Business – Page 2

Writers! Leave the Legalese to Lawyers

After passing the California Bar Exam, I attended the swearing-in ceremony before the California Supreme Court. In a speech to the crowd, one of the Supreme Court justices advised that the most common mistake made by attorneys was to not return their clients’ telephone calls. This seemed especially odd to me since attorneys need clients to make a living. But over the years, I’ve discovered that other professionals also make business mistakes that are hard to understand.

While attorneys ignore their clients’ telephone calls, authors, whose key tools are words, seldom understand or make the effort to understand the agency and publishing contracts they sign. As important as words are to authors, they fail to realize that a contract is often nothing less than a storyline for their writing and publishing future.

What’s the big deal, you might ask? Just read the contract.

But what if reading your agency or publishing contract doesn’t guarantee understanding your contract?

The truth is that even educated people in various walks of life cannot understand a contract without some legal background. Why? Because most contracts are prepared by attorneys who write in “legalese,” a language designed by lawyers. For anyone who is accustomed to the ordinary meaning of words, understanding legalese can be a frustrating experience.

Remember, too, that the agent or publisher has paid an attorney to prepare the contract. More likely than not, that lawyer’s version of a “standard” agency or publishing contract is designed to favor the person who is paying the lawyer and not the author. When it’s time to decide whether to sign or negotiate the terms further, why should you deny yourself the same legal edge as the other party?

When many authors are presented with a pen and a dotted line, they claim that they can’t afford an attorney. This is not a good excuse.

Think about it.

You’ve spent months if not years writing your book, stories, or articles, paying for writing seminars and editors, and sacrificing time with friends and family. You might have worked fewer hours at your day job and earned less money for an extended period to finish one or more manuscripts. Even if you hired a ghostwriter, you likely made many of the same personal and economic sacrifices. If you put a price on what you’ve invested in your writing, it may amount to many thousands of dollars.

When an agent or publisher has offered you a contract, you have an opportunity to earn back your investment and, hopefully, more. You simply can’t afford not to engage an attorney.

Although legal fees can seem daunting, you have payment options. Most literary attorneys charge on an hourly basis, but some will accept a flat fee. Many will accept credit cards or monthly payments.

Retain an experienced literary attorney — your publishing future deserves it.

A publishing consultant as well as a licensed attorney in both California and New York, Denise Gibbon represents and educates authors about contracts, copyright, and other publishing issues.

Surviving Recessions as a Freelancer

Sunday, September Post a comment

In the 2000s, there have been several recessions: 2001, 2007–09, and 2020. Depending on your definition and which economists you listen to, it’s possible we’re in one right now or could be heading into one next year. I still feel sick to my stomach when I think back to 2001. I’d been in business for myself for two years, and everything was going great . . . till it wasn’t. Client budgets dried up and my phone stopped ringing. I knew I wasn’t going back to a corporate job, however, so I needed to hustle and figure it out. Here are a few of the ways that I have built my business up so that the ’07–’09 and ’20 recessions had far less impact on my freelance income.

You have more control than you realize. Even in a weak economy, there are companies that are chugging along or thriving — but it takes extra effort to find them. Here I’ll plug former NAIWE expert Peter Bowerman’s The Well-Fed Writer series, which I used as my playbook in 2001. Using his strategies, I made a few hundred cold calls, secured a bunch of new clients, and got back on track.
Saving up a go-to-hell fund is an obvious way to protect yourself against economic uncertainty. I love saving any way I can. The easiest is a monthly auto deposit into my brokerage account from my bank account, so I don’t have to think about it. Important to note that saving money isn’t about expecting to use it. It’s so you can make clear decisions and avoid taking lousy projects out of desperation.
Diversifying your freelance business with a mix of clients, project types, and industries is another key to surviving challenging economic times. My basic rule of thumb is that I try not to have any client be more than 30% of revenues. The phrase anchor client makes me break out in hives! I knew freelancers who made a ton writing about real estate during the housing boom . . . and then got wrecked when everything crashed. This isn’t an argument against specialization, but rather a cautionary note that booms never last.
It’s also about mindset. Are you in freelancing for the long haul? Are you developing client relationships strong enough that they’ll always find budget for you? Are they giving you high-quality referrals? Over time, your system needs to be resilient.
There’s no guilt in doing something on the side to generate a bit more income. (For example, I coached rowing for a long time and hope to get back to it.) As long as it’s not taking too much of your time, side income can help take the sting out of downturns.
It’s a good time to take a cold, hard look at your expenses and pare back where you can. A few months ago, I dumped a variety of subscriptions that no longer delivered return-on-investment, and I changed my Adobe account to a better option. I’m currently considering changing from cable internet to Verizon 5G, which just arrived in my neighborhood. Every bit helps.
In addition to the potential of recession, inflation is also taking a serious bite out of how far our money goes. I don’t do annual price increases, because my projects and clients are all over the board. But as I negotiate with new prospective clients, I am taking inflation into account.

