Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Consultants (6th Edition)

Book Description

Be your own boss -- easily, efficiently and successfully -- with this bestseller!

Whether you're an independent contractor, freelancer, or consultant, it all adds up to the same thing: You need to be more aware of laws and taxes than the average person.

Fortunately, Working for Yourself provides all the information you need to stay on top of it all. An independent contractor himself, Stephen Fishman shows you everything you need to know to:

*meet business start-up requirements *pick a business structure *set up home or outside offices *obtain permits and licenses *price your services or products *comply with strict IRS rules *establish sound business relationships *avoid unfair contracts *draft good agreements *keep good records *get paid in full and on time *and much, much more

The 6th edition is completely revised to provide the up-to-date information you need, including the most current tax rates and changes in the law.

Whether you already work for yourself or are thinking about making the move, Working for Yourself will help make sure you do it right.

Download Description

"Be your own boss -- easily, efficiently and successfully -- with this bestseller! Whether you're an independent contractor, freelancer, or consultant, it all adds up to the same thing: You need to be more aware of laws and taxes than the average person. Fortunately, Working for Yourself provides all the information you need to stay on top of it all. An independent contractor himself, Stephen Fishman shows you everything you need to know to: -meet business start-up requirements -pick a business structure -set up home or outside offices -obtain permits and licenses -price your services or products -comply with strict IRS rules -establish sound business relationships -avoid unfair contracts -draft good agreements -keep good records -get paid in full and on time -and much, much more The 6th edition is completely revised to provide the up-to-date information you need, including the most current tax rates and changes in the law. Whether you already work for yourself or are thinking about making the move, Working for Yourself will help make sure you do it right. List of Forms Asset Log Expense Journal Income Journal Invoice General Independent Contractor Agreement Contract Amendment Nondisclosure Agreement "

Customer Reviews:

Very Helpful Book.......2007-01-16

I purchased the book since my employer explained that I will become an independent contractor for 2007. The book explained everything about being a contractor and how to stay in line with paying the taxes, how to protect my self employed status, what deductions I can take, and what forms and agreements I should use. I found it very informative and would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the world of self employment.

All the legal tips, tricks and traps explained.......2006-04-20

Plenty of books impart the basics of how to work independently - but too few include all the legal tips, tricks and traps involved. WORKING FOR YOURSELF: LAW & TAXES FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, FREELANCERS & CONSULTANTS covers everything from setting appropriate fees and understanding how and when taxes are paid to limiting liability and getting paid. Record-keeping processes are simplified with sample logs and entry advice, chapters on how the IRS defines an independent contractor versus a paid employee are essential keys to keeping independent status, and advice on pricing and insurance offer key strategy-oriented tips and approaches. A 'must' for any who would work independently.

Great straghtforward information and advice.......2005-09-17

I recently a started an S corp for my software contracting. The book is helpful and worth the price. It won't answer EVERY question you will have, but you probably should talk to a CPA for those anyway.

Another Nolo Press Winner.......2005-07-28

My husband is an independent photographer, so the Nolo Press books are great for him, geared as they are to all those wishing to handle all the paperwork for themselves, instead of the usual array of lawyers, accountants, etc. He keeps it as a reference book and can easily turn to whatever subject he needs more information on. Well-written and easy to understand, as are all Nolo books, these books are wonderful to review periodically.

Straighforward intro to the legal aspects of freelancing.......2004-05-04

A potential employer asked that I incorporate my freelancing business before they start sending me jobs. I wanted to do some research on the pros/cons of incorporating, what kind of start-ups costs this would entail, and what kind of corporation I should be. At first, the whole process of incorporating sounded like a huge money burden on my part--with filing fees and taxes--but this book has helped me sort out the issues and provided detailed information about the different ways to incorporate--sole proprietorship, LLC, S-corps. Although I haven't yet decided which path I will take, this book has made the jump to freelancing, and self-incorporating, less scary.

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Has history been tampered with?.......2007-10-23

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!

The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.

Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but

there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.

Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.

You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!

The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!

New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.

The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.

The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.

Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.

We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.

Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.

The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.

When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.

There are no answers to simple questions:

When were these primary sources written?

Where and by whom were these sources found?

It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.

As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,

innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.

The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.

Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.

This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.

Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.

`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as

there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.

Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.

They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.

All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:

Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!

The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!

The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.

All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.

Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.

Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!

