Timing is Everything

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Whoop-de-do:  lively and noisy festivities; merrymaking.

Let's address the Word for this post first.  This is one of three definitions, but that's not the reason I put it up today, The reason is that I never thought "whoop-de-do" was an actual word in the Webster's dictionary and that it had a definition. I knew what it meant, but found it funny that's it's actually a word. I found some other ones as well, but I'll keep them for other posts.

Timing is Everything.  How? Well, I decided to upload Two Halves "earlier" than Dec.1st. just to make sure everything is working and I'm glad I did, because it didn't work. Couple of reasons: 

1. My document had a double extension of .docx.doc instead of .doc which I didn't see until someone who knows files and computers better than I do "diagnosed" it for me.  But, the upload fail was a blessing in disguise, because...

2.... of ISBNs. I know we get free ones from Smashwords, but never really understood the meaning behind them until I did more digging.  As Canadian Authors we get them for free from  Canadian ISBN Service System: Library and Archives Canada. Well, since I am publishing under my company MyLit Publishing, that's who I want listed as my publisher when sales are tracked. In order to do that, I need my own ISBNs. So, that's what I'm waiting for now. Ordered on Nov 10th, I expect to have them sometime this week (5-10 bussiness days). Which means, thank goodness I didn't upload the original file. (Hence the Timing is Everything title for this post) But...


3.... this puts me on a tighter deadline. Since I will be away for a week and will not return until Nov 27th, I have to upload the book that day so that it can "flow through" all the appropriate channels in time for the release. I'm pretty sure I'm still fine, because everything was formatted according to instructions and is ready to go. It's just a matter of attaching the ISBN to the title.

Ideally, I'd get the ISBNs this week, upload before I leave and have a peaceful vacation - but we all know that's not how life works. 


Another note to any Canadian's publishing through Smashwords or Amazon: get your EIN (Employer ID Number) from the IRS to qualify for the 0% tax rate due to the treaty US has with Canada. Otherwise I think a 30% tax rate will be applied to your earnings. Get more info on the IRS website. At first it scared me to go through the information, but it's not as hard as it seems. I ended up 50 minutes on hold, then after a 5 minute conversation I had my EIN. 


Disclaimer: always check your country's rules and regulations re: taxation and learn how to comply with other countries. 


So, I just thought I'd share this info with those planning to go the route I have. This was the first challenge I really faced so far. Now it's wait time...  I'll let you know if I'm able to load it before I go away for the weekend.


Have a great day everyone!