Economic downturns are inevitable — and the same type of preparation you do for a recession can help eliminate freelancing peaks and valleys.

Jake Poinier made the leap into freelance writing and editing in 1999 after a decade of positions in the publishing industry, giving him key insights from both sides of the desk. As the founder and owner of Boomvang Creative Group, he has worked with a diverse array of Fortune 500 and small businesses, consumer and trade magazines, and independent authors. Jake is committed to helping freelancers improve their businesses and shares his knowledge and experiences frequently as a speaker at industry conferences, through webinars, and on his blog.

4 Things You Can Do Today to Uplevel Your LinkedIn to Attract More Clients

Tuesday, May Post a comment

If you’re like most writers and editors, you want to have as many avenues for potential clients to connect with you as you can. If you’ve overlooked LinkedIn or just haven’t used it to its full potential, the summer is the perfect time to recommit and start upleveling your approach. LinkedIn has become second only to personal referrals in my freelance business. When I started freelancing 10 years ago, my LinkedIn was a dead zone and only about four years ago did I get really serious about leveraging this platform. Here are my best tips for using LinkedIn today.

#1: Find Other Leaders in Your Industry and Comment on Their Work

This might seem counterintuitive. Why would you follow another editor or content writer and give more LinkedIn juice to their posts? Because this helps to show that you’re an active participant on the platform and gets your name out there, too.

Providing thoughtful comments on a colleague’s posts on LinkedIn makes this more like a network. Remember that other people in your colleague’s network will see your responses, too, which opens new connection opportunities for you and greater exposure overall.

Most people post content on LinkedIn a few times per week. Choose a couple of favorite thought leaders to follow and scope their content. LinkedIn tracks what interests you and shows you similar material on your login feed.

#2: Use Keywords and Hashtags in All Your Content

The LinkedIn algorithm considers many aspects of your profile and posted content when deciding whether your profile will show up for various searches.

Keywords are those terms and phrases your clients might use to describe your work. It’s important when brainstorming these not to limit yourself to only the terms you would use to describe your work in an elevator speech.

For example, an editor might use:

Proofreading
Developmental editing
Professional editor
Copyediting/copyeditor
Line editing
Editing
Freelance editor

That’s just the start of a small list that could be expanded significantly based on your niche and the work you do for clients. The same goes for hashtags. Do some research on which hashtags align best with your profile and service offerings.

Hashtags perform best on posted content on the platform, not on your profile. However, you can still sprinkle some hashtags throughout your About section on your LinkedIn profile.

#3: Connect with Five People Every Day

To become a power user of LinkedIn, you don’t need to connect with 50 people a day. In fact, that kind of activity usually gets flagged as spammy and could get you blocked. Small consistent steps are far more effective for growing your connections and network on LinkedIn. LinkedIn starts to take you seriously when you have at least 500 connections on the platform, although you can always continue to connect with more people after you’ve hit that threshold.

Connect with five people every day. Make it simple and do it first thing in the morning. I have been on the LinkedIn app while I’m waiting in line at the grocery store or before an appointment. Send authentic and simple messages to connect, and don’t offer to provide them with services right away.

Here are a few examples of messages I’ve used in the past:

“Looking to expand my network of lawyers in the area. Open to connect?”
“Love the content you post on LinkedIn. I’d like to be connected here.”
“I noticed you’re interested in [insert topic/cause/etc. here]. Me too! Let’s connect.”

If you do attend a local networking event or conference, use this as a supercharged chance to grow your LinkedIn following.

#4: Create a Roadmap of Content to Post

A big reason why most freelancers don’t want to use LinkedIn is because they’re not sure what to write about. Don’t put that pressure on yourself to come up with those ideas on the day you intend to post. Instead, start with a brain dump list of all the topics you could post about. Here are some as a starting point:

Best practices for hiring an editor
Biggest mistakes people make when working with a freelance writer
Common grammar/style mistakes or issues people struggle with
The best lessons you’ve learned working for yourself
Your perspective on the future of digital marketing (or insert your industry/niche)

Store your content bank in a spreadsheet, Trello board, or Google Doc where you can pull that information up easily when you need it. You’ll thank your past self for the inspiration.

