I'm on my way to our accountant's office this morning, with a stack of paperwork in tow, so that we can figure out what selling a bunch of books does to our tax situation. I had never considered the problem because it was one of those things that happen to other people, not me. Me? No, I expected to sell a few copies of Beyond All Price to friends and family, and maybe pick up a few sales on my website. But the book was a labor of love, as I suspect most books are. Authors write because they have a story to share, and it's the sharing that matters. Not the money. Until it starts coming in. Some of you will remember that Beyond All Price came out over a year ago (August 9, 2010), but it didn't start to sell until this past August, when it suddenly went viral. Great! But wait. Now I have royalty income? I'm self-employed and responsible for paying my self-employment tax, on top of what the additional income does to raise our tax bracket? I may owe quarterly payments to the IRS? All of this is beyond me, and certainly not something i want to be dealing with. I'd rather be planning the promotional stuff for The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese, which comes out next month. And i really need to get back to writing The Road to Frogmore if I hope to have it out in 2012 in time for Laura Towne's 150th anniversary celebration. Once I get the money matters straightened out, however, a whole bunch of Lions Club responsibilities lie ahead. How do I get myself into these things? Tonight we have to attend the induction of over 100 new members of the Southern College of Optometry Lions Club. I'm thrilled and proud of this hard-working group of young peope, especially since my husband and i serve as "Guiding Lions" for them. Then over the weekend, we have our Quarterly business meeting for Mid-South Lions Sight and Hearing Service, a wonderful organization that provides free eye care and hearing care for indigent people in a four-state area.
Again, it's great. But what was I thinking when I agreed to take on a
leadership role that will land me in the President's chair next June? I must start getting my head around the business end of this organization, too. But first . . ., tomorrow afternoon I will be joining a group of Lions Clubs members to tour an amazing facility -- a flying eye hospital that travels the world to bring quality eye care and medical training to countries where blindness is an ongoing problem. The plane is in Memphis on a "good will" tour, and will be parked at the FedEx facility for several days. To see just a bit of what we will be experiencing, click here for the video. What do I have here? It's all good news! But you'll have to forgive me for feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I really do have more questions than answers at this point., and I'd best get busy finding the solutions. See you on Monday! |
