Dale’s Comments (group member since Sep 15, 2017)

Dale’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

General note: Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been on vacation this week . . .

Carmel wrote: "Thanks, Dale. I wasn't even sure how to find the publication he was inviting me to! I'm such a dolt when it comes to some of these things. I live in a bubble. :) "

They don't always give good instructions, either. Did you find it? If not, what was the name of it? You can probably find it through Medium's search function.

D.J. wrote: "Have I really got to fill in 9 sodding tax forms for IngramSpark? Nin..."

The whole problem is that until just recently, U.S. states were not collecting sales tax in internet sales, except (usually) for sales made by companies to customers in their own state. For example, since I live in Maryland, my little publishing company would only collect sales tax on sales to Maryland customers.

Recent court decisions now allow states to collect sales tax on all internet sales, which has created a nightmare for online retailers. Ingram's forms are all about dealing with that, and they have to do it that way because the states don't have a standardized way of filing the required information. Different states have different requirements.

Basically, you need to fill out all the required forms to state that you are exempt from sales tax when you order books from Ingram and have them delivered to a U.S. address. If you don't fill them out, Ingram would be required (in most cases) to charge you sales tax if your order is being shipped to a U.S. address. I assume--and please note that I am NOT an expert in the law!--that if you have them deliver books to a U.K. address, no sales tax would be charged.

So really, you need to fill out the forms to be exempt from sales tax for the specific states where you might have your books delivered. And this only applies to YOUR orders. If someone orders your books from, say, Amazon, Amazon will charge the customer the appropriate sales tax.

About my 156 fans for one day. They are still there in the stats, and I figured out how it could be real. I've written over 70 stories by now, so if two people went through my entire inventory and clapped for everything, that would about do it. A small number of people clapping for a significant number of my stories, or a lot of people clapping for just a few stories each, would be enough. The only thing I don't know is why they would all have done so on the same day.

Carole wrote: "Bulwark was just awarded an Indie Brag Medallion!!! Yay!!"

Congratulations!

Carmel wrote: "Can someone explain this part of Medium to me?"

Publication owners do sometimes invite writers to become writers for them based on works they like. I got into a couple of publications that way. If invited, I'd say yes unless I saw something about the publication itself I didn't want to be associated with. You still own the copyright to anything you publish through a publication. Publications generally have writers' guidelines that spell out what they are looking for and what their terms are.

Usually you can write for a publication without joining the Medium Partner Program, although some may not allow it. The Writing Cooperative just changed their policy to require that all stories submitted to them be set to earn money, because that also triggers Medium's curators to consider a story for promotion. Again, the publication's writers' guidelines should spell that out.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Speaking of weird things on Medium...

On an average day, my stats show maybe 2 - 8 fans. On a good day I'll top 10.

Today so far I'm showing 156. What??? I only have 34 views. I only have 17 reads. How can I possibly have 156 fans??

I'll take 'em if they boost my earnings, but something seems very wrong...

Alex wrote: "Could I be a fly on the wall for the response if you get a nastygram please, I need some entertainment, lol. "


Alex the Fly . . . has kind of a ring to it . . .

Alexis wrote: "Thanks Dale, but Alex kind of beat you to it a few comments above: we're going with Dorothy Mai Ferg. So, just an anagram. "

People are always beating me to the punch. ;-)

Alexis,

Not to rain on the parade, but I kinda wonder if making it "I am [whoever]" might not be viewed as very derivative (causing readers' eyes to roll) and maybe even borderline infringement (causing nastygrams from laywers)? I don't know, but I'd hate to see you get in trouble...

Sam (Rescue Dog Mom, Writer, Hugger) wrote: "Dale wrote: "My If Money Wasn't an Issue... entry is now online..."

Very nice, Dale. I need more time for mine... late as always..."

Thank you!

Alex wrote: "I'm sure you'll get there, with your books, you've been sorting a few things. Once you've got them dealt with you'll come on strong towards the end of the year."

I don't think I'll ever get everything dealt with. As soon as I put one to rest, another pops up. But it keeps life interesting. ;-)

Alexis wrote: "Dale wrote: "My If Money Wasn't an Issue... entry is now online.

And Alex . . . you're getting a lot done, just in your own way. I had hoped to release two or maybe even three books this year. Her..."

Thank you! And by the way, best of luck on your writing venture. (I did read your other post, just didn't get around to responding.)

My If Money Wasn't an Issue... entry is now online.

And Alex . . . you're getting a lot done, just in your own way. I had hoped to release two or maybe even three books this year. Here it is June, and I haven't even gotten the first one out there. Ugh . . .

By the by, Carole, I squeezed in some time to write up my thoughts. I've submitted it to Publishous, though, so it may be a few days before it appears online.

Alex wrote: "My head hurts just thinking about that lot, Dale. I hope the new job is a positive move and the vacation is everything you want, and best of luck with the house hunt."

Yeah, it's a lot, but we'll muddle through. It's nowhere near as bad as all the medical issues we've already had to deal with!

Carole wrote: "https://medium.com/@caroleproman/if-m..."

I'll write up my thoughts on the subject when I have some time. My Medium posting is down lately because I've changed jobs, have a vacation coming up, and (as of this week) starting to look around for a new house. A lot going on...

A new flash fiction story: Lesson

Here's one to make your day more surreal: The Experimentalist.

It actually is an experimental piece. There is an explanation at the head of the story. Read at your own risk. ;-)

My new skygazing article for Dialogue and Discourse: The Herdsman and the Maiden.