Are You a Wholesale Buyer and Retailer?

Here's a new little something to think about. 

Retailers buy at wholesale and sell at a profit. 

As an author, are you a wholesale buyer and retailer? If you are a self-published author purchasing author copies of your book that you then sign and sell at book signings and events you are. Do you have a sales tax number, resale certificate, wholesale tax-exempt certificate, or whatever the form may be called in your state? Every state calls them something different, if that state has a sales/use/vendor tax to be collected. If you do have one, have you provided it anew to Amazon so they don't charge you taxes on your author copies? If not, then you've been costing yourself money.

Let's look at KDP/Amazon. It can be an easy platform for publishing and getting copies for resale, but it is also a complicated structure when it comes to finding out where you fit in as a self-publishing author/vendor. If you look closely at your orders of author copies, since the change over from CreateSpace to KDP, you may find you have been charged taxes on those copies. You shouldn't be if you are going to be reselling them AND if you have the appropriate tax exemption certificate from your state. You probably filled out a form, maybe submitted a bond, when you first set up in your state to resell your books. Did you provide that information to CreateSpace earlier. The information may not have transitioned over when it changed to KDP.  

This question came up in the KDP discussion forums not long ago. You can read about it here if you're a KDP author. If you have not gotten a tax-exempt certificate for your state, do so. Once you have one, you need to check out the Amazon Tax Exemption Program (ATEP). There is wizard to walk you through the process. It is linked in the line of text, 

"To access the wizard click here." on their page.

We don't want to be taxing people twice. If you're paying the sales/use tax on your author copies at the time of purchase from the Amazon Marketplace, then should you be charging those taxes again when you resell them? That would be a good question for your State Department of Revenue to answer for you since every state has different rules. You should have already added their "contact us" email to your contacts list for easy access. I've had to ask questions from time to time and it's easier to find it in my contact list than it is to find it buried among multiple webpage links. It is worth your time to investigate this further.

You can read up on the discussion online. Here's one article I found that got me thinking. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/everything-need-getting-wholesale-license-12921.html

Poetic Devices - How To Incorporate Them Into Your Writing

Webinar - Writing For The Christian Market

I invite you to check out this upcoming webinar. Writing For The Christian Market. June 6, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. CST. Details may be found on the SCBWI website.

A Very Interesting Discussion

This is a very interesting presentation. The presenter is Steven Pinker. The video includes the follow-up discussion with host Ian McEwan, and some excellent questions from the audience. Enjoy. 

Write Today and Every Day

Original photo by @kaitlynbaker at
unsplash.com

Today is a good day to write. In fact, every day is a good day to write. So many interesting things happen in life that we should not find it too difficult to pen a few words about something. Don't forget to take a second glance at the seemingly mundane things, too. As humans, we often take them for granted, but they can be just the trigger a writer needs for the next great poem, short story, novel, or nonfiction book. 

What did the dog do this morning that was out of character? Did you fish the cat out of the koi pond? How long did your spouse spend looking for their misplaced glasses, only to realize they had pushed them up on top of their head and forgotten they were there? Did someone ask you an unusual question today? 

Writing every day is a good discipline to develop, even if you're just jotting down poem and story ideas in a journal - take a few minutes to write out a synopsis of the idea, and don't forget to include those sensory inputs - sight, sound, smell, touch. First impressions matter. You'll need those later when you take the idea further.

Be sure to come back and review your journal entries, whether you hand write them in a notebook you carry with you, tap them out into a note-taking app on your phone, record a digital message, or make an entry into an electronic document on your computer.  OneNote is an excellent program for keeping a journal, but a simple Word document or Excel document will work as well. They are easily searchable and tabled data allows you to organize by a category you set.  If you can't stop to make a physical note, carry a digital recorder with you. You can replay your recorded message later and transcribe it into your written or electronic journal. 

Be sure to write today, and every day.

November Meeting Cancelled

Due to the weather, we have cancelled our November writer's meeting. Please check back here for the next scheduled meeting.

An Inspiring Meeting

Author Amy Houts said it best. The Sept 25 meeting was 'inspiring.'

Iowa author, artist, photographer, sculptor Brenda Scott spoke with us about her creative endeavors, including the inspiration for her newest thing, A Little Something Beautiful. She brought a lot of enthusiasm to the meeting and it was contagious. We are happy to say she has joined our group, along with Bill Lockwood, and Melinda Taylor, who recently published her first book, May's Faith. Her book is available locally at the Nodaway News Leader's office and on Amazon by clicking the title link (or right-clicking the link to open it in a new tab).

