I recently landed two articles in a mid-sized magazine, and when reviewing the second noticed a letter to the editor tearing apart my first article. The letter was quite vitriolic, there were no counter-opinions expressed, and I was never contacted for any rebuttal. I have to admit to bruised feelings since even though everyone is entitled to an opinion, I had hoped I might have been backed up with a balanced opinion or even a chance to respond to letter writer.
Multiple Ways to Market My Ideas By Beth B. Hering
Inspiration hits at weird times. For me, it was at the gas pump.
Could It Be…A Girl?!
We went for a prenatal check-up last week and Max had to stay home with Zach. I told Max we were going to to the baby doctor to have them make sure the baby is okay. Max must have misunderstood me because, when we got home and walked in the back door, Max looked at my empty arms and demanded, “Where’s the baby?!”
When Authors Are Jerks: Using Insults And Profanity To Manipulate Does Not Work! By Angela Hoy
In the BookLocker submission guidelines, we feature this note: “All BookLocker authors are part of our family. We treat all authors with the same kindness and a smile. We don’t work with “prima donna” authors-people who think they’re more important than other BookLocker authors. To put it simply, we don’t work with jerks. If you fit this description, please do not submit your manuscript to us.”
The funny thing is this statement really seems to offend the “jerks” out there and makes everybody else (the nice people) laugh. So, it’s been a very good way of weeding out the “jerks.” Let’s face it, life’s too short to work with jerks, even if they’re willing to pay us to do so.
Every once in awhile, one of those jerks will send us a scathing diatribe about how our statements mean we’re self-righteous, horrible human beings. I received once such letter by mail this week.
Letters To The Editor For December 7th
Letters will return next week.
POD Authors Need To Hire Editors By Dougie Child
Authors, heed my words. Hire an editor. Find someone you have never met before, some good soul with a great resume and references, but someone who has no emotional interest in you or your project. Hire an editor who won’t give a rat’s shiny fanny whether your manuscript changes the course of history; hire an editor who just wants to know what your deadlines are and whether your check will clear.
That All-Too-Common “Life Threatening Illness” Excuse from a Deadbeat Publisher or Editor!
I sent a magazine a story a couple years ago now, and after repeated follow-ups (I’m a pretty patient person still working toward my first print fiction clip), I got word this summer that they had accepted my story for publication in their next issue. The e-mail said that their publisher had been in a life-threatening accident and was recovering, but they thought the next issue would be out soon. That was in July. I sent them an e-mail again in November to request an update as to when that issue would be coming out, but I haven’t received a response yet. In the past, I always got a response within a couple days. I can’t find any info about them when I do a web search, but they are listed in the 2006 Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market.
THE POWER OF NEGATIVE INSPIRATION By Doug Bright
It was 1965 and, at a time when most of my contemporaries were grooving up on the Beatles, I was a teenage folksinger–and proud of it! When I went to the recently built Seattle Opera House to catch Ian and Sylvia, Josh White, and my hometown’s own Brothers Four in one glorious show, it was one of the most memorable musical experiences of my young life. Unfortunately, the critic whose review appeared the following morning in a local paper was considerably less enthralled.