Welcome back to Thoughtful Thursday - the movement that asks, quite simply, "How can I help you today?"
Whatever your situation, there may just be someone in your social network who can give you some assistance, or you may be able to help yourself. While this blog is about my own efforts to give a little something back, I hope others will take up the cause and ask their own social circles "how can I help you today?"
I'm not usually able to handle all the requests, but if you think I can help you in some way, then feel free to leave a comment below. Presumably, given the three areas of my life that I focus on most: writing, producing, and martial arts - your request for help or assistance should probably involve one of those. Maybe you've got a new story you'd like feedback on (I'll consent to read five pages of anything, but no longer due to legal reasons), or you've got questions about the film/TV industry, or maybe you need advice on self protection.
As always, you can comment here down below following this post, reach me on Twitter @jonfmerz, or jump on over to my Facebook page and leave a request there.
Thoughtful Thursday: because the world can use some more positive action.
Hello Jon, I wrote last time to you about getting the word out about a novel. This time I am curious about what to do before an author uploads his first book, concerning getting the payments and companies. Is it necessary to set up a company to receive the royalties from ebook sales? Did you set up your own publishing company when you decided to sell your books on Amazon and B&N? Is a dedicated banking account all that is really necessary to handle these incoming royalties? Thanks for your help.
ReplyDeleteAmazon guides you through that process fairly easily, Ben. And I'd suggest looking at forming an LLC to take care of the tax issues (although you can easily have it paid directly to you and then pay quarterly taxes on the amounts) Check with a CPA to be sure as I am certainly not giving out financial advice here! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, so you formed an LLC? Did you create your own "publishing company" to handle the books you are self-publishing? That's an awful lot of work and money to do for someone just starting out. If I don't have to do these things, I would rather not waste the time.
ReplyDeleteYou don't *have* to, by any means. Just keep it as simple as possible, but be prepared for tax time. If you can get to the point where you're making quarterly tax payments (assuming you're pulling in good sales) then you'll be much happier at tax time as opposed to having to pay it all at once.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the help and advice.
ReplyDeleteBen