How do I track author expenses?
- Track expenses by category to see where money goes and claim deductions.
- Six common categories: editing, design, software, ads, travel, services.
- Log expenses as you spend, with receipts attached.
- Categories double as deduction lines at tax time.
- Per-book totals reveal each title's true cost.
Track author expenses by logging every business cost against clear categories as you spend: editing (developmental, line, copy, proofread), design (cover and interior), software and subscriptions, advertising, travel (conferences, research, signings), and professional services (accountant, lawyer, formatter). Attach receipts and tag each to a book where it applies. Consistent categorized tracking shows you where money goes, what each book actually cost, and gives you ready-made deduction lines at tax time.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Authors routinely under-claim deductions and overspend in invisible categories simply because nothing is tracked. Categorized, real-time expense logging fixes both: it surfaces that ads or software are eating the budget, reveals each book's true cost against its income, and hands your accountant clean deduction lines. The work is trivial when done as you spend and miserable when reconstructed from a year of bank statements.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Editing: developmental, line, copy, proofread.
- Design: cover and interior layout.
- Software and subscriptions.
- Advertising spend by platform.
- Travel: conferences, research, signings.
- Professional services: accountant, lawyer, formatter — with receipts and per-book tags.
Chapter iii·Example
An author logs each cost as it happens, tagged by category and book: $1,800 editing, $650 cover, software subscriptions, $400 ads, a conference trip, and her accountant's fee. At a glance she sees book three cost $3,900 to produce against $7,200 earned, and that ad spend is creeping. The categories become her deduction lines at tax time — no reconstruction required.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom tracks your expenses by category and book, so you see each title's true cost and walk into tax season with clean deduction lines.
Track your expenses