A lot of discussion followed the presentation and several new topics were brought up for the consideration of the group. One of those was the recognition that many authors are shutterbugs and the opportunities available for them to use their creative talents to the fullest and by offering their photos for sale to those needing images and videos for their websites.

It seems that many of the writer's in the group have projects nearing completion, so it will be exciting to bring you information about those when they become available.

We want to thank member and author Shari Barr for introducing Brenda to the group and inviting her to speak. I also want to thank her for permission to use of one of her beautiful pictures for the header page on the group page on Facebook and here.

Members Amy and Sandy will be hosting the next meeting. Until we learn the topic they will be presenting to the group, here is the basic information. Mark your calendars.

Meeting September 25, 2018 7:00 p.m.

God's Protection Covers Me by Amy Houts

 A new book by Amy Houts. We want to congratulate Amy on this new achievement and we wish her success with this book. 

From Amy Houts on Facebook - July 16, 2018 - "Today is the day! Cover reveal of my upcoming picture #book from #BeamingBooksMN GOD’S PROTECTION COVERS ME. Precious artwork by David Creighton-Pester's. Preorders begin soon!
 #CoverReveal #ChristianBooks#kidlit"

Upcoming Meeting

Bob Bohlken - Stairway of Stars

Chapter Member Robert Bohlken was added to the Stairway of Stars as the Nodaway County Historical Society this last week. It is fitting that he should be included there. His contributions to the county are numbers. He is a:

A veteran
A 60-Year Member of the American Legion
A Longtime Member of the Optimist Club
Professor Emeritus from Northwest Missouri State University
A Published Author . . . and the list goes on.

Congratulations, Bob. We're proud that you have so long been a member of the Maryville Chapter of the Missouri Writer's Guild, as well.

Critique Night - Redux

At the January meeting of the Maryville Chapter, many writers brought portions of their works in progress to share. In fact, due to time constraints, we were unable to critique all of the submissions. Therefore, we will be holding a second critique session at March, and we hope that those authors whose work wasn't reviewed at the January meeting will submit it again at that time. And any new writer's wishing to participate will bring submissions as well. We will get to as many people at time allows.

There were many new writers in attendance and we're so pleased to have been able to welcome them and to learn something about them and about their work. We certainly hope they will decide to return and to become regular members. 

It has been a while since we posted information about the Maryville Chapter's purpose and about annual membership dues.

The group's purpose, put simply, is to inspire writers in all genres; to provide information, through speakers, about writing as both an art and a skill; to provide information about the business aspects related to writing and publishing; to share and provide positive feedback to help group members hone their skill; and to encourage those who have stories to tell, memories or poetry to share, and knowledge to impart to get it down on paper and to make it available through publication. 

The Maryville Chapter members are actively writing and publishing and have a wealth of information and insight that may be helpful to published and unpublished writers alike. 

We hope that local writers, whether previously published or not, will consider joining the group, in person or online, and contribute their knowledge, their skill, their insights, and their suggestions or  questions. 

The Maryville Chapter of the Missouri Writer's Guild meets every two months, on the fourth Tuesday of the month. Membership dues are $5.00 per year and are payable in January. 

The Next Meeting

The Maryville writer's group will next meet on January 23, 2018, on the 3rd floor of the United Methodist Church, First and Main in Maryville. (Use the northwest doors to access the elevator.)

The evening will be open for the critique of members' works in progress. Members may bring a poem, essay, article, or book excerpt for comment. The length of the submission should be 1,000 words or less. We will make an effort to get through as many as possible in the allotted time. If you wish to submit them ahead of time to give members a chance to read and think about them, please do. That will allow more time for discussion during the meeting time.

When critiquing a work, here are a few things to consider:

1. Be objective and forthright, but considerate.
2. Provide constructive suggestions for improvement.
3. Think about the construction, flow, technical aspects of the work being considered.
4. Give input on any emotions, if any, the piece elicits.
5. Is there a working title and does it fit the work?
6. Did it hold your attentions?
7. Based on the provided sample, would you read more?
8. Are there any word choices or phrases that might be improved?

Should You Be Writing Kindle E-Books?

"Should You Be Writing Kindle E-books?" is the title of Lee Jackson's talk, host of our upcoming meeting 7 pm, Tuesday, August 22. We will meet on the third floor of the First United Methodist Church, Maryville. Anyone with an interest in writing is welcome to join us.

Lee has published two e-books and a number of print books. Lee began publishing in the 1980s. Lee spent her working life as a family and consumer sciences high school teacher. She continues to enjoy and write about subjects related to home and family life. Her early sojourn into the world of independent publishing has been an added plus to her life. Cookbooks and children's books are the areas of focus.

