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angel opportunity posted:I'm only aware of the Thunderdome IRC and the Long Walk IRC (check for that thread also in CC)...both Dr. K and I are doing self-pub romance/erotica for our Long Walk goals, so I was going to talk to her about it there This sounds like a great opportunity to start IRC for this thread.
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Apr 25, 2015 02:51
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Malloreon posted:This sounds like a great opportunity to start IRC for this thread. I would also love one.
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Apr 25, 2015 08:01
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Malloreon posted:This sounds like a great opportunity to start IRC for this thread. Because I am awake and familiar with IRC, I've registered #selfpub on synirc. If people who are more involved with the thread (and experienced in self publishing) are interested, I will OP them and divest my "ownership." In my mind, prime candidates for OPs/owners are engineersean, moana, Sundae, and ravenkult. I don't know if any of them are interested in an IRC channel, but if they are, they will be in charge. I use mibbit to connect to IRC through my browser. In the mean time, I might be in there, ready to answer angel opportunity's secret question: why do you want to hire an editor?
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Apr 25, 2015 08:39
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A couple questions: - For super romance, how to find cover artists? I think I saw a book by maybe Milly Taiden that mentioned the cover artist she hired, so should I just go through books that have covers I like and see if they give credit to the artist? - For super romance, if I'm going to use KDP Select and aim for Kindle Unlimited dollars, does it matter what I set for my book's price? Thanks!
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Apr 25, 2015 15:53
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People who don't have unlimited can still buy your book so yes set a price that will sell too. You will have a line graph that tracks both.
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Apr 25, 2015 16:00
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Does anyone know of a handy link to not-legal-advice about setting up an LLC or whatever for publishing income?
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Apr 25, 2015 20:30
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Malloreon posted:Does anyone know of a handy link to not-legal-advice about setting up an LLC or whatever for publishing income? For many US citizens who anticipate earning $20k+ through self-pubbing, an S-Corp has many advantages. The ease of setting them up and the amount of benefit you gain from them will depend on your state. You get some solid tax deductions and you can pay yourself a salary, and anything over that salary gets taxed similar to capital gains. You can pretty quickly look at that and surmise that it's in your best interest to pay yourself a low salary and take as much as you think you can as capital gains. That's a dance you need to hire an accountant for. What I did: 1. Go to Secretary of State website and submit application to form a corporation. 2. Once that is approved, go to IRS website and apply for an EIN. 3. Then I submit the special optional paperwork to turn my corp into an S-Corp. It was maybe two sheets of paper. 4. With an EIN I went to a local bank branch and opened a business checking account. All business poo poo happens through this account, not my personal one. To open it I had to transfer personal money into it, but I pulled that back out later. 5. Once that was set up, I re-did my tax interview with Amazon so they would know I'm switching from a citizen publisher to a corporation. (this step caused me stress because it takes a few weeks for the IRS to get their computers on board.) 6. Then I changed my Amazon bank routing information over to my business checking account. 7. I went with Waveapps as my accounting software. I use it to track expenses and run my payroll. 8. I pay withholding taxes each month, and file some paperwork quarterly. Once I take a capital gains disbursement I'll have to pay taxes on that as well. *I literally failed out of law school. For real, hire a professional.*
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Apr 26, 2015 00:57
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Yeah, I set up an S-Corp and it's hugely complicated. Talk to a lawyer, possibly one that specializes in entertainment. And also an accountant.
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Apr 26, 2015 01:36
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LLC seems a lot less complicated but with almost all of the same benefits.
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Apr 26, 2015 17:12
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You're all talking about corporate tax optimisation, and I'm sat here losing 30% of every sale 
Bobby Deluxe fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Apr 26, 2015 |
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Apr 26, 2015 18:23
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Bobby Deluxe posted:You're all talking about corporate tax optimisation, and I'm sat here losing 30% of every sale because Amazon's in a huff with the British government Wait what, is this a new thing?
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Apr 26, 2015 19:40
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Szmitten posted:Wait what, is this a new thing? quote:Tax Withholding for Non-U.S. Publishers
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Apr 26, 2015 19:46
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I was also doing some reading, and you can elect to pay yourself as an s-corp while still identifying as an LLC. I'd definitely talk to a lawyer and an accountant both for that, though.
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Apr 26, 2015 19:48
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My financial plan is to wait until I'm making enough money to throw it at an accountant and say 'you do it.'
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Apr 26, 2015 19:59
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Is it really that different with the Brits? As a Canadian, I applied for and got an EIN and then submitted a W8BEN to Amazon/the rest of my publishers and that takes off the 30% IRS withholding.
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Apr 26, 2015 20:24
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Faded Mars posted:Is it really that different with the Brits? As a Canadian, I applied for and got an EIN and then submitted a W8BEN to Amazon/the rest of my publishers and that takes off the 30% IRS withholding. Yeah, a lot of countries have tax treaties with the US that reduce your withholding to 0. At least Germany does, and we fought two wars against the US. I would be surprised if Britain didn't have one, too. Recently, Amazon even changed it so you don't have to get an EIN, you just fill out a form under account management and get your withholding rate set to 0.
