It’s 2018 and I’m diving back into action after taking a long, but strongly needed hiatus from my blog. Initial subject of this piece is discussing the new tax law and the effect it has on authors and their 2017 taxes. So if you’re a procrastinator and haven’t filed still, such as me, continue reading.

The outcome of my research on this was freelance writers and self-published authors are: (1) small business owners; (2) their profits are described as self-employment income; and, (3) they may write off standard business cost. As far as changes, this is nothing but excellent news! A quick reference to keep in mind is, if you declare yourself as an employee of your business, you cannot enter deductions.

One article I saw online, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers and Self-Published Authors, offer great advice for filing your 2017 taxes, along with useful information on the Schedule C, home office deductions, and the 1099-MISC. I hope you find it helpful.