I’m participating in Smashwords’ “Read an Ebook Week Sale,” from March 3 to March 9, 2019. During that time, Files that Last and Yesterday’s Songs Transformed will both be available for 50% off! These are very different books, but I’m dealing with change and preservation in both of them. This is your chance to get them at an especially good price.
Occasionally I hear from freelance writers who mistakenly think they’re employees. Some even list clients as employers on LinkedIn. I don’t think I’ve ever run into the reverse. In the United States, there’s a clear distinction between the two, and it’s important to know which you are.
If you’re an employee, you filled out a W-2 form for the IRS, and your employer deducts taxes from your paycheck. If you’re a contractor, you’re self-employed. You get a 1099 reporting your income, and normally the IRS collects the tax through estimated tax payments or with the 1040 in April. You get the privilege of paying double Social Security tax. On the positive side, you can deduct business expenses, perhaps even a home office.
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Opponents of the First Amendment rarely say they’re against it. They say things like “money isn’t speech,” by which they mean that your rights end when money changes hands. This would reduce freedom of speech to the freedom to stand on a soapbox and deliver an oration, provided you hadn’t paid for the soapbox.
Nonetheless, some states and localities won’t let you do any kind of business without government permission. This includes selling your writing. An article by Kylie Jane Wakefield gives some ugly details. Some governments demand money before they’ll give you permission to write for income, sometimes as much as $100 per year.
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Are you plagued by passive voice phobia? Have you been told that the passive voice must never be used? As an antidote, here are some cases where the passive voice is the best choice. Remember them and don’t let yourself be intimidated!
If it isn’t clear who or what performed the action, you can use a subject such as “something,” “people,” or (as in this sentence) the impersonal “you.” If you’re legally minded, you can say “person or persons unknown.” But leaving the actor out altogether is sometimes the strongest choice. If you work at a help desk and customers have been giving you a rough time, you can yell (preferably while off the phone), “I’ve been abused and insulted enough!” It’s not any particular person you’re blowing up about, but the accumulated abuse.
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