Epublisher Recommendations – VATMOSS

Hello there fellow small publishers,

If you’re not aware – and you should be – tax-related DOOM is about to descend upon microbusinesses that sell to Europe from the UK and, it seems, between other EU countries. Microbusinesses used to be VAT exempt so as a sole trader or small business earning under around £80k a year. Not having to deal with VAT saves a great deal of time and while you can’t reclaim VAT on equipment if you skip registering, you also don’t have to wrangle with the whole mess.

From January 2015 however, if you sell to Europe, that is all going to change in relation to electronic goods (software, ebooks etc). Now you’ll have to pay VAT at the rate of the country the purchaser is in. That varies from country to country and in order to deal with this you’re obligated to register for VAT in the UK.

Suddenly you’re liable for keeping all these records, complying with Data Protection, holding those records for ten years and dealing with the whole complex issue.

For very small/micro businesses this isn’t really worth it. Its a lot of time, effort and risk for relatively small returns.

Your options are:

• Stop selling e-products to Europe (physical products are unaffected).
• Register and deal with all the hassle.
• Sell via a third party site that will deal with all the mess for you.

My recommendations and the ones I intend to do with regard to Postmortem are:

• No more direct e-sales, period.
• Channel all sales via 3rd party sites (Amazon, RPGNOW, Drivethrufiction etc).
• Maximise/offset costs of using 3rd party sites with affiliate links etc.

This should be hassle free with the advantage of not losing too much money.

I may have some things wrong, so seek professional advice and consider your own situation, this is just my present understanding of the situation.

A New Hope from Ghostwoods Books

Just as soon as I’m able I hope to publish some of my collected short stories or a novella through this and I wholeheartedly and absolutely endorse the ethos, aims, goals and attitude espoused on the press release below. You can read the original – and more at ghostwoods.com

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I’m excited to be able to announce that as of today, my Fair Trade publishing house Ghostwoods Books is open for business. We’re launching with a slate of four exciting new novels, and my motto – which I’m absolutely determined to live up to, no matter what – is ‘Great Books at Great Prices’. To that end, I’m bringing you the very finest new fiction out there. As traditional publishing continues to disintegrate, Ghostwoods Books offers something older publishers never have – a genuinely fair deal for authors and readers alike.

But what does Fair Trade publishing mean? Well, I drink a lot of coffee. I’ve been impressed with the Fair Trade initiative, given how badly screwed coffee growers tend to be. Growing coffee takes years. So can writing and publishing a book. In practice, this translates to a 50/50 income share with authors. If I can’t make my wages and expenses out of my half of the income, I don’t deserve to be publishing. I’ve been writing for 20 years, and have more than 100 books out there. I’m determined to be the publisher I always longed to find.

But Fair Trade has to extend to readers, too. Traditional publishing is falling apart under the weight of its own greed. Far too many companies have been unfairly avaricious for too long, complacent in their power as Gatekeepers of what gets published. The digital revolution has changed all of that. Readers are sick of being treated like stupid, naughty children. For the reader, Fair Trade means a great book, well written and fairly priced, prepared to full professional standard, free of crippling DRM. Every Ghostwoods book has been painstakingly laid out, proof-read, and then proof-read again.

The Ghostwoods launch novels represent the best in modern fiction. You can see the covers just to the right of this post. Click on one, and you’ll be taken to that book.

‘All Lies and Jest’, by Kate Harrad, is a counter-culture thriller with a delicious vein of dark humour. In it, you’ll meet crazed cultists, psychopaths, lettuce-eating vampires, and a chilling conspiracy to bring about the end of the world.

‘American Monsters’, by Sezin Koehler, is a post-modern feminist horror, and a savage indictment of rave culture. Its heroines are traumatised, quirkily super-powered, and absolutely not putting up with any more shit.

‘Ghost Patrol’, by P.D. Jordan, is a tense science fiction story. When a brilliant young space captain is captured by the enemy, he finds himself thrown into a lethal game of psychological cat and mouse with his would-be reprogrammers.

‘SwitchFlipped’ by Greg Stolze is an exciting urban fantasy about a normal guy who gets drawn into a lunatic reality where people can turn into electricity, where ghosts live suburban lives, and where nothing is impossible, if you’re prepared to pay the price.

The digital revolution is a very exciting time to be a reader. It’s exciting for writers, too. I’m determined to bring the two together, as pleasantly and generously as I possibly can.