Gary McGath

Writing as business

Taxing freelance writers

This entry was posted in Commentary Writing Writing as business and tagged California taxes Virginia writing on September 8, 2021 by Gary McGath

Charlottesville, Virginia tried to impose a business license tax on freelance writers. At the same time, magazines and newspapers were exempt from the tax. In January 2021, the 16th Judicial Court of Virginia declared this treatment a violation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law.
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Judges assault First Amendment

This entry was posted in Commentary Writing Writing as business and tagged First Amendment law liberty on July 30, 2021 by Gary McGath

A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th circuit should seriously worry writers. It says that the government can ignore the First Amendment when it feels like it. In the case in question, the court acknowledged that website design work is “pure speech,” which means it’s protected by the First Amendment. “Appellants are forced to create websites — and thus, speech—that they would otherwise refuse.” But then it argued that the State of Colorado has a “compelling interest” in forcing a website designer to work for the plaintiff. It ruled that, in spite of the plain First Amendment violation, the designer can be forced to create speech.
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This entry was posted in Writing Writing as business on July 22, 2021 by Gary McGath | Open »

Here’s an article on the Freelance Writing Jobs blog on “Freelancing with a Disability” that looks interesting. It’s outside my expertise but makes sense to me.

Fanatical publishers

This entry was posted in Writer ethics Writing Writing as business and tagged music publishers on June 25, 2021 by Gary McGath

This post deals with a music publisher, GIA. That puts it a little beyond my blog’s usual scope, but it’s still publishing, and I write lots of songs (though only one has ever made me money) and have edited convention songbooks. The story is hard to believe, but the reports I’ve seen support it. My primary source is a Reason article by Robby Soave. I’ll grant that since I tend to agree with Reason‘s positions, I have to watch out for bias, but in my experience the site’s fact-checking is good, and they don’t often publish wild fictions.

On the other hand, if the report is accurate, the company it calls “the major publisher of religious content” (in choral music) is run by fanatics who don’t just support arson but think there’s “no justification” for opposing it. Or perhaps GIA is run by miserable cowards who will do anything that they think will help their revenues, no matter how unjust. Both possibilities are disturbing.
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The “Pro Act” bill threatens free expression

This entry was posted in Commentary Writing Writing as business and tagged law liberty writing on May 19, 2021 by Gary McGath

The more I hear about the “Pro Act” bill (it’s not an act till Biden signs it), especially from its supporters, the more convinced I am that it’s a threat not just to writers’ livelihoods but to free expression.

As I wrote in an earlier post, the bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. On the surface, it just grants freelancers a freedom we didn’t have before, the freedom to deal with clients through organizations. This ignores the reality of labor law, which gives unions the power to compel employers by force of law to enter into agreements. Outsiders often have the choice of joining the union, giving the union money without joining, or not working for a unionized employer.
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