Applying for your ITIN - US Individual Taxpayer Identification Number

Hi all, 

Over the last few years I’ve been fortunate enough to have my short stories published in various anthologies in both Ireland and the US, including my own collection, The Eleventh Hour. But as some of these anthologies were compiled for the love of writing I didn’t give much thought to the financial side of matters. Back in 2013 circumstances changed when Gentry Publishing, New York, offered me a contract for my first novel I, Vladimir.

So my journey began and in doing so I had to learn what an ITIN was, and obtain one from the United States Internal Revenue Service. Being a non-residential, non-US citizen, the thought of the IRS brought cold sweats and it was one of those tasks I was quite willing to put off. By August it was time to bite the bullet and get it done.

An ITIN stands for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. It is a United States tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service for non-residential, non-US citizens, who are either employed or will be paid by a company registered in the United States.

If you are publishing through a US company, whether Traditional, Indie, or any of the self-publishing services, it would be in your best interest to obtain an ITIN. The reason being is by law, all companies have to withhold a percentage of your royalties for tax purposes (30%), and you could then also be liable for tax within your own country too. By registering with the IRS and obtaining an ITIN you become tax exempt in the United States as long as your citizenship and residential status remains unchanged.

Reading up on how to get an ITIN seemed very daunting, hence another reason I kept putting it off, but in the end I found it a lot more straight forward than I’d first imagined – so I’ll try and keep it simple…

Firstly – Letter.

You will need a signed headed letter from your publisher or agent stating that you have a contract with them. If you are self-publishing, Amazon have one on their site which you download and print off.   Here.

Secondly - Passport.

Ireland has an agreement with the US where you do not have to post your passport, all you need is a letter of authentication from your passport office. You take your passport along to your local passport office, for a charge (€40 approx) they photocopy it and hand you back the photocopy and a stamped letter confirming all the details are correct and that you are indeed whom you claim to be. If you are not an Irish citizen, check with your own passport office to see if there is an agreement in place, otherwise I think you have no option but to send your passport. But I have to say that all documents were returned to me safely.

Thirdly – Application Forms.

You can download the forms directly from the IRS website. There are two to look at, the first which I strongly recommend you read in full is the instruction guide 

 Instrustions For Form W - 7  and the second is the application itself Application Form W - 7 which to be honest is pretty straight forward. Like with all forms, just read through it carefully and take your time.

When you have all documents, do not send in part or incomplete, send by post to:

Department of Treasury,

Internal Revenue Service,

PO Box 149342

Austin, TX 78714-9342

United States of America. 

At the time of writing this all the information given was correct and what I personally had used. I obtained my ITIN on my first attempt, I have read of others that have taken three or more goes.
All I can say is take your time and make sure you have all the necessary documents and have filled everything in.

May I wish you all the best in your writing career and in your application for your ITIN,

Daniel Kaye x

Social Media & Building Your Author Platform

Hi all,

I thought I’d write down a few basic thoughts on social media, and building your author platform. I hope you’ll find this of interest, and if there’s anything you’d like to add please do, we’re all still learning.

All of the below may sound daunting at first, but when you're on top of it all you'll manage all of this in about 15/20 minutes a day.

I use social media, daily, I work for myself so luckily I have the time. The main ones I think are Facebook, a blog (I use blogger), Goodreads, and Twitter. It is all about interacting with other writers, sharing articles and interesting snippets you find. The more information you share the more people will be interested in you and what you have to say, including your own writing. 

I think this is what Facebook works at best. It is packed full of writing groups for you to join, it’s visual and easy to use. There are so many writers using it, it can be a mine of information and people willing to help. A lot of people aren’t comfortable with strangers adding you as a friend on Facebook and seeing your holiday snaps or pictures from last year’s office Christmas party, so set up an author page and use that instead of your own for posting links on Twitter etc. But remember don’t get stuck on Facebook too long, there’ll be no time left for writing. 

Blogging, I started off with quotes, and the odd bit I found interesting, it builds slowly, but it does build. The key is to post something on your blog regularly, leave it too long in-between and people will lose interest. Any blog you find an article about writing, post a link on Twitter and Facebook. If people find it of interest, they will share it. 

Goodreads is a place for writers and readers where you share your reviews on books that you've read. You get the opportunity to give it a star rating and a brief review. There are many writing groups on there, search them out in your genre and join in. It's all about getting your name out there. Goodreads also offer a book giveaway, you register your book and set the dates you want the competition to run, and people enter who'd like to win. Goodreads pick a winner and you post it off. I did one a few months ago, I put up a signed copy of The Eleventh Hour, and over 800 registered to win it. Also on Goodreads, lookout out for the opportunity to review someone else’s book, people are often looking for reviewers and you could get offered an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) to give your review on. This benefits you in a few ways - It gets people looking at your Goodreads page and your blog, they may follow you on Facebook and Twitter, plus the person may do a review for you come the time. Also get people you know to add your book to their 'To Read' list and you offer to do the same to theirs. If someone searches your book, it'll show there are plenty of others that are interested in reading your book.

I've left twitter to last - I feel none of the above work without twitter. Think of it as your advertising board, a way of bringing people to look at all of the above. You build up your followers list by interacting and following others, again like Facebook you share their tweets etc. Post the links to your Facebook and blog, and anything else of interest. It does seem a bit as if you're repeating yourself across the social media outlets. But you need them all to make each of the others work.

The most important lesson in social media - You may have noticed I haven't mentioned your book. Nothing puts people off more than someone repeatedly pushing their book. People want to be interested in you and what information you post first, then your book. So fill your pages with writing info and titbits slightly peppered with info on your novel.

As your release date comes closer, see if you can find people who are interested in your genre to review your novel. Pick and choose carefully, you want someone that has a good following, check their Goodreads/Facebook/Twitter/Blog and make sure they're active. It's a waste of a book if they don't have all or most of these.

Also, create a buzz about your book near to its release date. Don't just post a picture of your cover, try to think of someway of releasing it, such as an online jigsaw or a way in which the more people click on the link the more of the cover will be revealed. Organize giveaways, bookmarks/postcards etc. (Also known as Swag). I'm also toying with the idea of making a short video clip using MS Moviemaker. There's a lot of discussion on whether or not these work, but to be honest, I think it'll be fun to do. 

When you have these set up and going, there is Linkedin, Instagram, and Pininterest, but I'm always here and if you need help or any info please message me, I'd love to know how you get on.

By the way I'm on: 

Twitter

Facebook
Facebook Author Page 

Blog

All the best,

Daniel Kaye.