As part of my journey in creating a career in writing, I started up my own business. Why did I need to do that? Firstly, it was on the advice of more experienced writers. The advice was if I was serious about writing I needed to treat it like a business. Secondly, I feel that it gives a more professional appearance to my books if they are published by a publishing company. Thirdly, I can more easily keep the income completely separate from my own day job income and if the time comes when I need to employ outside help, keeping track of payments will be more visible.
I set up Ferret Publishing Ltd in April 2011. Before I set up the company I made sure the domain name WWW.Ferretpublishing.com was available for the website that would promote my books and I reserved it. I then set up a business account for all royalties to be paid directly into.
All in all the total spend needed to do the above was around £170. I'm still in the process of obtaining a Tax Identification Number (TIN) to put on the W8-BEN form to send to Amazon. This is required to stop them holding back 30% tax on my royalties as I'm an foreign resident.
All in all it has been quite painless and I'm hoping it has put me on a good footing for the future. Now I need to build up my catalogue of works and get my name noticed. Speaking of which, I have finished the first draft of Psychic Knights - Reformation and am currently outlining the second book in that series. This will take me to the 31st of this month where I will go back to Psychic Knights - Reformation for the final edit. Both books will be out this year and I will continue the series next year.
Paul
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