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Blog

Kajli Prince, The Tax Expert

February 4, 2022 Post a comment

We wanted to get to know Kajli Prince (NAIWE’s Tax Expert) better, so last month we sat down with him. Here are some thoughts he shared with us.

Why does it seem like tax season is open earlier this year?

The tax season is likely starting early so the IRS can start dealing with the processing of tax returns of taxpayers who received the third stimulus payment, or those of taxpayers who received the advanced child tax credit. These monies are NOT taxed, but the IRS has to check all the amounts reported on each return before it can be processed. This added step accounted for the reason why a lot of taxpayer 2020 returns were processed late due discrepancies in the reporting of the first and second stimulus payments.

Why has the tax filing deadline changed from April 15th?

The filing deadline is April 18, 2022, (for most taxpayers) because of the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia for everyone except taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts. Taxpayers in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 19, 2022, to file their returns due to the Patriot Day holiday in those states. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Monday, October 17, 2022, to file.

What will delay the tax refund?

There are certain credits that may delay a taxpayer’s return from being processed. These include the child tax credit or, more likely, the additional child tax credit. The earned income credit is also notorious for delaying the processing of a taxpayer’s return. And, referring back to the first question, if you received any stimulus payment, not accurately reporting the amount received will likely delay the tax refund (assuming the taxpayer is due a refund).

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As if taxes are not confusing enough as it is. Since COVID, however, Kajli Prince has found that his clients are more confused than ever about what to expect at tax time. In this webinar, Prince will share some of the most frequently asked questions that he has been asked over the past two years (since COVID came to visit). In past webinars, he has been keen on sticking to small business matters. However, for this year’s webinar, he plans to discuss issues like (advanced) child tax credit payments, stimulus payments, as well as how to avoid paying a tax penalty on “coronavirus-related” retirement distributions.

You can join in this conversation on February 24, at 7:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on taxes, credits, and stimulus payments. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Non-members can join for $30. Register today!

Categories: Board of Experts, Events, Professional Development

Days to Celebrate in February

January 28, 2022 Post a comment

February: National Self-Check Month. Take charge of your health, and increase your odds of avoiding chronic diseases or other preventable diseases.

February: Free and Open Source Software Month. Recognize the cooperative approach to computer programming, open licensing, and free distribution of software.

February: National Library Lover’s Month. Enjoy your library, but also consider volunteering your time this month in a library.

February 1: National Get Up Day. This is a day to persevere, to pick ourselves up when we’ve fallen. We never know when our efforts to seek a goal or overcome an obstacle will encourage another person.

February 4: National Thank a Mail Carrier Day. As a small business, you likely work your mail carrier a little harder. Let’s take time out of our day to thank the mail person who is responsible for getting your mail in your mailbox six days a week.

February 7: National Send a Card to a Friend Day. Send a note to a colleague or client to let them know you are thinking about them.

February 10: National Giving Hearts Day. Make a donation from your business to a charity that you love.

February 11: National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. Think positive. Don’t worry and don’t stress over the little things. Life is too short.

February 11: National Make a Friend Day. Get to know one of your clients a little better. Meeting new people can help sharpen our social skills and keep us from becoming lonely.

February 14: National Clean Out Your Computer Day. Over time, files and programs that are unused clog the memory of your computer. This is a day to take some time to do the needed care on your computers. Organize your files and folders. Delete junk files. Delete duplicate files. Delete old files and programs that are not being used.

February 14-20: National Freelance Writers Appreciation Week. Celebrate these hardworking writers by showing some gratitude, highlighting a fun behind-the-scenes moment.

February 17: National Random Acts of Kindness Day. Write a note or do something nice for one of your clients today.

February 26: National Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Share a favorite fairy tale with friends or family.

Categories: National Days

Book Review: Write Faster With Your Word Processor

January 21, 2022 Post a comment

Geoff Hart’s Write Faster With Your Word Processor is a complete guide to using computer technology to increase both the ease and efficiency of the writing process. Hart takes a step-by-step approach to unravelling the incredibly extensive and complex features offered by Microsoft Word for both Windows and Macintosh to aid writers in personalizing their computers for faster, more consistent writing. (Hart notes that his focus on Microsoft Word does not preclude using this guide with similar word-processing programs.)

Each chapter provides a “working approach” to the topic covered, with a link to “on-line stuff,” allowing the reader to check for further explanations or updates. In addition, resources cited along the way offer further reading on specific chapter topics — all documented in an online, continuously updated bibliography. The title may seem a bit misleading, as a glance through the table of contents (TOC) shows this book covers more than the word processor. It also offers sections on choices of hardware, additional software, and backup strategies, as well as online research strategies and health and safety suggestions.