This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

Cracking the SSAT and ISEE, 2007 Edition (Private Test Prep)

Average customer rating:

Similar study material compared to the actual ISEE test taken 02/03/07
ISEE preparation, best available

Cracking the SSAT and ISEE, 2007 Edition (Private Test Prep)
Princeton Review
Manufacturer: Princeton Review
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0375765492
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Book Description

The Princeton Review realizes that acing the SSAT and ISEE exams is very different from getting straight A’s in school. We don’t try to teach you everything there is to know about English and math–only what you’ll need to score higher on the exam. There’s a big difference. In Cracking the SSAT & ISEE, we’ll teach you how to think like the test writers and

·Correctly answer analogy and synonym questions even when you’re
not sure what all of the words mean
·Ace the reading comprehension section by learning to spot main ideas,
topic sentences, and key words
·Crack the general math section by learning to avoid wrong answer
choices that look right but are planted to fool you
·Learn how to turn complicated algebra problems into simple word problems
·Simplify the SSAT writing sample and the ISEE essay using a sure-fire,
step-by-step approach

This book includes five full-length practice tests, with questions like the ones you’ll see on the actual SSAT and ISEE.

Customer Reviews:

Similar study material compared to the actual ISEE test taken 02/03/07.......2007-02-17

Recommended for those students taking the ISEE. Have yet to use the SSAT study guide.

ISEE preparation, best available.......2006-11-03

This book is the best organized and most comprehensive available. However, it still is lacking. I've been tutoring this test for 5 years, and it is especially hard to differentiate the middle level and upper level exams. You can tell PR struggles with this differentiation as well.

Math - By far its most useful section. PR does a good job of covering all of the concepts you will need to know, as well as providing some solid "ISEE-like" questions. The book doesn't have many difficult questions for students aiming for the 90th+ percentile, and is limited in quantitative comparisons.

Synonyms - Just study vocabulary (the PR list is a good place to start), and use PR questions for practice. I personally think PR over-sells strategies such as positive/negative.

Sentence Completions - Decent strategies, decent practice...if you need more questions and your taking the middle or upper level ISEE, buy an SAT book from College Board and use the SCs. You can also use some of the math questions.

Passage-based reading - Horrible!

Practice tests - Good practice.

100 Successful College Application Essays (Second Edition)

Average customer rating:

Very good
BUY THIS BOOK!
uninventive and most unhelpful
Varied College Essays
Reality

100 Successful College Application Essays (Second Edition)
Harvard Independent
Manufacturer: NAL Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

College Guides | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

Writing Skills | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

jp-unknown1 | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0451207130

Amazon.com

The essay is the one part of the college application that allows an admissions committee to get a glimpse not only of what you are (grades, scores, club member), but of who you are. "Applicants are constantly advised to 'put their best foot forward,'" says Fred Hargadon, the dean of admissions at Princeton University and a contributor to this book. "But I must confess that I always liked the ones who put both feet forward." That doesn't mean that your essay needs to shock. It means you must put everything you've got into it. It means that "if you think the college might receive even one other essay like yours," according to Brooks School college counselor William K. Poirot, "rewrite it."

The bulk of this book, as its title promises, comprises 100 examples of successful college-application essays. There are those who believe that reading essays will make you a better essay writer and those who don't. But reading these essays--and the experts' comments on them--will help you figure out what you want to write and how best to write it. From the essays included here, one surmises that the narrower your focus, the more effective the essay, as long as your narrowness doesn't cross over into insignificance. What matters most is not what you write about (these essays take on late-night TV game shows, self-induced baldness, the picture on a bag of Goldfish crackers, a family drive on the New Jersey Turnpike, and even a seven-inch plastic Godzilla), but what you do with your subject matter. --Jane Steinberg

Book Description

These are the essays that helped their authors gain admission to Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Wellesley, Colby, and other outstanding schools-followed by invaluable comments by experts in admissions, placement, and college counseling at some of the best learning institutions around the country. This helpful guide includes:

€ 100 complete essays with professional commentary
€ Examples of essays on common topics (family background, athletics, work experience), as well as the more offbeat
€ Essays on the immigrant experience by foreign-born students
€ A "What Not to Do" chapter from a top college counselor
€ and more

Customer Reviews:

Very good.......2004-11-26

The essays are seperated into topics (eg. Applying to College, work experience, coming to america), and each include good essays.