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Apr 26, 2015 21:08
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no you see the default is to blame amazon, not tax treaties and foreign tax codes
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Apr 26, 2015 21:15
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Now I look at it, it pretty much is my fault. I'm not making enough from it to break the tax free limit on extra income over my lovely temp job, so I haven't registered for self-employment. But because I haven't registered, I don't have a tax code. Made an appointment with my bank next week to see if they can offer any advice. Basically I come from a working class family and have no idea how tax works unless it's coming straight off a paycheque.
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Apr 26, 2015 21:53
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I thought there was an easy way around this specifically because Amazon US and the UK had some kind of agreement and doing <I can't remember what, declaring your UK-ness?> got around it? ArchangeI posted:Yeah, a lot of countries have tax treaties with the US that reduce your withholding to 0. At least Germany does, and we fought two wars against the US. I would be surprised if Britain didn't have one, too. Recently, Amazon even changed it so you don't have to get an EIN, you just fill out a form under account management and get your withholding rate set to 0. Something like this. I'm pretty sure you don't even have to call anyone or anything, it's just an online form within Amazon.
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Apr 26, 2015 22:19
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Szmitten posted:I thought there was an easy way around this specifically because Amazon US and the UK had some kind of agreement and doing <I can't remember what, declaring your UK-ness?> got around it?
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Apr 26, 2015 22:23
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Bobby Deluxe posted:There's a box where you enter your tax code. I had assumed it was US tax codes only, but now I read it properly, it's possible it will accept tax codes from any country with which the IRS has standing tax agreements. That definitely used to be the case, but it looks like it's changed now, thank gently caress.
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Apr 26, 2015 23:53
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Aaronicon posted:That definitely used to be the case, but it looks like it's changed now, thank gently caress.
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Apr 27, 2015 00:47
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Handling US taxation of foreign nationals is actually my day job. Here's a useful resource for those of you who are citizens of other countries but do independent contracting or wind up employed here.
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Apr 27, 2015 01:57
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I finished my first short and am ready to start looking for covers. I read through recommendations in the OP, but am not seeing what I need. Anyone have recommendations for paranormal erotica cover artists that are not too expensive? Ravenkult's stuff is a bit too dark/horror, because my short is kind of sort of dark but still has a lighter tone to it.
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Apr 27, 2015 16:43
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If it's a short, I'd recommend doing stock photos and manipulating on your own. Not worth churning major expenses on shorts.
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Apr 27, 2015 18:55
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Sundae posted:If it's a short, I'd recommend doing stock photos and manipulating on your own. Not worth churning major expenses on shorts. That's what I did for the first two I have out and they turned out alright. I just couldn't see shelling out $150 a month on covers before I got a large enough catalogue to see a profit. Photoshop now has a monthly subscription option so there isn't a huge upfront cost if you don't already have it. The stock photos I bought were about $10 each and the book to teach me photoshop was $27. Just look at covers of books like yours and copy. Most paranormal super romance ends up being some combo of shirtless man, lurking animal in the background and two fonts. Pretty basic photoshop skills can churn one out if you're willing to put in the time.
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Apr 27, 2015 19:23
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I already know how to use photoshop, and Ravenkult gave me the crash course, so I think I'm good to do this. If my story is a love triangle, do you think I would need to have two dudes and a girl on the cover, or can I go more abstract and just have the standard sexy guy with abs etc.? I want the cover to do a good job giving an instant idea of what the story is about, but I don't ever really recall seeing three people on a cover so I am probably overthinking this.
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Apr 27, 2015 19:37
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angel opportunity posted:I already know how to use photoshop, and Ravenkult gave me the crash course, so I think I'm good to do this. I've seen many covers with three people on them.
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Apr 27, 2015 20:04
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If your book is menage, you definitely should be branding it that way.
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Apr 27, 2015 23:15
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 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WRAX6MA Published a collection of short stories I wrote on my blog. Thirteen stories. 74 pages (~27k words). Couldn't put it on select since I have the stories published on my blog. 99c, might raise it to 2.99 after I promote it to my blog's mailing list (130 subscribers). My blurb is poo poo. I modeled it off a seemingly successful collection of short stories, but kind of half-assed it. Thirteen "true life" horror stories told in the first person. Are they fact or faction? You will have to decide for yourself... Man Hunt - A young man from a small town learns that the ultra wealthy of New York City have a sick hobby. Adoption From Hell - A young couple adopts a demonic boy from Russia. The Basement - Four misguided teens find more than they bargained for in a burglary gone wrong. Snowbound - A young family inherits an old mansion and finds out that they are not alone. Organ Harvest - A slacker get himself into a bit of trouble when he tries to make some fast cash. Clown Stalker - Ever had the feeling that someone was watching you? Last Year's Halloween - Halloween brings yearly horror to a small town. Cannibalism in the Andes - A firsthand account of a man's fall from grace. How I Escaped from a Cult - A girl details her attempt at escaping from a twisted cult. They Call It Alien Hand Syndrome - A real illness, but is it a true story? I Found Something Living in my Attic - Something terrifying lurks above. Aunt Sheryl - A boy is sent to live with his evil Aunt. A Captain's Last Moments - Piracy on the high sea. A captain records his final moments.
