Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
• Crack a joke – but only for a good reason
• Delete nulls from your novel, short story
• Don't be guilty of polysyllabism (Huh?)
• Why you should avoid being sensational
• Vary syntax to give writing flavor, texture
• Watch for verb tense shifts in your writing
• BONUS: "Always be a poet, even in prose." - Charles Baudelaire
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
• How to avoid copyright infringement
• Should I copyright my manuscript?
• Trademark registration is overkill for new writers
• How to purchase an ISBN for your book
• BONUS: “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
The use of your home – regardless if you own or rent – usually can be deducted from your federal taxes. It is called the home office deduction.
Not all home offices qualify for the deduction, so you must be careful to ensure that you meet IRS requirements. First, the space for your home office must be regularly and exclusively used for your business. If you set your laptop on an ironing board in the laundry room, that’s not going to cut it. Secondly, the home office must be the principal place of your business. The room is where you meet clients and talk to them on the phone about projects; it is where you do the bulk of your work.
When taking the tax deduction, you have two options – the regular or the simplified method.
The regular method involves determining the actual cost of running your business out of your home and might include burglar alarms, insurance, mortgage interest, rent, repairs, utilities and depreciation (more on that later). Typically, the deduction is based on the percentage of your home devoted to business use. So if you have a 2000-square-foot house and a 200-square-foot-room in it is your office, 10 percent of your home is used for business purposes. That means 10 percent of the insurance, mortgage interest, rent, repairs and utilities may qualify for a deduction.
The simplified method is much easier to determine, reduces the amount of recordkeeping you must do, and actually may allow you to deduct more money than you could by using the regular method. All you do is multiply a prescribed rate by the allowable square footage of the office. So if the prescribed rate is $5 per square foot, and your office is 300 square feet, then you can deduct up to $1500.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.
Running your business out of your home offers a number of great benefits. But there are some challenges. Before going online to order new furniture, before converting the storage room into your new work space, you should consider what some of the downsides are and if you can handle them.
What follows is a list of challenges frequently faced when running a business out of your home.
Not taken seriously
Businesses ran out of a home for some people lack the aura of a serious business, but that is easily overcome by your professional demeanor. Indeed, with most business now done online, your workplace location is increasingly unimportant for those seeking your services.
Lack of natural boundaries for family
Younger children won’t understand that you’re “working” and will make noise as well as interrupt you. You have to set up a work area away from distractions and be politely firm with those who intrude when you are working.
Personal life mixes with business life
One moment you receive a phone call from your mom, the next moment you’re working, then you’ve got to get up to move clothes from the washer to the dryer, then the next you’re working. You have to refrain from doing chores and personal business during your work hours.
Family/neighbors expect business favors
For some reason, if you work at home, family and neighbors feel that for them you’ll provide your services for free or receive a steep discount. Of course, you don’t want to alienate them, but if you give up your hours for free, you’ll soon be out of business. Simply set a policy that you don’t do work for family or neighbors.
Noisy neighbors
Never mind that your kids are noisy – what about the neighbors? If it isn’t the teen next door blaring his radio then it’s the dog across the street barking nonstop or the motorhead revving his car two driveways down. Learning how to tune out such distractions will be vital.
Temptation to take a personal day
When the weather is awesome, when you favorite band is in town for a concert, when you’re just tired of working and want to go shopping, you may be tempted to take a day off. That’s okay, even healthy – once in a while. But if you’re taking a couple of personal days a week in addition to enjoying the weekend off, you may fall behind on projects or greatly limit your income level.
Workaholicism
If you’re a workaholic, running your business out of your home can lead you to do nothing but work at the expense of your family and social life. You should set work hours for yourself, just as if you had a boss who set hours for you at a day job, and keep to them.
Isolation
When working at home, there are no talks with colleagues at the water coolers and invites to Saturday barbeques suddenly dry up. You must make a concerted effort to get out and stay active in your community. This can be done by joining and participating in professional groups, your local business community, or taking classes related to your occupation, as well as becoming active in your church or kids’ school and volunteering.
While the challenges you’ll face when working at home are plenty, they’re hardly insurmountable. Being aware of them can help you plan in advance for how you’ll cope with them, making the work from home experience all that more rewarding.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.