As a writer, I have used a word processor since I traded in my legal pads and pencils for a stand-alone Panasonic word processor in the late 1980s. Over the years I have moved through a series of computers and a variety of software until I finally met Microsoft Word on a Windows Millennium laptop. My current computer is a Windows 10 laptop with Office 365. As much as I am on a computer for my work, however, I am not particularly computer savvy, so I rarely attempt to adjust anything on my laptop or within Word. (And Mr. Hart makes many suggestions in his book that I will not have the courage to try.) My writing runs the gambit from fiction (novels, short stories, and plays) to scholarly nonfiction and everything in between. I also suffer from carpel tunnel in both hands and am ever in search of keyboard shortcuts to minimize my mouse time.

Whether you recognize my experience as similar to your own or are a whiz on a computer, this book will definitely help you speed up your writing process. The step-by-step instructions, provided in excruciating detail, do sometimes take a long time (for me) to implement, but as I carefully make a list of those things I have changed in Word so I can (a) remember how to use them the next time and (b) know how to undo something I decide I don’t like, this book promises to make a huge difference in my writing efficiency.

If you have been writing on a word processor for a long time, some of this content may seem like a refresher course. You will find some ideas that you already use (e.g., I always use style sheets). There may also be some strong recommendations you have already considered and rejected (e.g., I only rarely use detailed outlines and have never liked the “Outline” view in Word). You will likely, however, discover something you never knew about your software and rejoice at the simplicity of the cure for something that has always proven problematic (e.g., I can now create keyboard shortcuts for my fictional character names!). The highly detailed TOC and an index allow for easy navigation, and an extensive glossary helps the reader decipher the technical terms needed to understand what the author is talking about.

Some of the content may seem terribly simplistic to a seasoned writer. For example, Hart makes a firm point about organizing your files and makes suggestions on ways to do it. But then I remember a writer friend of mine with multiple books under his belt who still has no idea of where any of his files are saved on his computer, so even this discussion could prove germane to some writers using a word processor.

I do not recommend anyone attempt to read, digest, and implement this entire book all at once, but if you are like me, you can browse the TOC and appendices to find those shortcuts that look promising then take them for a test drive. Hart does not claim to have all the answers for all writers, and, in fact, his recommendation is to “learn what works best for you.” Fine advice, indeed, from someone who has written a work covering a whole universe of how-to advice on using electronic tools to help writers write more efficiently. But all writers, I dare say, will find a great many useful tools herein, though the complexity of the subject matter will require patience to implement them.

 

Laura A. Ewald is a former university librarian turned freelance writer and editor. A recent transplant to the Deep South, she shares her southern Mississippi home with her elderly parents and an ever-changing assortment of adopted stray cats.

Categories: Book Reviews, Member Benefits

Member Benefit: Discount on Geoff Hart’s Write Faster With Your Word Processor

January 14, 2022 Post a comment

Write faster with your word processor! Whether you’ve been using your word processor for years, or have just begun to learn a new program, it’s easy to fall into the trap of complacency and accept a basic skill level. But whether you write for pleasure or write for a living, you should be spending more time writing and less time figuring out how to use the tools. In Write Faster Using Your Word Processor, Geoff will teach you how to use your software more effectively—both the tools you’ve used previously and new tools you haven’t yet tried. The skills apply equally well whether you write fiction or non-fiction. Although Geoff will use Microsoft Word 2019 to make the explanations more concrete, the same approach will work equally well with any word processor.

NAIWE members receive 21% off the print book or 33% off the e-book!

Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.

Categories: Member Benefits

Jake Poinier, The Freelance Expert

January 7, 2022 Post a comment

We wanted to get to know Jake Poinier (NAIWE’s Freelance Expert) better, so last month we sat down with him. Here are some thoughts he shared with us.

What is it about referrals that make them so powerful?

They offer plenty of advantages, but the first one that comes to mind is that you’re getting a warm lead, so there’s less convincing and selling involved to secure a project. If you are getting a referral from one of your loyal clients, it will likely be a decent match, which means that they’ll be easy to work with and possibly less price sensitive. Finally, once you achieve a steady stream of referrals, it reduces your overall marketing needs — it’s like having a virtual sales force.

Is it true that referrals are free?

