Michael Chandos
February is always ruined by doing taxes.
We keep records of business expenses, taxes paid for major purchases, donations,etc. We appear to be semi-organized. Every piece of paper involving money, business, or Government goes into a box for February sifting. We print out credit card history, checking and savings. We highlight questions, billings that don't have enough information (credit card companies think a 12 digit number tells you everything you need to know, but make no mention of the reason for the charge, who charged, or a hint about why), and problems. We noticed a few apparent double payments.
Taxes for people in creative activities are out of the system. Tax structures are made for hourly or monthly earners, ie real, normal jobs. If I spend 40 hours on a short story and send it to an editor for possible publishing, actual payment may be next year, not this year when I spent the time, bought postage, did market research. Expenses last year, income this year, even 2 to 5 years later. The IRS wants expenses to link to income. Creative taxes? Don't get too creative, lots of guidance exists, but be careful what you believe. If you are really busy selling, maybe you hire an accountant that specializes in writing clients. Tax law changes all the time, too, even into late December.
I want to be a writer, not a tax accountant.
I think we successfully collect 98% of the information needed for comprehensive personal and business returns. The last 2% can make a difference. We don't claim floor space in the house, tough to justify these days. Searching for missing data eats up most of February.
The "Last 2%" is critical in writing, too. I volunteer as a judge every year for various mystery writing groups. The Private Eye Writers of America, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Mystery Writers of America are just three of dozens. The winners are always "complete". These authors worked hard to include the Last 2%, and it shows. Story actions are justified, consequences matter, no blind alleys trap the mind of the reader, consistent characters. Authors satisfied with 98%, or even 90% or less, are quickly identified. 100% stories rise to the top.
The last 2% will take much more thought and time than the previous 98%. I think that's true of any creative activity from sculpting to poetry.