LinkedIn success builds like a snowball, so you might not see results right away, but it really gets easier after you’ve been at it for some time. Make the commitment to small steps on an ongoing basis and you’ll start to see your traction grow.

Laura Pennington Briggs is the founder and CEO of the Freelance Coach. A two-time TEDx speaker on how freelancing is changing the economy and the host of the weekly Advanced Freelancing podcast, Laura has helped over 15,000 freelancers start and scale their business. She’s an expert on systems, project and client management, marketing a solopreneur business, delegating to team members, retainers, and developing multiple income streams for writers of all stripes. Laura is the author of five books, including the Six Figure Freelancer and How to Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business. She’s also the founder of Operation Freelance, a national nonprofit providing free entrepreneurship training to military spouses worldwide.

Better Outcomes Begin with Shared Understanding

Sunday, September Post a comment

When I came across this quote from developer John Cutler, I found it insightful both for its simplicity and the deeper questions it evokes. “Walk a mile in your customer’s shoes, then figure out how to remove that mile altogether.” So, what exactly does he mean by “remove the mile”? One interpretation might be the distance between the process of doing and the achievement of done, and the speed at which we deliver for our clients. Another interpretation could be the distance in our understanding between what we think the customer needs and what they actually need. Or perhaps just finding more intentional ways to reduce our overall separateness – client and vendor – us and them, getting better at aligning our shared goals. Perhaps all of these apply.

For most, the primary measurement of progress is tangible outcomes; seeing is believing. To begin removing the mile between ourselves and our customers, it behooves us to find ways to do the groundwork first, before jumping into action, going deeper at the onset to deliver on the actual need rather than just the perceived need. Instead of Idea>Action, the goal is Idea>Plan>Action. To create a plan, we first need to feel the pain our customers feel, to internalize their hard realities, for an hour, a day, a week, whatever it takes to achieve the “I get it” moment so we can begin to chart a course that will yield the desired result.

When we align with our customer at both a practical and emotional level, we achieve shared understanding and clarity of purpose and of priority toward the desired destination. This results in a more accurate context that informs our creative problem solving. To be clear, the customer isn’t always the buyer. The customer may be our supervisor, boss, co-worker, partner, colleague, or anyone else we aim to serve. The customer is the person, team, or organization that bestows their confidence and trust in us to deliver a solution to their problem.

In Agile parlance, one tool we’ve found that works well is the user story – a short wish list item expressed as a brief human story from the customer’s perspective. Example: “As a sales representative traveling to clients, I often schedule back-to-back appointments. I would like to quickly access my notes from the home screen without having to drill-down, so I can save valuable time before each appointment.”

The format is simple: As a <type of role>, I would like to <complete some task> so I can <achieve some goal.>

Add user stories to your planning process, and project participants who may not have the benefit of direct customer interaction can peer into the history, context, and origin of the thing they’re tasked with building. This places everyone closer to the customer’s experience. In the story example of the sales person, compound their pain in the form of lost time over days and weeks and we have the real opportunity to create a meaningful difference for them.

Project planning that brings us closer to the customer ultimately drives more impactful outcomes, meeting the need and saving everyone the added cost, delays, and headaches of re-design and re-work, aka “that isn’t really what we had in mind” moments.

“In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

User stories are effective when they’re visible. Add them to your roadmaps and sprint boards, virtual or otherwise, so they’re front and center when work actually begins. That way, the pain and desired outcome is expressed in human terms and doesn’t become a distant abstraction. It’s no longer just a feature, it’s improving someone’s life.

Whether it’s a new app, product, website, campaign, or any other project you’re charged with delivering . . . consistent, accurate deployment starts with clarity of understanding at the human level, serving to eliminate the mile between us and our customers.

Stephen Colwell serves as CEO and head of strategy for Clarify Media and Completing, two Southern California–based firms specializing in marketing and project management. With over 10 years of hands-on agency experience as a copywriter, brand strategist, and project manager, he brings a broad and deep range of both marketing and operations expertise to the community. From strategy and design to growth and performance, Steve offers a rare mix of creative and analytical thinking toward helping creative professionals, teams, and small businesses accelerate their progress and achieve more. He has led project teams responsible for over $100+ million in annual revenue across four continents. A certified Agile practitioner, Steve is fanatical about helping others work in teams more effectively and operate at their best using the same proven routines practiced by today’s top-performing companies.

How To Navigate Conflicting Freelance Advice

Thursday, July Post a comment

There’s a lot of advice out there about freelancing. While that can be helpful, it can also lead to endlessly researching a topic without taking action — and paralysis by analysis is no way to run a business. Here are a few of the most debated topics and how your individual circumstances might influence your approach.

