When starting a business so you can self-publish a book, you’ll likely need to purchase materials so you can write. These start-up costs are the expenses you incur before you actually begin business operations.
These costs usually are capital expenses (equipment or buildings). For an indie writer, start-up costs might include:
• Computer and printer
• Desk and chair for computer
• Software purchase or subscription
• Internet connection
• Telephone and its connection
• Paper and ink cartridges for printing out manuscripts
• Notepads and pens for writing
• Vehicle so you may travel to and from a place for research/interviews
Most of these items you probably already have. If so, they likely cannot be considered start-up costs; after all, you never spent any money to acquire them purely for the purpose of running your business.
Some of these costs can be considered assets. Generally, this would be machinery or office equipment. You usually recover costs for a particular asset through depreciation (more on this in a future entry).
As of this writing, on Federal income taxes, you can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up costs and up to $5,000 of organizational costs paid or incurred after Oct. 22, 2004. Rarely, however, are organizational costs a consideration when starting a self-publishing business, though you almost certainly can deduct the costs of a new computer you purchase just to write a book.
______________
My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 300 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.