Create a Writing Budget for Your Fiction Writing!Create a writing budget for your fiction writing business. A budget is an important tool you can use to keep the spending for your writing in line so you can keep on track throughout the entire writing process from idea to publication. When is the best time to start your writing budget? The time to start an effective budget is the moment you start thinking about your first novel. If you are already passed that stage, developing a budget right now is the best thing you can do to ensure you have the money when you need it for various functions associated with the writing process. What should you consider when creating a writing budget? Well, if it involves any process of your writing such as writing materials, equipment, marketing, publishing, editing or other actions that cost money, it is considered an expense. If you make money from any aspect of your writing, it is referred to as an income related to your writing. Most writing income is treated as a royalty, so it is taxed differently with your federal and state income taxes. Your writing is a business whether you like it or not. It may not be a huge business, but it is a business all the same. If you combine your personal budget with your business budget, you are asking for trouble. Your budget will become unmanageable and you will come up short when you need to hire an editor, have a critique done, or when you need to purchase a new computer when your computer crashes. As with any business, you will create a writing budget based on your business's needs now and in the future. If you are just starting out (the idea stage), you need to look out in the future for your business. Where do you want your writing business to be one month from now, six months from now, a year from now and so on? What equipment are you going to need to begin writing? What writing software are you going to need to help smooth your writing? How much will you have to set aside every month to afford to pay for a critique or professional editor. How are you going to fund your writing business at the start? This is a big one because if you are just starting out, you have no income coming into your writing business. You must consider how you are going to fund your writing budget until such time that it is going to fund itself, then eventually you. If you create a writing budget, you will be able to estimate how much you need to invest in your business in order to meet your goals and expectations.
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