Is it better to specialize or be a generalist? I can’t honestly think of a topic that generates more heat and less light than this one. My opinion, after 22 years of freelancing and hiring freelancers is: It’s a false dichotomy and doesn’t matter, because I know successful freelancers in both camps. (Or, like me, they’re a hybrid — a specialized generalist or generalized specialist, depending on the day.) The main thing is that you should never feel guilty or wrong about your chosen path. After all, you can always alter your trajectory one way or the other. Making your choice requires a balance of what motivates you, what drives the most opportunities, and what makes you money.

How should I price my services? The most frequent debate in this realm is whether you should charge by the project or by the hour, and you can find solid reasoning on both sides. My personal preference is to use an estimated range, because it increases my negotiating leverage and potential revenue. But it is only a preference; if a client or prospect wants me to work hourly, or with a not-to-exceed estimate, or by retainer, that works too. To me, the key question you need to ask about pricing involves taking the perspective from the other side of the desk: What does the client want or expect?

Should I have a business name or use my own name? I have a difficult-to-spell last name, so that probably colors my perception. I’m firmly in Camp Business Name. (Psychologically, it also helps me reinforce the feeling that I’m a business, not just a writer and editor, just like having a separate bank account and a P.O. box.) Nonetheless, one of my friends — one of the most respected people in the industry — argues the opposite very persuasively. His contention is that writers and editors are different from other businesses, and that we’re more easily found by our real names than some obscure business name. Answering this question requires an understanding of how it will affect your own motivation and your ability to have prospects and clients find and refer you.

These are far from the only debates out there in FreelanceWorld, and yes, I realize the irony of giving advice about advice! My goal is to encourage you to seek your own answers, not just blindly implement some guru’s advice from a blog, Tweet, article, podcast, or webinar. Your business is unique: Your skills and experience, target audience, willingness to take risks, and finances (among countless other elements) are different from anyone else out there. When you find something that works, stick with it. And if you discover something that doesn’t fit your business or style, it’s time to move on and keep experimenting.

How Networking Can Help a Writing Business Get off to a Good Start

Wednesday, April Post a comment

A lot goes into launching a successful writing business, and networking can be one factor in that success. This post focuses on the networking aspect of your writing work.

Writers might not think of networking as an element of their new businesses, and that could mean losing out on valuable ways to learn about the craft and business and to develop connections that could not only improve those aspects of what they want to do, but also to lead to a greater likelihood of getting published.

All writers probably share a common goal: for our words, thoughts, and perspectives to find audiences and outlets. Individuals might be at different stages of creativity, visibility, or success, but every writer wants—even needs—to be seen and heard. For the new writer, that first sale or outlet is so exciting, and networking is one way to get there.

Whether you’re writing a novel or a press release, a poem or a white paper, a play or a case study, a how-to book or a personal blog post, you want what you write to be seen and appreciated. Beyond being seen, we also want everyone who sees our writing to understand it, respond to it positively by publishing reviews or acting on it somehow, recommending it to others, and reading or buying the next piece we write. Networking can help that happen.

Where networking comes into play is in providing resources for learning to write better by joining critique groups, taking classes, or lining up beta readers; identifying reputable editors and proofreaders and understanding and managing their input; finding appropriate agents and publishers for our work; getting paid; and related details of a writing business or the writing life.

Through networking, you can meet colleagues who will provide advice, insights, and resources, and who might become beta readers or refer you to prospective clients and their writing projects. You could be seen by and connect with potential agents to represent your work or publishers who might consider bringing you into their houses, saving you the effort of searching for the ideal agent and outlet. If you plan to self-publish work that needs illustrations, networking can help you find the artist you need.

It’s important to remember that networking is a two-way process. In fact, that might be the most important aspect of networking. A writer needs to create a net of contacts and colleagues who can help them do their work better and enhance their likelihood of publication. One of the best ways to do that is to be a useful strand in the nets of colleagues. Ask questions and look for ways to provide answers to other people’s questions.

And don’t let being new to writing or networking make you feel that you can’t contribute to the networking process. You can! If you don’t have any answers yet, look for resources you can share—books, courses, blogs, organizations, etc.—that you have found useful or have seen in your real-world and online visiting. Keep in mind that we all had to start somewhere, first by actually writing something, next by getting it published, and then by becoming visible and active in some corner of the writing world. Even extroverts like me had to learn the ropes of networking effectively; it isn’t just a matter of paying dues and showing up or using the resources of an association to enhance our own writing work.

