You might not be used to depositing checks earned by the sweat of your pen (yet). That doesn't mean you can't start becoming financially savvy with your writing. One of the top tips for becoming financially empowered is to pay yourself first. How can you do that without incoming cash? Set your intention, and take a little action. Here are eight fun steps to make money a part of your writing, even before you get paid from others.
1) Begin by setting your intention to marry money with writing. Do this by opening a bank account for your writing life. Get a savings account and label it ?writing? or another inspiring name that will remind you of your intention.
2) Fund your account by paying yourself when you submit a query, finish a chapter, or achieve some other writing success. Don't wait for others to acknowledge your progress. It doesn't have to be a lot; even ten dollars for each success reminds you that you value your efforts.
3) Use your writing funds to pay for contest entry fees, subscriptions, and all that postage you'll need to mail your monster-sized manuscript. Or, earmark your account for a big reward for your writing such as a writing retreat or conference.
4) How we spend our money reveals what we value. Keep track of your writing-related expenditures. Make writing a priority and investigate how you can shift your financial priorities to support your writing. Keep a log of your writing money and see where you are spending more money than time on your writing.
5) Calculate the return of ?psychic payment? on the writing you do. These include the side effects, or benefits, that you get from doing something. Psychic payments from writing could be: feeling of satisfaction with yourself, surge of power from expressing yourself, excitement over completing and submitting something. How do these non-monetary rewards ?pay? you?
6) Take a tip from Jim Carrey, a supremely successful creative person. Carrey wrote himself a check for 20 million dollars and carried it in his wallet during his struggling actor days. Try this for yourself. Write a whopping check and in the memo line, put Book Advance. Carry it around or post it in your writing zone.
7) Make your money goals clear. Write down when you'd like to put your work into the world for pay, what you'd like to get paid, and what you're willing to work for. Set a standard for yourself and stick to it. For instance, your intention might look like this ? After January, 2006, I publish only for payment in money (not clips or copies).
8) Get dreamy. What will you do with the money you earn from writing? You might take a trip, pay off your computer or fund a writer's conference. Write down your big vision of how you will spend your hard-earned cash. I suggest funneling the money back into your writing.
You will be surprised at the results of connecting money to your creativity. By bringing awareness and financial focus to your writing, you prepare yourself for the day when others pay you for your words. Keep track of emotions, ideas, and external events that stem from your efforts. Take steps toward putting your work out there for pay. And have fun with it!
Before the business can determine how to treat payments they need to know and make clear the business relationship. It is important to establish this relationship because an employee has taxes withheld, social security and medicare matched by the employer, unemployment insurance paid, workers compensation insurance paid and often benefits provided. An independent contractor just gets paid. It is a big expense difference.
To determine whether an individual is an employee or and independent contractor, the relationship of the business and worker must be examined. It comes down to does the business have control over what and how a job will be done or do they just control the results of the job. The determination falls into three categories: behavior control, financial control, and type of relationship.
Behavioral Control
Employees are generally subject to instructions about when, where, and how to work. The employer controls when and where the work is performed and what hours the person will be at the job. The person is told what tools and equipment to use, who else can be hired to assist with the work and where to purchase supplies and services. They are told what work is to be performed by a specific individual and what order or sequence to follow. Employees also may be required to receive training by the employer.
Independent Contractors can be hired to do a certain job in a certain place and be completed by a certain time. However, how the job is done is up to the contractor. When the work is performed, what equipment is used, who is hired to assist and where materials and supplies are purchased are up to the Independent Contractor. They also obtain and pay for their own training.
Financial Control
An employee is generally guaranteed a regular wage amount for an hourly, weekly or other period of time, even if the wage or salary is connected with a commission. They may be paid whether work is being performed or not. An employee generally does not have an investment in the company unless there are stock options available. They usually have any expenses they incur for things such as travel, phone, or equipment reimbursed.
An Independent Contractor is not reimbursed for any expenses. They generally have a business of their own or a significant investment in the facilities and equipment used to perform the work. An Independent Contractor is free to offer services to the general public and can take on jobs for other companies or individuals. They generally advertise their services and maintain a home office or visible business location. They generally get hired and paid by the job, usually a flat fee. Although some jobs can be billed hourly. An Independent Contractor can make a profit or loss on the job.
Type of Relationship
An Employee generally signs a employee contract. The employee is generally provided benefits such as insurance, pension plan, vacation and sick pay. Employee's are engaged for an indefinite period of time. They perform activities that are a regular daily part of the business. They fill out an IRS W-4 form that tells the employer how much taxes to withhold. They are not free to do business for other companies and in fact some companies have penalties if they do.
Independent Contractors have job by job contracts or for specific project or periods of time that state they are responsible for their own taxes. They are not provided with any benefits. They fill out an IRS W-9 form telling the IRS that no taxes are required to be withheld.
It is important to determine what kind of relationship from the beginning of your business. If you treat an employee as an independent contractor and you have no reasonable basis for doing so, you may be held liable for employment taxes for that person. Also, if you pay an individual as an Independent Contractor, they do not qualify for unemployment of workers compensation so if they try to collect it, you will want to be ready to verify they are not an employee.
More information about Employees and Independent Contractor is found in the IRS publication 15A.
Both Cynthia Morris & Christopher Anderson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Cynthia Morris has sinced written about articles on various topics from Writing, Home Accessories and Writing. Cynthia Morris of helps writers and visionaries make their brilliant ideas a reality. Author of Create Your Writer's Life: A Guide to Writing with Joy. Cynthia Morris's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.
Christopher Anderson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Debts Loans, Real Estate and Sell Home. Christopher Anderson is part owner of He wants to share his success as a business owner with others who desire to own their own. Christopher Anderson's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.