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A Few More Tax Tips For Self-Employed Writers
By Meaghan
In my last blog post, I covered a few of the basics about paying taxes as a self-employed writer. This is, admittedly, a very complex topic – and I am not a tax professional. Still, I wrote for Textbroker throughout almost all of 2009, made estimated payments along the way, filed my taxes and managed to emerged unscathed on the other side. Along the way, I picked up quite a few tips, tricks and pointers. Relating my exact experience to you is a bit pointless, since everyone’s situation is so different. Things like whether you’re filing a joint return or a single return, whether or not you have children, whether you work a regular job – and many other specifics – all have major impacts on how everything plays out.
Last time, I had to leave out a few other tidbits that I thought many of you would find useful; they include:
- As a self-employed individual, you may be eligible for a health insurance deduction – and you don’t have to itemize your deductions to receive it. In fact, the amount appears on line 29 of the 1040 form, and more information about it can be found here and here. As I mentioned above, everyone’s situation is different; in my case, I pay for my own health insurance and was able to write off a percentage of my monthly premiums on line 29 for the year 2009. Read more...
posted by meaghan on 03/10/2010 - 06.02 | authors | comments: 2
Tax Tips For Self-Employed Writers
By Meaghan
As evidenced from comments on this blog through the past several months, it’s clear that people use Textbroker in a variety of different ways. Some people earn the majority of their income by filling orders on the site; I know I do. Others write for Textbroker in order to earn a bit of extra spending money, or to supplement their income from a regular job. For many people, Textbroker is their first foray into freelance work or self-employment in general; as giddy as earning money through writing may be, there’s one thing that you can’t overlook: taxes.
I’m fortunate enough to have a father who has done a lot of freelance work throughout his career. He currently owns his own business and is very familiar with all of the mind-numbing calculations that go along with paying the IRS as a self-employed person. He’s helped me out a lot, has saved me oodles of money and loads of frustration, and I’ve picked up quite a few tips and pointers from him in the year that I’ve been writing for Textbroker. Below, I’ll share a few of the best ones. Please keep in mind that I am not a tax professional; use this advice as a starting point.
- Normally, employers withhold your taxes for you; things like Medicare and Social Security are automatically withheld. Read more...
posted by meaghan on 02/20/2010 - 10.27 | authors | comments: 11
Valentine's Poetry - For the Love of Punctuation
By Christina Z., Ed Truitt, Stacey Harwood and Tony Noland
I'll admit it: I love proper grammar. I absolutely adore accurate wording and proper punctuation placement. There's no better way to express these emotions than in poetry, especially on Valentine's Day.
I am not a poet.
Fortunately, others are. These items were the winners from Grammar Girl's National Punctuation Day contest and were kind enough to allow us to reprint them for your reading pleasure.
The Exclamation Point!
The exclamation point is greatly overused!
One could even say it is frequently abused!
In advertising copy, it repeatedly resounds!
And in breathless prose, it literally abounds!
The poorer the writer, the more frequently the case!
The exclamation point, they readily embrace!
To give a little emphasis! To make a little point!
This punctuation mark they will appoint!
But, to make emphasis perfectly clear,
Good writers generally appear
to make little use of exclamations
and other such typographic affectations.
-- Ed Truitt
Ed Truitt is a science writer at the Weizmann Institute of Science
Ode to the Comma
The female body part of punctuation,
So tiny, yet able to arouse such aggravation. Read more...
posted on 02/12/2010 - 07.55 | authors | comments: 9
Develop a Stream of Direct Orders through Consistent Follow-up
By Rob
Greetings, fellow writers! It’s a pleasure for me to participate in this blog as a writer, and I hope I can add some beneficial ideas to the discussion. Before I jump in, let me give you a thumbnail sketch of my background, to give you the opportunity to put into context what I have to say. I’ve been textbrokering, as we call it around my house, for about eight months. I started slowly, because I did not immediately realize the potential this work offers as a steady source of quality income. I’ve been working it pretty hard for about six months now. I enjoy it immensely and have developed a quality group of clients.
Personally, my background is in pastoral ministry, specifically as a starter of evangelical churches with a very contemporary flair. We were usually known as the church in town that liked to rock! After nearly 20 years and four churches, my wife and I decided to take a breather from that line of work and give our three teenagers a chance to put down some roots here in northern Michigan. Over the years, writing was an essential part of my workload, so when it was time to look for new work, seeking freelance writing opportunities was a natural pursuit. Read more...
posted by Rob on 02/01/2010 - 10.04 | authors | comments: 32
Ways To Stay Motivated
By Meaghan
One of the most common complaints that I've seen from people online when it comes to earning a living on Textbroker revolves around motivation. Time and time again, I've run across Textbroker-related blog posts from frustrated people who insist that there's no possible way to keep at this kind of work day in and day out. In my very first blog post, I emphasized the fact that working on Textbroker is not a way to get rich quick; it's real work, and it requires dedication. After being at it for more than nine months now, I can admit that there are days where the “daily grind” has lost a little bit of its luster. At times like those, I keep myself motivated with a few of the following strategies.