In the continuing pandemic era, we can’t do much networking in person, so the introverts among us don’t have to worry as much about fitting in at events as in the past (and, we hope, the future). Nowadays, you can use the virtual world to your networking advantage by “lurking” in online communities and professional associations while taking the temperature of the environment and deciding whether they will be helpful before you spend money on a membership or speak up with your questions and suggestions. Oh, and the membership dues are tax deductible!

Learn and profit from networking, and try to give as much as you take. Your writing business and efforts will blossom as a result, along with your reputation.

Ruth Thaler-Carter has been a full-time freelance writer, editor, proofreader, and desktop publisher for more than 30 years. She has been published locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally in, and does writing, editing and proofreading for, publications, associations, nonprofits, websites, service firms, and businesses. She sold her first freelance articles when she was still in high school. Renowned as a skilled networker, Ruth is active in about a dozen professional associations, serving as a newsletter editor, webmaster, publication author, speaker/presenter, blogger, program host or planner, and chapter leader. In 2006, Ruth launched the Communication Central “Be a Better Freelancer” annual conference to help aspiring and established freelancers find greater success and connections with colleagues. Ruth is the owner and editor-in-chief of the An American Editor blog and received the Philip M. Stern Award of Washington (DC) Independent Writers for service to freelancers; the Writers and Books Big Pencil Award for teaching adults and contributions to the literary community; EFfie awards for writing, editing, and newsletters; and the APEX award for feature writing. She was also an IABC/DC Communicator of the Year.

Overcoming Project Paralysis

Tuesday, March Post a comment

In business and in life, we tend to irrationally build things up in our heads and overcomplicate what’s in front of us. We tend to overthink what it takes to complete our next project. In reality, there’s only one requirement: to simply start. Few understand this principle better than Dan Sullivan at Strategic Coach. Dan’s simple 80% Approach is the simplest, clearest recipe we’ve seen for overcoming the two mental habits that stall far too many important projects and entrepreneurs, sometimes “for an entire lifetime.” These two insidious and all too common habits are perfectionism and procrastination.

I’ve compiled key take-aways below from Dan’s book The 80% Approach.

For most projects, 80% is all it takes to successfully launch.

Although the perfectionist says, “no way, it must be exactly correct before releasing,” this habit is entirely an internal struggle. This notion has no basis in the value of the project as perceived by most clients and the outside world. In most instances, the audience will accept 80% as 100%. So, if all that’s needed is 80%, this “gives us permission to nip perfectionism in the bud.” Otherwise, the result is usually unnecessary delays. Engaging clients early in the development process, before we consider it perfect, allows for checkpoints along the way, preventing misalignment on the project’s direction and the potential for rework down the road.

Don’t wait to complete your first 80%.

This is all about baby steps. Instead of looking at the whole and feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself this: What is the next incremental task I can do today to move this project forward. One word or one sentence on paper is sometimes all it takes. One phone call is better than no phone call. Chances are, you’ll get into a flow state and before you know it, you’ve written an entire page, chapter, or article.

Complete the second 80%.

This represents a further improvement to the original 80% effort and is best handled by other talented people. When you compound two 80% efforts, the result is 96% completion. As Dan says, “In a world filled with many sub-standard, shoddy, and unsatisfactory results, a 96%-quality project would look and actually be extraordinary.”

Do only the 80% that only you can do.

Owners, entrepreneurs, founders, and project leaders should be firmly entrenched in their unique abilities, producing their 80% portion of the project from their unique abilities only, “where their personal efforts will produce the best and fastest results.”

Community vs. Isolation – 80% vs. 100%.

When each member of a team is striving for 80% rather than 100%, they’re inspired to rely on each other. This leads to a cohesive environment that fosters genuine teamwork, reliance on each other, and community building. If everyone is focused on achieving 100% individually, they become isolated and full of doubt.

Ultimately, when we give ourselves permission to strive for 80% using our highest and best talents only, we start faster, we gain confidence, and we learn to trust in others to exercise their unique talents to move the project forward. As Dan coins it, “By riding the 80% wave of accelerating confidence, you make rapid progress, find it easy, and want to move even faster.”

You can pick up a complimentary copy of Dan’s book The 80% Approach.

Stephen (Steve”) Colwell serves as CEO and head of strategy for Clarify Media and Completing, two Southern California–based firms specializing in marketing and project management. With over 10 years of hands-on agency experience as a copywriter, brand strategist, and project manager, he brings a broad and deep range of both marketing and operations expertise to the community. From strategy and design to growth and performance, Steve offers a rare mix of creative and analytical thinking toward helping creative professionals, teams, and small businesses accelerate their progress and achieve more. He has led project teams responsible for over $100+ million in annual revenue across four continents. A certified Agile practitioner, Steve is fanatical about helping others work in teams more effectively and operate at their best using the same proven routines practiced by today’s top-performing companies.

