T.R. Robinson's Blog, page 39

Cover Reveal

Not sure if this is going to work but thought some of you may be interested to see the cover for my new novel. I hope to publish this in the next few days. Now to see if I can add the cover image.

Okay that did not work. If you are interested you may see the cover on my Facebook timeline for today. The book is called 'Peter'.

Avoiding 30% Tax Withholding

Under US Tax Regulations 30% of authors royalties has to be withheld unless appropriate, correctly completed, documentation has been submitted.

You may read more about this and how to avoid it at: http://trbooks7.blogspot.co.uk/2016/0...

A short book review is also included.

Avoiding US Tax Withholding

Self-published authors i.e. those who publish straight onto sites such as Amazon, Smashwords, etc. without the help of a small press, will be aware that under United States tax laws 30% of US business incomes must be withheld unless appropriate documentation has been successfully submitted.
Non-US citizens may consider such a withholding does not apply to them because they do not conduct business within the US. However, you would be wrong. Though your business (that of being an author) is based in another country your product (books) are created and sold from US based business’s (Amazon, Smashwords, iBooks, Google Play Books, etc.). Consequently, your business, for tax purposes, is considered to be a US based one.
Prior to recent changes you needed to submit detailed documentation and probably apply for a US Tax Identification Number to recover the 30% withholding that companies were obliged to keep back from your royalty payments. Thankfully for us, the tax regulations have been eased recently by enabling authors to claim exemption under various treaty agreements. Nevertheless, it is still a fairly complicated field to manoeuvre through.
I publish all my books through Amazon (various international sites); Smashwords (which distributes to a number of retailers: iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Nook and many more including library listings); Google Play Books (they are not included in Smashwords distribution so I have my own account with them).  Each of these companies is obliged to request tax information from you.  Amazon and Google Play Books make matters a little easier by enabling such information to be submitted electronically.  Smashwords requires a physical form be submitted by post.
Amazon provides a questionnaire that, overall, is reasonably easy to complete nevertheless, there are elements that need to be clearly understood.  It is hard enough for most of us to understand the tax laws of our own nations.  It is harder still to understand those of a different country and culture.  Then there are the apparently simple differences which need to be comprehended otherwise the form may be rejected; apparently if this happens it takes a very long time to sort the matter out.  For example: date formats; US dates are written as month, day, year whereas UK dates are presented as day, month, year.  I understand even something as simple as this can cause the form to be rejected.
I have recently been revisiting this whole area, as well as others, in readiness for soon publishing a new novel and re-publishing a couple of existing books.  I discovered my existing tax completions require the 30% withholding.  It is a long and complicated matter to recover this from the tax authorities in respect of sales made in previous years.  I have therefore worked upon new tax submissions to take advantage of the treaty agreement with the UK so there will be no 30% withholding for future sales.  Even with the new, comparatively easier, forms I felt the need for guidance.  I was therefore very grateful to have come across the book I mention below.
Book Recommendation!
Beyond Frontiers: US Taxes for International Self-Published Authors by Marcela Martinez Millan.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.  The author, a qualified tax advisor and a US Enrolled Agent; allowing them to represent taxpayers, has provided a most comprehensive guide for Non-US self-published authors.  She delves into all aspects whether you are publishing as an individual or corporation.  Gives guidance on what you need or do not need to apply for.  Explains about tax treaties and how to complete the various forms, highlighting where errors may unconsciously occur.
My above resume does not do justice to the book or the advice and guidance provided.  I TRULY CANNOT RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH.  To be frank, I think it is a publication all authors should avail themselves of.  Without hesitation I consider this warrants a five star (*****), if not higher, rating.  The author’s generosity in sharing all the advice is further complemented by the low price £0.99 ($1.44).  You will find links below to both the .co.uk and .com Amazon sites from which you may purchase the book.
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OE2W2EW
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OE2W2EW
Disclaimer: Other than having read the book and taking advantage of the guidance provided, I am in no way associated with the author and do not know them personally.

Author Profiles

http://trbooks7.blogspot.co.uk/2016/0...

Author Profiles

Naturally every author needs a public profile. What should this consist of?
First and perhaps foremost: a photograph or representative image. Many, but by no means all, readers like to have an idea of who wrote the book.A short biography of who they are. Past and present information is helpful to readers. Where they come from; brief history of what the journey to their present life has been; details of who they are now; etc. Some explanation of what brought them to write in the first place: driving desire; story or stories they feel must be told; sharing knowledge; wishing to help others in some way; etc.Contact links/information. Some readers like to interact with the author, especially if they have become a favourite.Where the reader may find more information about them and their books: website; blog, social media accounts etc. Most professionals/experts advise authors to have a ‘landing page’ for each of their books so that anyone interested would not have to click through various links to get to the information. Most would probably not bother to follow such a path; they want immediate access.
For most this, though time consuming, is relatively easy.  However, there are a few of us for whom it is not straightforward.
In my own case I consider it necessary, for the protection of others, to retain anonymity. Why? So far my books have been autobiographical and recount some very unpleasant and cruel treatment. Whether they deserve it or not, I do not wish to be responsible for the perpetrators, their relatives, descendants or friends to suffer mistreatment or embarrassment. I have had enough of that in my own life. Of course, I also wish to protect my own family. Therefore, there are limitations as to what I may make public. Even my new, soon to be published, novel contains elements based upon actual events.
The primary draw back for me is that I cannot post any actual photographs of myself or my relatives. Also, because I have been well known by many and easily identified from some descriptions, I have had to withhold or change the names of locations.
To this end I have developed an author profile that I hope easily identifies me without giving anything personal away. I have tried a few different ones but have finally settled on the one you see here. Regular visitors to this blog and my social media sites will note, I have just changed my profile image to this. Some will also be aware I have used it for a while on a few social media sites. This was all part of my experimentation. From now on I intend to only use this image wherever I am and all future books will be published under this banner.
Though reasonably obvious and straight forward, I hope the information I give above, about what is required in an author profile, will help some.
I particularly wished to let you know about the change of profile image so that there will be no confusion as to the fact it is still me who is sharing with you.

How long a movel?

Do you think novels should be kept to a certain length?

http://trbooks7.blogspot.com/2016/02/...

Review Thank You

I would like to thank Diane Donovan for her thorough, detailed and positive review of 'Tears of Innocence'. Diane has very clearly seen and understood all that was concurring in and around my tale.

Thank you.

Update

Hello.

I joined Goodreads as an author and reader a few months ago however, I had to go away on urgent business (including health issues) shortly after. Consequently, I have not been active on the site. I recently returned and am now in the process of catching up with over three months of work.

I am a relatively new author who has written the first part of my autobiography. The first two books in the series were published earlier this year.

I am looking forward to engaging with readers and authors alike. In addition, although I have little spare time, I do like to review a book once I have read it. I propose to add such reviews here as and when they are available.

This is my first post and I just wanted to say hello and look forward to becoming more active on the site and in groups. Looking forward to chatting.