Following are a few of Lee's publications and awards:

My apple cookbook, "Apples, Apples Everywhere - Favorite Recipes From America's Orchards" received an award from Mid America Publishers Association.

"Careers in Focus - Family and Consumer Sciences" textbook published by Goodheart-Willcox received the Missouri Writers Guild Major Award.

Books I have published for other authors, Amy Houts and Robert Bohlken, Ph.D., have received awards from Midwest Independent Publishers Association and "Mom's Choice Award" from The Just For Mom Foundation.

Her book, "The Littlest Christmas Kitten", has received great reviews from parents and children, as well as reviewers and the School Library. It received 1st Place Award in Children's Picture Books from Midwest Independent Publishers Association.

Hope to see you there!

#amwriting #Kindle #ebook #author #literature #nonfiction #fiction #MissouriWritersGuild 

Resources for Authors

Finding good research materials when writing historical fiction can be a challenge, depending on how far back your story is set. It's important to remember that the voices and experiences of those old settlers are not all together lost.
National, state, and county documents, letters, photographs, newspapers, and other items are being carefully preserved by agencies and historical societies, like our own Nodaway County Historical Society and the The State Historical Society of Missouri, as well as the US National Archives, The Library of Congress, National Park Service, and thousands of museums and libraries, and other online databases.
Google Books and Internet Archive are great places to read digitized books and publications, even those printed hundreds of years ago. I recently downloaded to my computer a few digitized books from the 1700s and 1800s. It's nice to have these keyword-searchable texts, and it's just plain fun to read them. They can help with character development, help focus an author's attention on the details of day-to-day life, and even provide authors with a more accurate perspective on the attitudes and politics and social norms of a given period.
So, if you're looking to pack some historical fact and detail into your next work of historical fiction, don't forget these resources. And, if you're writing nonfiction, you can't live without them.

#amwriting #fiction #nonfiction #books #readers #history #historical #database #Missouri #UnitedStates #Archives #journalism #newspapers

Author's Directory at the Missouri Center for the Book

If you have been published through a "traditional" path to publication, and received payment for your work through that publisher, then you may be eligible to be listed in the Author's Directory at the Missouri Center for the book at http://books.missouri.org/Author.

Quoted from their site: "NOTE: The Missouri Center for the Book encourages all writers to pursue their muse. However, the designation "Author" connotes a category of achievement validated by the acknowledgment ...

See More

Authors Directory | Missouri Center for the Book

This database contains information about authors who live in Missouri. You can find out about their publications, the genre and audience they write for, whether they accept speaking engagements, and…

BOOKS.MISSOURI.ORG

Missouri's First Poet Laureate Reads Queen Anne's Lace

Missouri's first poet laureate, Walter Bargen, reads his poem, "Queen Anne's Lace." 

You will find this an interesting video. If you love poetry and you're in the area of the Mid-Missouri Arts Alliance on August 13, 2017, you might want to check out their upcoming event, Through the Eyes of a Poet. You can also find them on their website, here.

Amusing Myself

Maryville chapter member and writer/poet, Carol Carpenter, has joined the vast network of bloggers on the world wide web. Her new blog is titled Amusing Myself, a blog whose purpose is to contain "Poetry and writing thoughts, and ideas from a self-confessed poet."

We encourage you to stop by in your online blog travels and check out Carol's pages.

Carol Carpenter's Poem is Published

We want to congratulate poet Carol Carpenter on the recent publication of her poem Early Summer on the Naturewriting site. We invite you to check out her poetry and others by clicking here.

Doug Meyer to Speak at Next Meeting

The Maryville Chapter of the Missouri Writer's Guild will next meet on the Third Floor of the United Methodist Church  in Maryville, on June 27, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.

The featured speaker for that evening will be Doug Meyer, the owner of Meyer Auto Center in Maryville. Mr. Meyer is the author of "Selling in Your Town," published by Archway Publishers, a division of Simon & Schuster, in August of 2016. He will be speaking about his book and about his experiences of publishing through Archway.  

Mr. Meyer owns and operates several small businesses located in rural communities across three states and has a breadth of knowledge related to the art of selling in those communities, as well as the importance of community involvement and networking. Mr. Meyer contends that it is possible for small businesses in rural communities to compete in the larger marketplace.

These are all issues that translate into the book industry, whether operating a brick-and-mortar shop or a virtual online sales venue. We hope that you will join us for this next meeting.

You can read more about his book on Amazon.com. Mr. Meyer's book is available for $3.99 Kindle and $8.99 in paperback through the site.