A Decade of Change

Friday, January Post a comment

Tax Legislation

The effect of 2020 will be felt for many years to come. The personal trials and tribulations alone would take many moons to share; in spoken word, in cinema, and in books – both fact and fiction . . . to say the least. For my purposes, purely now, as a tax professional, 2020 was the year all hell broke loose. Three of the major tax legislations in the past 10 years seemed to be competing for the spotlight.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017

Arguably the biggest change in tax law in over 35 years, the TCJA implemented changes that affected big corporations, as well as individual taxpayers and small business owners. For big business, the most notable change was a decline in the tax rate from 35% to a flat 21% (must be nice). For us regular folks, individual taxpayers saw the elimination of personal exemptions in lieu of increases in the standard deduction. The Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit were increased for families with children. TCJA also eliminated the controversial “individual mandate” for the Affordable Care Act (ACA, a.k.a. Obamacare). For the small business owner, of course, came the Qualified Business Income Deduction (QBID). The QBID was a very real and tangible business income deduction that allowed small businesses to reduce their taxable income and, therefore, reduce their tax liability. And these TCJA provisions are just an overview of this massive legislation, setting the stage for the SECURE Act that went into law January 1, 2020.

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019

The SECURE Act was a much smaller piece of tax legislation than the TCJA. This legislation, in my opinion, focused most of its energies on the individual taxpayer. More specifically, the SECURE Act was all about retirement rule changes!

The age limit for traditional IRA contributions was repealed.

Very simply, beginning with contributions made for the 2020 tax year, age was no longer a limitation with respect to traditional IRA contributions.

Another biggie – the required beginning date (RBD) for required minimum distributions (RMDs) was increased from age 70 ½ to age 72 or the year the taxpayer retires (whichever is later) for an employer-provided plan.
Another provision, affecting beneficiaries inheriting retirement assets, called for distributions to be completed, generally, within 10 years of death.

Note: This might sound like a no brainer. Some would say, “Give it to me all at once!” However, if you are inheriting, say, $1 million, that would be a lot of money to have to pay taxes on all at once.

Not to worry, we are only getting started – enter the CARES Act.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020

Try to keep up here. The massive TCJA kicked off 2018, only to be followed by an admittedly more focused SECURE Act that went into effect in 2020. And then before the paint was dry on the ink outlining the SECURE Act, in comes the CARES Act. A full-fledged five-alarm fire solution for a worldwide pandemic. Mind you, some of us tax pros were still digesting some of the provisions of the TCJA. The most notable provision in the CARES Act were the stimulus payments. $1,200 for single taxpayers, $2,400 for married individuals filing a joint return, and $500 bucks for each (soon-to-be distance learning) kiddo. The questions, in those early days of the news of a stimulus package, overwhelmed the tax office. Are they going to give us money? Do we have to pay it back? Do I have to file my 2019 tax return to be eligible? As for small businesses, the questions were just as perilous. Is there going to be any help with payroll? How does my business qualify for these loans they are talking about? Real-estate professionals, gig workers, those unemployed, all with the same basic question – how am I going to survive this madness?

Poise in a Pandemic

The $2.2 trillion economic stimulus CARES Act would become the largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history. And as of December 27, 2020, there is talk of an extension to the CARES Act. However, before we get bogged down with what could be coming, let’s just drill down into some of the more popular provisions of the CARES Act.

The Recovery Rebate Credit

More commonly referred to as the “stimulus check.” However, on your U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 line 30, this year, this credit is referred to as the “recovery rebate credit.” And NO, you do not have to pay it back. And, if you did not, for some reason, receive your full amount when all the checks went out (and have some form of documentation to show as much – proof), you can claim the difference on your 2020 tax return and possibly get that money back, since this is a refundable credit (if you don’t owe more than you would be getting back).

I repeat, “You DO NOT have to pay the stimulus money back!”

Consider it a gift from Uncle Sam . . . that we all paid for first. A re-gift of sorts, lol.

