fulfilling our purpose . . .

BE PROFESSIONAL

   

   
Author - Editor Relationships (top)

First see our Get Published section and make sure you know how to research your markets and send in proposals or queries.

Follow the direction! Read market listings and writers guidelines carefully.

Study the publication (articles) and see what they use, the style they prefer.

Get a current copy to make sure you have the right editor's name. Use it when you send a query or submit an article.

Do your homework. Send material that is only appropriate for their market.

If approaching a publisher with a book length manuscript, study their market listings, writers guidelines, and even read other books in the genre you hope to publish, both by your target publisher and the competition.

Give the editor time to respond. Sometimes it happens in a few weeks, but a few months is more likely.

Once you send your manuscript, don't follow it with correction after correction. Make it right the first time.

Follow-up is okay, but do not be irritating.

If you are running late, let your editor know as soon as possible. Communicate!

If submitting to a publication in another country, get International Reply Coupons for your SASE. Canadians cannot use American postage, so the editor cannot or will not respond to your submission (unless it is totally brilliant!)

Learn how to take criticism in a positive way.

“One Sheets & Business Cards” - Business cards can be as simple as a brief tag line with your name. My card says "contemporary Christian fiction and inspirational articles" but it depends on what you want them for. Give them to editors you speak with. If you don't have a descriptive tag line, personally write on the back of the card before you pass it to the editor – a few words to remind him/her of what you spoke about. If you follow up with an email or submission, remind them of the conversation. Also give editors a "one-sheet" either of your projects or your bio (or both). This works best if you're pitching a particular book or article. If it's general, I think the cards are best. ~ Joanne Mallory, InScribe member.

Your email address should look professional, not "cute" or amateurish, like "Bens-Pen."

Always do your best to make a good impression, not just when trying to break in to a new market, but with every submission to that market.

Think beyond the assignment accepted. Can you add a sidebar? Photos? Graphics? Charts? Pull quotes?

Check your spelling. Don't rely on a word processor spell checker.

LINKS
Books about the Business of Writing (top)
 
  • Curtis, Richard. How to Be Your Own Literary Agent: The Business of Getting a Book Published
  • Delton, Judy. The 29 Most Common Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
  • Glatzer, Jenna & Steven, Daniel. The Street-Smart Writer, Self-Defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World by Jenna and Daniel Steven. This book is loaded with wise advice. Glatzer is the creator of Absolutewrite.com
  • Howry, Michelle. Agents, Editors and You. Writers Digest Books
  • Larsen, Michael. How to Write a Book Proposal.
  • Leal, Carmen. You Can Market Your Book. Very thorough!
  • Meanwell, Michael. The Wealthy Writer. A, guide to running a freelance business and making money while doing it. Includes chapters on technical writing, Web writing, speech writing, e-books, corporate communications, advertising, and direct mail, also case studies, sample forms, and more. Available online as a Print on Demand book, .pdf format.
  • Moran, Gwen & Johnson, Sue. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Business Plans. "Here's what you need to know before you begin drafting your plan, including the financial and basic company information you should have on hand..."
  • Levinson, Jay Conrad. Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 Weapons for Selling Your Work. Writers Digest Books
  • Paz, Itay. The Freelance Success e-Book. See website. Has free newsletter.
Business Plans for Writers (top)
Keeping Business Records (top)

Copyright Information
Links about the business of writing (top)

GRANTS FOR WRITERS

GST TIPS:

You are only required to register for GST at the time that your sales total $30,000 in not more than 4 consecutive quarters. So suppose you sold $5,000 in Q1, $10,000 in Q2, and $15,000 in Q3. As soon as you sell another book in Q4 you are required to register and it will become effective from 30 days after the start of the following quarter. If the example I have given were a calendar year then you would have to register and collect GST from next January 31.

You may voluntarily register before you reach $30,000. The disadvantage of registering is that you have to keep records of your sales and expenses and send in a return to the tax department quarterly with a remittance.

The advantage is that you can get the amount of GST that you pay for supplies, equipment, gas, and other expenses deducted from the amount you collect.

If you charge a flat price for the book including GST then you have to calculate how much of the amount you were paid relates to GST. You do this by multiplying the sale price by 0.06542 to get the GST content. (Don't multiply by .07 or you are overpaying them!) So if you sell $100 worth of books including GST, $6.54 is the GST content.

Tips from Laurie Hanchard, InScribe treasurer.
Fees: What Do I charge for my Work (top)
Marketing Your Work (top) (a new section... give us a little time to fill it - or send ideas!)

TIPS for Marketing your self-published book. . .

Try the local summer farmer's market, particularly if your book is about local things, or set in your area.

Look for places that tourists frequent. They may buy books by local authors.
More about the $$$

Financial Problems —

  • A variable income
  • A low income

Financial Solutions —

  • Plan well. If this is unnatural, learn how.
  • Take business classes, know good business and marketing practices.
  • Consider part-time work with a steady income to keep you from constant worry about money.
  • Be frugal when money is coming in. Save it for leaner times.
  • Create a budget that spends 2/3 of your projected income. Stick to it.
  • Keep all receipts. Learn about tax deductions for writers or find a superb tax accountant.
  • Establish good credit. Use it only for emergencies.
  • Live a simple life.
  • Investments are necessary, but not needless expenses. Do you really need fancy stationery? Or a fax machine?
Do Canadians selling mss. to USA publishers have to pay USA income tax?