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Apr 28, 2015 00:11
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laxbro posted:Published a collection of short stories I wrote on my blog. Thirteen stories. 74 pages (~27k words). Couldn't put it on select since I have the stories published on my blog. quote:My blurb is poo poo. I modeled it off a seemingly successful collection of short stories, but kind of half-assed it. Every minute goes by wasted. Your book inches closer to the 30-day dropoff visibility cliff. And your blurb sits there, like a puddle you just pissed out because you were too lazy to spend a day learning how to write decent copy. OR, secretly, you don't think your writing deserves readers and so you're self-sabotaging it with a half-assed blurb. I don't know. I don't care. Put your goddamn pro pants on and write something better than that, make your blog posts password-protected (you can tell your readers the password in an image on your site) and put this book in Select, is my advice. It's got a good cover.
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Apr 28, 2015 00:33
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Thanks for the critiques and advice, everyone. I've exported my story to my Kindle with Scrivener for the last proofreading pass.  Sundae posted:I remember this one showing up a few months ago. The cover is much better now (agree with Raven, though). Blurb still needs some work. Stealing the car was the easy part. Enjoying his date afterward was another story. Marty’s night keeps getting more complicated as he tries to seduce the new coworker with a joyride through the streets of South Miami. Thievery and lies don’t come easy to this neurotic projectionist and he soon finds himself hopelessly over his head, wondering what to do with the grisly baggage in the trunk. laxbro posted:
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Apr 28, 2015 00:56
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laxbro posted:
Way to go on the good cover. My only potential critique (and I say this very lightly) would be the warm colors it uses. I went to look for your blurb and... it doesn't have one. It has a list of titles of stories that nobody's read so therefore it means nothing to them. Here: Read this blurb and then go read some others. http://www.amazon.com/Scary-Stories...ell+in+the+dark quote:This spooky addition to Alvin Schwartz's popular books on American folklore is filled with tales of eerie horror and dark revenge that will make you jump with fright. Regarding color scheme, I made the test adjustment in Photoshop to the background coloring. Feel free to leave what you have; this is just my opinion.  Feels creepier to me, but I'm just one guy.
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Apr 28, 2015 01:06
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Sundae posted:
This man speaks truth. Also maybe put the author name at the bottom? Not 100% sure on that.
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Apr 28, 2015 01:16
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Thanks for the tips and reality checks. I deleted my stories off my blog. Thanks for the cover praise! Can't take credit for it though, I bought it from GoOnWrite.com for $40 bucks. He has a lot of crappy covers, but a fair amount of good ones cycle through. I improved my blurb, how's this? Thirteen creepy tales await you in this bone-chilling collection of "true life" horror stories. There's a story here for everyone — twisted cults, demented billionaires, sick serial killers, and evil relatives haunt and hunt the young heroes of each story. What are you afraid of... grenada fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Apr 28, 2015 |
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Apr 28, 2015 02:24
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laxbro posted:Thirteen creepy tales await you in this bone-chilling collection of "true life" horror stories. There's a story here for everyone — twisted cults, demented billionaires, sick serial killers, and evil relatives haunt and hunt the young heroes of each story. What are you afraid of... That's not enticing. It's very vague. Maybe instead just give a blurb for your best story, then follow it up with "...and twelve more tales!" You need to hook the reader. One way to do that is to get them to care about a character or event. You need to tell them something about it first, though.
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Apr 28, 2015 04:10
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Honestly having the stories be available on your blog was problematic anyway, you're opening yourself up to Amazon accusing you of theft. I like the cover personally. You just got a buck thirty from me, enjoy.
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Apr 28, 2015 04:27
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laxbro posted:Thanks for the tips and reality checks. I deleted my stories off my blog. So...I tried. I guess it's practice for me as much as you? quote:Everyone gets goosebumps from time to time. Horror author Yourname finds your personal creep-out zone in thirteen stories that take you from cannibalism, to monsters in the attic, to the gruesome pastime of New York's 1%. Hang out with a killer clown. Attempt to escape from a twisted cult with the [sympathetic description] [character name]. Meet [the surnames], a well-meaning young couple who literally adopt the kid from Hell. And that's only the beginning. I dunno, just an idea. Nice cover, though.
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Apr 28, 2015 06:18
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Is it okay to post an erotica blurb in here and get feedback, or is that breaking the no erotica rules? It's pretty standard vampire stuff no incest or hosed up poo poo
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Apr 28, 2015 17:51
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angel opportunity posted:Is it okay to post an erotica blurb in here and get feedback, or is that breaking the no erotica rules? It's pretty standard vampire stuff no incest or hosed up poo poo Chinese vampires? Lesbian vampires? What kind of vampires are we talking about?
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Apr 28, 2015 17:55
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