Retirement Plan Distributions

Now let us get into our favorite topic: retirement. I mentioned earlier that the SECURE Act did well to enact tax law changes that benefited the individual taxpayer, and especially with respect to retirement provisions. The CARES Act pushed some of the key provisions even further. One in particular, that a number of my clients, and friends and family as well, have benefited from is the waiver on the 10% penalty on withdrawals from qualified retirement plans or IRAs – for COVID-19–related reasons. Mind you, those reasons are pretty broad. In a nutshell, a COVID-19–related distribution is one made during the 2020 calendar year to an individual who is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a CDC-approved test, whose spouse or dependent is diagnosed with COVID-19, or who experiences adverse financial consequences as a result of being quarantined, furloughed, laid off, or unable to work due to lack of childcare due to COVID-19; having work hours reduced; or reducing hours of a business owned or operated by the individual. And there are provisions whereby you can pay this money back over a three-year period as though you never took it out in the first place. More to come on that later.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

Simple, the CARES Act has waived RMDs for calendar year 2020. If you are currently taking RMDs, you are not required to do so for 2020. This also includes your first RMD, which you may have delayed from 2019 until April 1, 2020.

This too Shall Pass

I know it can feel like this is too much to process . . . because it is. However, we are going to get through this one step at a time. These are the broad strokes.

References

H.R.133 – Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021

Three Big Ways Small Business Would Benefit from the New COVID Relief Package

30 years after the Tax Reform Act: Still aiming for a better tax system

An Overview of Itemized Deductions

Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

Kajli Prince (“Prince”) has over 20 years of experience in small business tax preparation; he is the office manager of H&R Block’s Sudley Manor Office in Manassas, Virginia. As a self-published author, Prince holds a special appreciation for NAIWE and its members. One of his passions is sharing relevant information with people and showing them how best to use it for their benefit. Prince is a small business owner of 25 years, and his specialties include emerging currencies (e.g., virtual/crypto currencies), information technology, intellectual property, and business administration.

Managing Work and Family During the Holidays

Tuesday, December Post a comment

Related to the idea of making the most of any pre-holiday downtime is the companion concern of balancing work and family demands from mid-November through the end of the year. No matter what you celebrate, the holiday season imposes emotional and practical demands that make a lot of people just wish for it to be done and dusted . . . yesterday. But you can enjoy the holidays and still produce the writing and editing work that must be done.

The first step is to check that you know exactly what is due when. Make sure you have some kind of list of current and upcoming deadlines, whether it’s handwritten, in Word, in Excel, in Google Docs (don’t let anyone tell you how to keep track of assignments and deadlines; do and use whatever works for you). I have a combination of a tabbed Word document with assignment specifics, notes on my paper calendar, and a daily to-do list to help me stay focused on what I need to do when (and when I’ve billed and been paid!).

Consider posting your deadlines in your workspace so you can see them easily and get the satisfaction of checking things off as you finish them—and so your family can see when you’ll be too busy to be interrupted or thrown off track.

Take advantage of any slow time to do some work early. If it’s already starting to feel overwhelming, see if some projects can be pushed into January.

Learn to say no. If clients suddenly want you to churn out a ton of new work before the end of the year and you feel overburdened, find tactful ways to push their projects into the new year. If family and friends expect more than you can handle, be equally tactful, but firm, in saying no. It can be hard to do, but saying no is essential to our mental health and ability to manage stress.

If you can’t get out of doing new work, or projects already in hand that can’t be moved, try getting up an hour earlier for a couple days a week to keep yourself on schedule. That’s often easier than staying up later than usual; most of us are more fresh and energetic in the morning than late in the evening after several hours of work and family time. You also might be able to set aside a couple hours on Saturdays and Sundays to keep the work flowing but still enjoy family time.

Make another list to track your holiday or family commitments—travel plans, meal plans, gift planning. Take whatever spare moments you have to get a head start on those activities whenever you can. In fact, doing some early holiday shopping and cooking can be a good break from a heavy work schedule (as long as it doesn’t interfere with those deadlines). Unless you’re like me and love to shop in person out in the real world, do some of your holiday gift-finding and giving online.

If these tasks feel as overwhelming as an overload of work demands, speak up! Kids and partners or spouses, siblings, even parents, can and should pitch in, but if you don’t ask for help, or even tell them what to, that won’t happen. Some of them may have been waiting for years to be more involved in holiday activities, but for whatever reason, haven’t felt as if they could take a more-active role.

Let go of perfection. Remain meticulous in your work, of course, but don’t push yourself into high gear for meals, decorating, gifts, parties, and outings that could be downsized and still be fun. Most of us don’t need more stuff; let relatives and friends know that you don’t want fancy or expensive presents this year. Hire someone to clean the house. Take advantage of prepared foods for some of the holiday feasts; you really don’t have to cook everything from scratch (or do all the cooking yourself). Skip the lengthy annual letter and just do a card with a couple of photos—and send it electronically instead of by regular mail. Consider not traveling out of town and state for the big dates.