Q: I am beginning to sell a few articles to US magazines. I'm wondering what to do about the tax issue. Do any of you have US Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)? Have you found it useful or necessary? I understand that Canada has a foreign income tax treaty with the US and that the number is not essential, but I wonder if having it would make filling out the paperwork for contracts easier?

A: This is NOT a simple question. It depends on where you are domiciled - that is where do you call home and where do you intend to return to eventually. What ties do you have with the US, if any? Of which country are you a citizen ?

It also depends on where you are resident - that is where do you normally live. If you can answer Canada to both those questions then you are not subject to US tax on royalties.

The Canada - US Tax Convention Article XII Clause 3 states " ... copyright royalties and other like payments in respect of the production or reproduction of any literary , dramatic, musical or artistic work (but not including royalties in respect of motion pictures and works on film, videotape or other means of reproduction for use in connection with television) arising in a Contracting State (i.e. the US in your case) and beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting State (i.e. Canada if you are normally resident here) shall be taxable only in that other state (i.e. Canada)"

Clause 4 goes on to define royalties and it includes payments for the right to use any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work ...

Clause 5 says that the above clauses shall not apply if you carry on a business in the US by means of a permanent establishment. Normally the use of a US agent would not constitute a permanent establishment.

If the US does tax the royalties then under clause 2 the maximum rate is 10%.

My advice is that when you sign the contract with any US publisher (providing you are both domiciled and resident in Canada) that you insert a clause stating that you are not subject to US tax by reason of the Canada - US Tax Convention Article XII.

HOWEVER if you should be taxed in the US and are domiciled and resident in Canada and you are unable to recover that tax in the US then you can claim some or all of it back when you file your Canadian tax return. Go to your nearest Tax Office and ask for Interpretation Bulletin IT-270 and Form T2209. You can also download these from the tax department website. You can get more information on pages 46 and 47 of the General Income Tax Guide.

I hope this helps you,

Laurie Hanchard, C.A. and member of InScribe

Q: Do I need to charge G.S.T. on my Canadian book sales?

A: That depends how much money you are earning. There is no requirement to have a GST number until your sales reach $30,000 per year. However, if you want a GST number before you reach that milestone, go your local Canada Revenue Agency office for the forms. Ask questions there, or you can go online and do your GST application. Choose the long way or the quick return. For some, the time it takes to figure out the long form may result in paying less. For full information, click here.

  • Access Copyright pays affiliates royalties when their works are copied. Check site for details.
  • Funds for Writers offering information via newsletter (for a fee) about grant money for freelance writers, also has a free newsletter.
  • Literary Law Guide - find the latest in copyright news, site run by an intellectual property lawyer offering answers to legal questions from writers.

    Professional Fees - What $ can be expected from your work.
  • The Public Lending Right (PLR) Commission distributes annual payments to Canadian authors for the presence of their books in Canadian public libraries. Current registration period is 15 February to 1 May 2008.
Newsletters for Writers (top)
Tracking Submissions (top)
  • Use a spreadsheet such as Excel, with columns entitled: Title of Submission, word count and other descriptions, name of publisher that it was submitted to, contact person/editor, address, e-mail, phone, response. Include dates, expenses, and anything that might be helpful to you. Don't get bogged down with too much information.
  • You can also put a number with each entry to indicate how many times this particular piece has be submitted.
  • Use the "Sort" feature on Excel to see which articles have not yet received a response (sort "response" column), how many times you have sent it (sort "title" column), how many times you have sent items to a certain publisher (sort "publisher" column), etc.
  • Check back often so you don't forget what you have out there.
  • Ink Link, manuscript management software organizes it all for you
  • If you prefer hard copy, use a ledger or try index cards. Sort them by date.

Tips from an InScriber, Violet Nesdoly:

When I write a story, poem or article that runs to several versions, I make a folder for that piece and put all files relating to it in that folder (I'm talking 'folder' as in "My Documents" - whatever subdirectory this writing fits in. This would be for a PC. A Mac may be different).

Each time I make a major revision, I change the name of the file by changing the revision number e.g. "Christmas Day.doc" would become "Christmas Day-r1.doc" to "Christmas Day-r2.doc" etc.

Then when I format it to send out as a manuscript, I add the letters "-ms" (for 'manuscript') - to the end of the file name so it would become "Christmas Day-r2-ms.doc."

I also save any email correspondence I send out and receive on that piece in the same folder.

Of course I keep records on paper too. I have designed what I call a "manuscript flow sheet" which I attach to the hard copies of ms. that are out and keep it - in my "manuscript out" folder.

Saving all versions of a story in the same folder helps me keep tabs on how a piece is changing and if I want to save or back it up, I can copy the whole folder onto a floppy disk. ~ Violet Nesdoly
Your Web site  (top)
  • InScribe members are offered a web page on our site at a low cost. Check them out from the links on our site map.
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