Deeanne Gist - www.deeannegist.com - Inspirational Romance Author

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Monday, August 15, 2005

A Great Tax Write Off

The hubby assumed writing would be another one of those things that would provide him with a great tax write-off. Understandable. Every hobby or business venture I've ever participated in has lost money. Writing included.

The amount of dollars I've sunk into books alone would boggle the mind. All under the auspices of my writing career, of course.

"Well, honey, I really need to buy all these romances so I can keep abreast of what's selling in the industry."

"Well, honey, I might want to write a book someday that takes place in ancient Rome and this book is on the Bargain Table, so if I go ahead and get it now, I'll be saving us money!"

"Well, honey, I'll never get past the front door if I don't know how to put together a professional looking query letter, so I bought this book on how to write one."

And so on. Then came the travel.

"The writer's conference is in Hawaii this year, dear. Now before you say anything, I know the cost will be rather steep, but for that very reason the crowd will be smaller and the intimacy will allow me to have more face time with the movers and shakers in the industry." (He put his foot down. I was not going to a conference in Hawaii. Married women who loved their husbands just did not do such things. Period.)

"Well, honey, since I'm not going to Hawaii, I decided to fly up to Virginia and spend a week there researching the novel I'm writing. It would be so helpful to actually see the area my story takes place in. And just think, I'll be saving you so much money by going there instead of Hawaii!"

And on it went ... membership fees in the writer's organizations, contest entry fees, postage, a lasor printer (so my manuscript would look crisp and professional), business cards, stationery, logos, etc, etc, etc.

Every year at tax time when I filled out my Schedule C, he would look it over and say, "Sweetheart, please, please don't make me any more money."

Yet all this time, I don't think he ever really thought I would sell. I believe he thought it would be an expensive little hobby that would keep me out of trouble. His response when I gave him the big news?

"Oh. Gee. Can't you just be a wife and a mother?"

Bless his little heart. I never quite fit the "Mrs. Cleaver" mold he had fantasized about as a young man, I guess. In any event, I smiled and said, "I'm sure, dear, what you meant to say was ... 'Congratulations! I'm so proud of you! Way to go! That's just great!' ... I just know that is what you meant to say."

He nodded. "Yes. I am proud of you."

And you know what? He really is. He has a copy of Bride in his office and shows it off to all who enter. He is one of my biggest fans.

And on top of all that, I'm still a good tax write off. Not because of my fiction, but because of all my other business ventures that I am now having to sell and liquidate in order to concentrate on my fiction full time. So, see? I'm still saving him money!!!

posted by Deeanne at 1:58 PM

4 Comments:

Barb said...: Funny, you sound like a good wife to me! Or at least a familiar one. Hmmm. I did the '50s thing once and vacuumed in my heels and something short and my husband about died with happiness. It really doesn't seem to take much to make them happy. Maybe Mr Greg's been overwhelmed by the depth of your personality? Cool that he's got you on display in his office now!
Deeanne said...: I think my husband would die of happiness if I simply vacuumed. Period!! :-)
Barb said...: You can teach teenagers to do that too....
TS said...: Dee,
That is very familiar. My wife is giving me a lot of tax opportunities with her horse business. Tell your husband to be thankful it is writing rather than horses.
Blessings,
Marvin

p.s. I was pleased to see you listed me as author and poet. Thanks