Get Into A Routine
Most people excel when they stick to a particular schedule. Whether you are a schedule-oriented person or not, it's worth it to set some kind of routine for yourself in order to stay motivated – and to keep up with the goals that you've set for yourself. Personally, I'm a morning person and prefer to jump right into work as early as possible each day. That way, I'm generally caught up by mid-afternoon and still have plenty of time to get other things done. Read more...
posted by meaghan on 01/07/2010 - 11.56 | authors | comments: 16
Research Strategies That You Can Use
By Meaghan
Many of us who are writing for Textbroker haven't had to do research of any kind since college or high school. For some people, research comes naturally and it's easy for them to get at the information that they need; for others, pinpointing useful information is a bit less easy. Either way, knowing how to trawl the depths of the Internet for straightforward, easy-to-understand facts is a definite art form. Whether you have a basic grasp of the subject you'll be writing about, or if you've haven't the first clue where to begin, I'm going to share a few of the tricks and strategies that I use on a regular basis to make crafting a great article simple and pain-free.
A Note About Note-Taking
Before delving into the specifics about where to go for the information that you need, I thought I'd mention note-taking. Note-taking is definitely a personal choice; some people can't do without it, while others barely scribble a thing down. For me, the simple act of jotting down a few especially pertinent details from the sources that I read seems to help make the information “stick.” Funnily enough, I rarely ever glance back down at my notes while writing an article, unless it's to double-check a particularly cumbersome word or technical term. Read more...
posted by meaghan on 12/16/2009 - 08.48 | authors | comments: 18
Guest Post by Mignon Fogarty
In our last post, we mentioned Grammar Girl as a resource for daily tips and tricks to keep your grammar skills current. Good grammar increases your skills, makes your message clearer, can help increase your rating and attract DirectOrders.
We are fortunate enough to have a guest post from Grammar Girl herself! This post is not an endorsement of Textbroker, but something to get you thinking about how you write and how you can improve your clarity and message.
Why Good Writing Matters
Mignon Fogarty, http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com"My writing may not be perfect, but you know what I mean." It's the common refrain from poor writers, but it's not always true, and writing well is important for more than just dragging readers through your ideas.
Maybe They Don't Know What You Mean
Modifying Subjects
Poor writing or improper punctuation can cause confusion. Take this example from a real Associated Press article:
Huh? The sentence could mean that Michelle Obama and Paul McCartney share a daughter, which I doubt is what the AP meant to say. Read more...
posted on 12/09/2009 - 09.36 | authors | comments: 21
The Editor's Toolbox
By Textbroker editor Christina Zila
The tools that editors and excellent writers use was mentioned in the discussion of a previous post. I wanted to summarize and give you links (not affiliate links, these go straight to the source) to help you build your own Editor's Toolbox. Purchasing these materials is in no way required to be a good writer or get a good rating, but using them can help your writing skill.
Free Resources
First off, there are quite a few excellent resources for grammar advice and rule refreshers. I personally like Purdue’s Online Writing Lab, which I mentioned in my original post. For a fresher, more personal look at grammar, check out Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips. Her daily newsletter drops a quick grammar fix to your inbox every day. Her books adorn our shelves in the office and I was lucky enough to meet her at a signing.
General tips and strategies for good style, tone and phrasing can be found with the classic “Elements of Style” by Strunk & White. Most of the book can be found online, but picking up a paper copy may help some of you.
The dictionary is your friend. Do not be embarrassed to use it. Read more...
posted on 11/24/2009 - 05.35 | authors | comments: 9
Tips On Writing Well
By Meaghan
When it comes to writing for the web, short and snappy is always the best way to go. However, every writer has his or her own “comfort zone”; finding yours – and using it to the best of your ability – is a great way to get into the groove of producing a lot of articles for Textbroker. Beyond that rather vague advice, though, there are a few concrete tidbits that I'd like to pass along to you. They have served me well during the time I've written for Textbroker; some were writing habits that I'd already possessed, and others were things that I learned over time. By sharing them with you, I hope that I can provide a bit of inspiration, make you aware of something that you otherwise weren't – or even inspire you to kick things up a notch.
The Thesaurus Is Your Friend
Words are awesome. You know that feeling when there's a word “on the tip of your tongue,” but it just won't come to mind? For example, the difference between “color” and “hue” - one will do when the other just won't. By expanding your vocabulary and using a thesaurus, you can become a more descriptive and interesting writer. Don't force words in – they need to flow naturally – but don't recycle the same handful of words, either. Read more...
posted by meaghan on 11/09/2009 - 04.58 | authors | comments: 14
Help Me Help You: Giving Clients What They Want
By Textbroker editor Christina Zila
Textbroker is here to serve our clients, which include web developers and SEO companies. A better idea of who our clients are and what they want will help you in writing winning articles.
Many of our clients are web developers and search engine optimization firms. These two types of clients have similar, yet slightly diverging, goals. A web developer creates and designs websites. They make sure that the site is running correctly and securely and often create or oversee the graphical element of the site. They usually do not have the time to write the content, or the words, that describe what the site does or sells. These types of orders are usually very specific on what they want: a description of a specific shoe, a certain type of job, or an “About Us” page for a website.
A search engine optimization, or SEO, firm, on the other hand, is looking for something different. They choose specific terms that, when searched for, show their client on the first page of Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Let’s say our client has a toy store in Kalamazoo, MI that specializes in old-school, traditional toys. The SEO company has to determine the phrases that you and I will put into Google to find our nearest store. Read more...
posted on 10/23/2009 - 04.37 | authors | comments: 17