That depends on the circumstance. Most people who refer business to me do it as a professional courtesy. In return, I always write them a thank-you note, let them know how the project went, and might offer to buy them lunch. (Ideally, I will hook them up with a referral in the other direction.) Sometimes a referring source may request a fee, which is fine if the math pencils out. But make sure the parameters are clear: Is this a one-time fee or a fee for every project going forward?

When is the preferred time to ask for referrals?

There’s no bad time! You can introduce the topic the first time you talk with someone, along the lines of mentioning that you’re a referral-based business. If a project is going well, you can mention referrals during the process or when it’s successfully completed. Note that all of this comes with a caveat: You don’t want to come across as pushy or desperate. Your approach should be something like: “Do any of your peers in XYZ industry have similar needs that would benefit from my services?” The answer might not be an immediate yes, and if it’s not, you’ve planted the seed.

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Ask any experienced freelancer, and they’ll tell you that referrals offer the most powerful way to build and diversify your business. In this session, we’ll discuss how you can create a system that increases your volume of high-quality word-of-mouth projects. Topics include the hidden benefits of referrals; when, where, and how to ask for them; and the key steps to take that will keep them flowing.

You can join in this conversation on January 26, at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on benefitting from referrals. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Non-members can join for $30. Register today!

Categories: Board of Experts, Events, Professional Development

Book Review: Wicked Innocents

December 31, 2021 Post a comment

Wicked Innocents

Author: S.H. Livernois

 

A young girl claims that her family has changed. Not in personality, but as if their bodies have been overtaken. Nelly Huggett does not feel loved by her mother, and people say she exaggerates a bit too much. Fellow classmates have ridiculed her, and her brother doesn’t even like her. So is Nelly telling the truth?

While her aunt takes Nelly in when she runs away from home on the night of Halloween, Aunt Emma believes Nelly is lying. However, it has been three days and no one has answered the phone at the Huggett house, not even a cellphone.

The Frontenac sisters, Hyla and Lizeth, are on the case. As supernatural sleuths, Hyla and Lizeth drive to the home of Aunt Emma at the bequest of a phone call from Nelly. After confronting Emma’s denial that anything is going on in Nelly’s house, the four of them drive to Nelly’s home in search of clues.

In Wicked Innocents, S.H. Livernois quickly builds suspense through the description of the emptiness and eeriness of the Huggett home. And then once the missing family members are discovered, the mystery evolves as the Frontenac sisters continue to investigate to determine if Nelly is telling the truth or filled with anger and lies.

While there is not an overwhelming number of characters, there are a handful of characters that are easily confused. The Frontenac sisters, Hyla and Lizeth, have different strengths, but their personalities are not different enough, making them easily confused. Emma and Gillian, Nelly’s aunt and mother, respectively, can easily be confused, leading to some interactions needing to be re-read. And Miles and Jack, Nelly’s father and brother, can be confused too, especially in a discussion about a dispute with a neighbor.

Though additional description of these characters could be added to further separate them from one another, and this lack of description causes some slowdown in the reading to completely understand a few scenes, this does not take away from the overall enjoyment of the book.

In reading this novel, it was obvious the book is still in need of a proofreader. There were errors in punctuation and a few developmental questions, such as an undifferentiated pronoun, making a sentence difficult to understand.

Overall, we enjoyed this novel. The author has a skill for writing mystery and suspense to capture the audience and involve the reader until the end.

Categories: Book Reviews, Member Benefits

Days to Celebrate in January

December 24, 2021 Post a comment

January 2: National Science Fiction Day. American author and Boston University professor of biochemistry Isaac Asimov was born on January 2, 1920. He was best known for his works of science fiction and his popular science books.

January 5: National Screenwriters Day. Inside the industry, screenwriters are well known for their ability to crack the story, create great roles for actors, and write memorable dialogue.

January 6: National Technology Day. From the wheel to smartphones, technology has been changing the world. Recognize those achievements and look to the future for more advancements in technology.

January 10: National Clean off Your Desk Day. This day is an opportunity to begin your new year with a clean and organized work space. Whether your desk is in a private or shared office, cubicle, home, or a make-shift desk on the counter, having your work space uncluttered, organized, refreshed, and clean will help you work more efficiently and give you a sense of serenity.

January 18: National Thesaurus Day. Whether you are looking for a new word or trying to complete a sentence, the thesaurus can be your best friend. Expanding your vocabulary improves both written and spoken communication skills and creative writing abilities and can be helpful in advancing your career.

January 20: Get to Know Your Customers Day. When businesses get to know your customers, you also get to know more about what you need to grow.

