Quest for the monies, ITIN and my creative stuff.

It’s been about 2-3 weeks since my last post. I haven’t posted anything because there hasn’t been much happening until recently. These are the things that have happened.

I got a new job 🙂

YAY!!!!

It had been so long since my last job and after months of looking, unsuccessful interviews and job trials I finally snagged one. In the weeks and months before I had become to be a little depressed about it. But I submitted my resume online, got an interview hours later and I got the job that very day 🙂 I still can’t believe it. And not only that but the place is only a 10-15 minute walk from home 🙂

I’m expecting my first pay check next week. But seeing as I’ve been forced to live frugally in recent months I won’t be spending it. It’s going all into savings. Can i get a shout out for financial responsibility?

 

I’m almost finished my first book 🙂

It feels like it’s taken forever, but Feet or Fins is almost finished. I’ve got a few people reading over my latest version and they are going to tell me what they think about it. I’m getting excited because it’ll soon be over and I can fully move onto my other books.

But I still need to get an ITIN from the US as my first application was rejected 😦 But I know what I did wrong so I think it should be right the second time round. Trying to find the number for Australia’s treaty article number was an absolute bitch.

I went through page after page, document after document and website link after link to the point of wanting to throw a massive adult-sized tantrum in public (I was using a library computer at the time). It was when in frustration I was like ‘How ’bout I just Google it?’

Bingo!

I got a lot of responses, some useless because they were dealing with other countries and not mine. But then I came across a blog called Mummy K and to date I think she is the only one that lists the number – 1982. I swear this better be the answer because when I went to find the number in the actual IRS document I came up blank.  But this link list’s Australia’s and USA’s tax treaty. The article number seems to be the year that the treaty was written. I swear this better be the answer coz I don’t want to spend anymore time on this difficult quest.

 

I’ve got other works in progress

Some weeks ago I was stupid and split soup over my laptop’s computer. It destroyed half of my keys so I sent it to be repaired. It took about two weeks before I was told that it’d cost $400 and I was, ‘Noooo, I’ll just buy a cheap usb keyboard instead.’ And I’m using it right now 🙂

During the time between using the library computer during the day and being at home at night with no laptop (I don’t have a tv) I had all this time where I had nothing to do. The first couple of nights where tough (realising that I so sound like a drug addict, but not meaning to), I felt like I was having withdrawals. But then I began to fill my time with re-reading some of my old books that are on my bookshelf and then my mind began getting creative again. I ended up adding things to three previous stories that had been on the back burner and it made them so much better by the way. And I came up with a new young adult/teen story 🙂

This was when I realised that not having my laptop was kind of a good thing. I was forced to not go on facebook and other websites which showed me how much time I was wasting online. It made me wonder how much I could achieve if only I didn’t have the internet . . or if I could control myself better.

It made me realise that I should change my habits so that I can both fit more writing in and have my mind work more creatively.

 

What’s next?

Currently Feet or Fins is stationary in terms of work until I get the opinions of others back. I also need to get my ITIN, followed by creating a cover image. I have an image picked out on iStockphoto.com and I’m planning on having a go at designing the cover myself. If I find out I can’t do a good job on it then I might look for someone to do it.

I’m about half-way through my next book, which is the first of a trilogy. Once I’ve finished the first book I’m planning on writing out the rough plan for the next two. At the moment I’ve only got vague ideas of the plot/story, but the details will come to me as I’m thinking about it. I’m going to be editing them together so that when I publishing them there won’t be too much time between release dates and to make sure I have all the details worked out perfectly.

But since I got a job, I will be make my writing fit around my work. Currently I think that increasing my savings and income at the moment is more important 🙂

 

 

Links:

• http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/International-Businesses/Australia-Tax-Treaty-Documents
• http://mummyk.com/2012/10/11/how-to-get-us-itin-for-self-publishing-purposes/
• http://www.irs.gov/publications/p901/ar02.html