Balancing work and family throughout the holidays requires focus and discipline, but also a healthy dose of flexibility. Try not to get so locked into a 9-to-5 (or whatever hours you usually work) schedule that you miss out on holiday-related fun stuff. It’s good for our mental and physical health to play. To relax. To have a life other than work.

Whatever you celebrate, enjoy—and however much work you have to finish, best of luck.

Ruth Thaler-Carter has been a full-time freelance writer, editor, proofreader, and desktop publisher for more than 30 years. She has been published locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally in, and does writing, editing, and proofreading for, publications, associations, nonprofits, websites, service firms, and businesses. She sold her first freelance articles when she was still in high school. Renowned as a skilled networker, Ruth is active in about a dozen professional associations, serving as a newsletter editor, webmaster, publication author, speaker/presenter, blogger, program host or planner, and chapter leader. In 2006, Ruth launched the Communication Central “Be a Better Freelancer” annual conference to help aspiring and established freelancers find greater success and connections with colleagues. Ruth is the owner and editor-in-chief of the An American Editor blog and received the Philip M. Stern Award of Washington (DC) Independent Writers for service to freelancers; the Writers and Books Big Pencil Award for teaching adults and contributions to the literary community; EFfie awards for writing, editing, and newsletters; and the APEX award for feature writing. She was also an IABC/DC Communicator of the Year.

How to Write an Apology in 4 Easy Steps

Friday, November Post a comment

It’s going to happen—you’re going to do or say something stupid. And you’re going to apologize.

If you’re in the public eye in any way, it’s critical that when you make a mistake, you also make a heartfelt apology. There are four parts to a proper apology. Here is your guide to writing an apology that is sincere and has a good chance of repairing the damage done.

A couple years ago I sent an invitation to my membership with a sentence that offended more than one person. In the invitation I wrote what I thought was a funny joke:

There will be soft drinks, heavy whores-de-ovaries, and door prizes!

One of my writers wrote to tell me she and others found the joke offensive. I had to retract what I had said in short order.

Part One: Describe it and own it

In this first part of your apology, describe what happened. You don’t have to give all the gory details. But you have to be clear that what happened was real, you wish it hadn’t happened, and you recognize it was wrong.

You may have seen this done badly by politicians, actors, and other public figures.

Avoid phrases like:

I am sorry my comments were taken out of context.
I am sorry if anyone took offense by what I did.
It is unfortunate that so many were offended by what I said.

These sorts of comments are a non-apology. They put the responsibility for the offense on the recipients. You must own whatever it was that you did wrong. Here’s what I wrote in my apology email:

In my last email I used a barnyard joke that I had learned in my youth and gave little thought to. A good friend alerted me to my indiscretion, and to my horror, I realized I’d said something stupid and offensive.

Part Two: State your standards

It’s critical that you let your audience know that what you said or did does not meet your standards for excellence. Remind them what you expect of yourself and others in your organization. Make it clear that your actions did not come up to those high standards.

Agile Writers has always been about inclusiveness and respect. And in this moment I’ve failed you all in that goal. Sadly, as this was sent in a mass email, there is no way to take my mistake back.

Part Three: Apologize

State clearly that you apologize for your actions. Don’t hedge. Don’t blame circumstances (like illness, stress, the weather, etc.).

I hope that you will accept my deepest apologies and disregard my mistake and will still feel welcome to come to our party.

Part Four: Learn from your mistake

Let your audience know that you’re human. You make mistakes. And you will accept this error as a learning opportunity to improve yourself. You want the reader to know you don’t want this to happen again.

My lesson learned is that I still have biases that I have to re-evaluate and overcome. I will endeavor to do better in the future.

Conclusion

You’re human and you have a wide audience. Inevitably you’re going to make a public mistake that you will have to apologize for. Own it, remind everyone of your standards, apologize unequivocally, and learn from your mistake. If you do this, people will remember your apology far longer than your error.

Greg Smith is a writing coach, editor, and publisher. He founded the Agile Writer Workshop in 2011 with the mission of finding a method to help beginning writers complete a first draft in 6 months. The Agile Writer Method is based on the writings of experts in mythology, screenwriting, psychology, and project management. His seminars on the Agile Writer Method have informed and delighted thousands of writers, scholars, and university students. Agile Writer authors have written over 50 first draft novels and 10 published novels. Greg is a developmental editor for novelists and memoirists. He also coaches authors through the self-publishing maze. Greg runs the popular Agile Readers Book Club where new writers can get a beta read from a dozen or more readers.