January 23: National Handwriting Day. Reintroduce yourself to a pen or pencil and a piece of paper. According to the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association, it is a chance for all to re-explore the purity and power of handwriting.

January 24: National Compliment Day. What a wonderful way to brighten someone’s day or to give credit for a job well done!

January 28: National Fun at Work Day. Many people spend a good portion of their lives at work, so why should they not try to enjoy it?

Categories: National Days

Member Benefit: Discount on Geoff Hart’s Effective Onscreen Editing

December 17, 2021 3 Comments

Geoff Hart has recently published the 4th edition of Effective Onscreen Editing, which covers Microsoft Word 2016 for both Macs and Windows. NAIWE members receive 22% off the print book or 25% off the e-book!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.

Categories: Member Benefits

A December Focus

December 13, 2021 Post a comment

It’s the end of the year. A time for holiday parties and festivities, and as a business owner, it is a time for me to touch my current and former clients with holiday cards.

While I have spent the month of November writing and addressing these cards, December is when they are mailed out, so for the rest of the month I spend it focusing on my business and planning for the new year.

I review my business’s mission statement and how it affects my marketing plan. I review the types of clients I have worked for and how our relationship has stayed true to my mission statement.

I also review my monthly marketing plan’s goals, to determine the ones I want to continue focusing on and ones that need to be updated. These goals allow me to proactively market each month without delays, as the marketing plan is one of my guides and maps to success!

NAIWE offers On-Demand Training to help freelancers with their marketing plans.

 

April Michelle Davis has been the executive director of the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) since 2018. Prior to that, she was NAIWE’s Social Media Marketing Expert. NAIWE is an association that focuses on career building for writers, editors, and other professionals in the publishing industry by developing multiple streams of income; it helps its members market their products and services through social media, newsletters, and more.

She is also the coordinator for the Virginia chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association, a lifetime member of the American Copy Editors Society, and a freelance editor, indexer, proofreader and author. April Michelle has taught courses through her own company, Editorial Inspirations, as well as for associations and colleges on topics such as editing, indexing, grammar, writing, and creating macros.

Her credentials include a master’s degree in publishing from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Messiah College, as well as certificates in editing (University of Virginia), book publishing (University of Virginia), and professional editing (EEI Communications).

April Michelle has shared her insights about her career development by contributing quotes and vignettes to several books. She has presented sessions on various editorial topics to many groups, including the Virginia Writers Club, the Communication Central conference, Randolph-Macon College, the Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network, the EFA, Copyediting newsletter, RavenCon, and the Hanover Book Festival. In addition, April Michelle has published three books.

Categories: Marketing, Member Benefits

Ashley Henyan, The Social Media Marketing Expert

December 10, 2021 Post a comment

We wanted to get to know Ashley Henyan (NAIWE’s Social Media Marketing Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

What is the span of a social network?

A social network is not limited to those who follow your channel or like your page. A social network is, for the most part, unlimited — especially considering that it only takes one “like” or “retweet” to exponentially expand your reach.

What is the average number of items in a toolkit to help engage a network of social advocates?

A toolkit is really a fancy way of describing a single-page online guide for your social advocates — the friends, family members, and colleagues who support your work or business and already like your page. In that essence, a toolkit is a single-page, Word document. However, the amount of content you incorporate into that document is completely up to you.

Once I have created my toolkit, is it one and done?

No! As your products expand and your brand evolves, you will want to update your toolkit. You might want to considering doing so quarterly, seasonally, or even in alignment with a new product launch, campaign, or event. Being timely and relevant is essential to stand out in the digital world. Your brand’s toolkit should be timely and relevant too!
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Are you posting and posting and posting on your social media platforms only to find your high school best friend and your mom are the only two followers liking or sharing your content? Then our upcoming webinar is JUST FOR YOU!

Get tips and tricks for engaging your followers and gaining new ones. You will also learn how to create a toolkit to help engage a network of social advocates to work for you, bringing greater visibility to your brand.

You can join in this conversation on December 9, at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on building your social media presence. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Non-members can join for $30. Register today!

Categories: Board of Experts, Events

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Days to Celebrate in August

July 25, 2025

Member Benefit: Discount on Geoff Hart’s Effective Onscreen Editing

July 11, 2025

Days to Celebrate in July

June 27, 2025

NAIWE.org! The New NAIWE Website Is Live!

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Member Benefit: Discount on Fictionary’s An Insider’s View of Story Editing Course

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