Comments on: Writers, Are You Making A Profit?

By: 04/14/2008 Freelance Bulletin — ¤ The Freelance Hub ¤

04/14/2008 Freelance Bulletin — ¤ The Freelance Hub ¤ — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:54:12 +0000

[...] Writers, Are You Making A Profit? [...]

By: 25 Link Love Articles This Week | Writer's Resource Center

25 Link Love Articles This Week | Writer's Resource Center — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:53:03 +0000

[...] Writers, Are You Making A Profit? [...]

By: Anne Wayman

Anne Wayman — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:38:40 +0000

John and Kathleen, records are the key, however you get them done… right now my business is simple enough not to require a bookkeeper and I like knowing exactly where I am on money wise on a daily basis. But whatever works…

By: Kathleen L

Kathleen L — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:08:32 +0000

Although my writing business is a part-time business, due to necessity, I do keep records.
I have created my own invoices. I tried out Quickbooks/Quicken… found I was making it more difficult then I needed (before I purchased the entire package), so I went back to my Excel program. I can create a file and a program to keep track of all of my invoices, billings, income, and payments received via Excel (all I have to do is let my husband show me how to do it as he writes programs in Excel and ASKEY — I don’t think I spelled that one right :{ —
Otherwise I just have my own “little” system that works for me, thus far.

As I accept most of my payments via PayPal… I get their yearend tally of account activity, copy it into an Excel sheet and copy and paste only my money received for the Writing Business onto a sheet. I allow Excel to total it all up.
I keep my expense receipts and head off to the Taxman very early in the tax season. We began going to a taxman when my investments made my (then new) hubby crazy. But by the end of Feb. each year we are looking at our tax return funds and putting the money to good use.

By: The Writing / Editing Job Roll » 04/12/2008 Writing Jobs and Links

The Writing / Editing Job Roll » 04/12/2008 Writing Jobs and Links — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:14:33 +0000

[...] Writers, Are You Making A Profit? [...]

By: Craig McNamara

Craig McNamara — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:40:41 +0000

A big part of success in freelancing is treating it like a real business. For me, that includes Quickbooks Pro, not just for keeping my business account in order and tracking expenses but for uniform and easy invoicing and especially for the timesheets. Being able to track your hours by job is obviously a blessing (sometimes a curse) in showing just how productive you are during any given week; even better, by logging hours per job, you have a fast reference for future estimating of similar projects.
(For my daily advertising commentary, please visit craigmcnamara.blogspot.com)

By: John Clausen

John Clausen — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:12:04 +0000

I didn’t buy software, but I did hire a bookkeeper and an accountant. I’m probably the worst at keeping records, but the bookkeeper doesn’t go too nuts when I hand her the monthly cigar box full of receipts, some of which actually have some relation to business. I also have a lawyer to look over any contracts, etc. They really don’t cost all that much and I feel pretty safe within the system. Even got my income tax done on time this year.

Most of us have trouble because we don’t charge enough for our work or we work in areas that don’t have much money to offer. If I’m writing magazine articles, for instance, my goal is to have 100 queries in the mail. I’ve never gotten that many going, though, I always seem to get swamped long before I get there. Or if I’m doing direct mail copywriting for publishers, I market to magazine consultants. They have the clients and they are often looking for new copywriting and design talents.

Writing is a business and like any business, you need a plan. I just posted a five-part series on business plans for freelance writers on my own website (www.writingformoney.com). Feel free to stop by and check it out.