Writing as business

The state of business licensing for writers

This entry was posted in Writing Writing as business and tagged business law writing on by

Most writers are freelancers. In many places in the United States, you need the government’s permission, in the form of a business license, to be a freelance writer. Convincing the government to let you earn money writing generally requires paying money. This is a direct violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press. You aren’t free if you need to pay for permission to earn a living. Don’t count on the courts to agree with you, though.

If you choose to incorporate, that’s a separate issue; this article applies only to sole proprietorships. By definition, incorporation involves registration with a government office.

Zoning can be another concern. In some places, people aren’t allowed to operate a business from their home, even if it has no impact on anything beyond its walls. You can try to stay under the radar, but a neighbor could snitch on you. I don’t cover zoning issues here.

Some states require a license to operate any kind of business, but freelance writing may or may not be considered a “business” for that purpose. To a large extent, governments realize it would be bad publicity to ban people from writing or fine them for lack of permission, but it can happen. I’ve seen people say on freelancer boards that their state required them to get a license.

Corrections and additional information in the comments are welcome.
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What about sensitivity readers? 2

This entry was posted in Commentary Writing Writing as business and tagged sensitivity writing on by

I’ve never had occasion to deal with a sensitivity reader. As I worked on The Magic Battery, I asked for input from Jewish friends on my treatment of Jewish characters, but my concern was whether I’d gotten it right, not whether I was being “sensitive.” They were helpful, but I couldn’t find a single person who lived in the 16th century to give a Reformation period perspective.

A recent Reason article, “Sensitivity Readers Are the New Gatekeepers” (or “Rise of the Sensitivity Reader”) takes a very skeptical view of sensitivity readers. I don’t know if things in the publishing industry are actually as bad as the article represents, but the concept sounds dubious to me. I don’t write to be “sensitive.” I write to address “What if” questions, to tell a good story, and to give the reader something to think about. That sometimes means hurting people’s feelings. If you want something completely safe and bland, read Winnie the Pooh. (Provided you aren’t acrophobic or melissophobic.)
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Charlottesville can’t apply its business tax to writers

This entry was posted in Writing Writing as business and tagged taxes Virginia on by

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the city of Charlottesville, VA can’t collect its business license tax from freelance writers. Writer Corban Anderson, represented by the Institute for Justice, will get a refund of the taxes he had been assessed.

The city does not list freelance writing as having to pay the tax, but the city held that a “catchall provision” in the law let it tax writers.
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Amazon KDP arbitrarily excluding authors?

This entry was posted in Writing Writing as business and tagged Amazon KDP Kindle on by

A File 770 article asserts that “several indie romance authors recently found themselves banned by Kindle Direct Publishing with no real explanation.” I have no independent confirmation of this, but the article is worth a look.

I use Smashwords as my primary self-publishing outlet. This locks me out of some nice features I could get by giving exclusive publication rights to KDP, but I don’t care to be locked in like that.

Non-compete clauses for freelancers

This entry was posted in Writing Writing as business and tagged contracts law writing on by

Recently I got into a Reddit discussion that included a question about a non-compete clause for a freelance writer. Such clauses have legitimate uses, but broadly written ones can be nasty. They can damage a writer’s ability to earn an income. I’m not an expert in this area, so I’ve gone looking for reliable material.

PublishLawyer.com has an informative article, primarily addressing fiction writers. It quotes a “typical provision”:

During the term of this Agreement, Author has not prepared or published, and shall not prepare or publish, or participate in the preparation or publication of any work that directly competes with the sales of the Work.

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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 by

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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Fanatical publishers

This entry was posted in Writer ethics Writing Writing as business and tagged music publishers on by

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 by

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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