Push My Buttons

I pushed that publish button and I liked it. 😉  I’m kidding actually.  My publishing experience this go around was horrific.  My documents for A TWIST OF FATE were all formatted perfectly, exactly as each respective distributor indicated in their guide and yet neither of them were able to process my upload!!

To my relief (and near insanity) they are both now in process for premium distribution.  You can get your copy now on Smashwords or, if you are holding out for Amazon, it will go live anywhere between now and 10 p.m.!!!

Dear IRS – Does applying for an ITIN really have to be this hard?

This is a Canadian Indie Author’s journey to getting an Individual Tax Identification Number (“ITIN”)… to stop the IRS from taking 30% of my book sales, when there’s a treaty that says they should get 0%!!
FIRST: I must tell you that if you’re planning on self-publishing soon, you should make your application to the IRS immediately!! I waited until after I hit the publish button with Amazon for my debut novel, Twisted, and quickly learned that, though an ITIN isn’t required, Amazon withholds 30% of your sales and remits it to the IRS.

I was surprised to sell 1,000 books within the first month of publishing, so needless to say I became more than a little disappointed to hand my money over to the IRS. There is a treaty between Canada and the United States that grants 0% withholding, but that isn’t effective and applied to your KDP account unless you file your W-8BEN with Amazon. You need an ITIN before you can file that form.
Here’s my gift to new self-published authors across Canada.