1.  Writing is a business.  Never forget it—if you want to get paid.  And you get paid for your writing, so WRITE! 2.  The old adage is true:  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  You are sculpting your writing career.  What do you want?  What do you REALLY want?  Now go for it—it’s your writing and your career.  No one else’s. 3.  Successful writers get things accomplished. They don’t just do “busy body” work—checking Facebook, playing Mahjong, “researching” and ordering books off Amazon.com all day long.    At the end of the day, what do you have to show for your efforts?  If you’re not happy with the answer to that question, you know what to do—stay off the internet; quit playing computer games, forget Amazon.com exists during your writing time; and face your book instead of Facebook! 4.  You’ve got to have goals.  Goals that work, that see you through to success.  Write … [Read more...]

7 Things to Know When Setting Up Your Writing Business Is this a business or a hobby?  If you are a business, you will not only focus on creating fantastic books, but making money, too.  A business makes money.  A hobby may or may not make money—the focus of a hobby is the joy of the experience.  It is imperative that an author know into which category he/she falls. Have a separate bank account for your writing business.  Trust me, it will save you countless headaches at tax time!  All business expenditures will be written of this account and all business income will be deposited in this account.  This is account is a picture, at any given time, of how well or badly your writing business is doing. Create a business plan.  Not one of those long, drawn out 50 page documents (unless you just love doing that kind of plan), but something simple that reflects what you want from your … [Read more...]