What my Accountant Said

You know all those tax deductions for writers I wrote about in my last blog? Well, I carefully gathered all my documentation of my expenses and submitted them along with an explanatory note, the hot cover of my upcoming book, and my regular tax stuff. Ring, Ring! It's my accountant, the one I had to get after we inherited stocks, and I could no longer figure out our taxes. To give him credit, he has saved us much money over the years. Very gently, he says, "Miss Lynn (did I mention we live in the South?") about these writing expenses. Now you aren't trying to earn your living this way because there is a difference between a hobby and a real business, you know." I assured him I had a book coming out in April and would someday have royalties, maybe even enough to cover those $1,700 in expenses. The wheels turn. I know he is thinking, "Poor lady paid someone to print her book, and now she has all these losses." I say, "Really, I write four or five hours a day, and it's taken me five years to get this book printed by a real publisher." He mullls that over. "Tell you what, why don't we claim these expenses next year against any royalties you might get." Okay, didn't know you could do that. And that's why he is the accountant, and I am an author--maybe.