The book includes essays of the admittants to top tier colleges (Ivies), and some second tier ones. Interestingly, there are no essays from MIT! (No surprise though, considering the rivalry betwene MIT and Harvard -- the book was organized by Harvard newspaper)

Overall, great book.

BUY THIS BOOK!.......2004-04-27

Before I bought this book I thought my essay was pretty good until I bought this book. Then I knew that I could make my essay even better just by just following the essays in the book. I didn't even think I needed to get a guide book for my essay because I thought it was pretty good already without help from an essay book. But apparently this book worked really good because I did not get deferred from college! I got into my first choice just by using this book and I recommend it to anyone even to those who do not think they need a guide book for their essays because they think their essays are already pretty good like I thought mine was.

BUY THIS BOOK!

uninventive and most unhelpful.......2004-02-10

There are a few gems here, but for the most part, these essays are the same well-written but dry, uninventive slop every other high school senior dribbles out: how the abroad student haf a Life Changing Experience! how an athlete Crossed the Finish Line! how when pet Fluffly croaked it was a Formative Experience! If you really want insight into how to write a well-crafted, unique essay, with sounds suggestions, seek out the great book by Harry Bauld.

Varied College Essays.......2001-03-28

I purchased 3 College Essay books (100 Successful College Application Essays, 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, and Essays That Worked), and have the following comments... I believe that the Harvard book has the best suggestions on how to write an essay, along with the best commentary/critique. However, the essays are a bit too polished. I think for 90% of prospective college students, their essays would be more like those in and patterned like those in Essays That Worked. For varied ideas on essays, the 100 Successful book gives some good ideas, but I believe many of the essays to be subpar. I did each book to have some interesting general reading, especially if one likes "short stories"... or if one is interested in 17 & 18 year olds, and what goes thru their minds.

Reality.......2000-06-03

This book has lots of college essays that could be used for reference when writing an college essay. However, it's too concentrated on Ivy League schools and not other competitive schools. The comments that are suppose to be reviewed by college counselors and admissions officers are poor. Most of them just explains that they are creative. It does not comment much on how the author should redo or learn from their mistakes and do this thing. Not as informative as they claim to be.

Average customer rating:

Master the SSAT and ISEE 2007
Steinberg
Manufacturer: Arco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

School & Education | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0768914345

Book Description

Master the SSAT/ISEE provides comprehensive preparation for the two most common private school admission exams, the upper-level SSAT and ISEE tests. The book includes in-depth subject review for verbal, math, reading comprehension, writing skills with extensive examples and practice questions. Benefits of the book include: 4 full-length practice exams, Two diagnostic exams to identify strengths and weaknesses, Time-saving study plans, and Skill-building exercises for every type of exam question. The layout of the book is very user-friendly; each section (“verbal,” “reading,” “mathematics”) is clearly marked so that the user can flip to the content that he or she needs extra work on.

A Killer Life: How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond

Average customer rating:

So so.
You couldn't pay Christine Vachon enough money to give a course like this...
Film buff or not...
better than film school!

A Killer Life: How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond
Christine Vachon , and Austin Bunn
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0743256301

Book Description

Here is an account of a filmmaker who looks straight into the eye of the Hollywood blockbuster storm and dares not to blink.

In A Killer Life, Christine Vachon follows up her independent producing handbook, Shooting to Kill, with a behind-the-scenes memoir of the battle between creativity and commerce -- and a renegade's rise to being one of the most powerful female producers in independent film today.

A Killer Life traces the early years Vachon spent producing such controversial and critically acclaimed movies as Poison, Happiness, and Kids, films that paved the way for Academy Award-winning triumphs like Boys Don't Cry. She recounts the birth and rise of independent film and the evolution of her company, Killer Films, revealing the stories behind star castings and firings and films that never got made; how sexuality factors into the films she produces; and how the often lethal combination of finance and creativity affects what we see on the big screen.

Intelligent and tough as nails, but endearingly self-effacing, Vachon's account of her filmmaking experiences, and the successes and failures that have made Killer Films one of the few truly independent film companies in New York, is a thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking read for filmmakers and fans alike.

Customer Reviews:

So so........2007-03-18

The book is readable in as much as trash pop and pulp fiction is watchable and readable.No matter what is said,at the end of the day,this producer is yet another example of someone grandfathered into the industry ,with a production loan to get her started.A lump sum equvalent of about USD 100 000 today.There were a handful of active indie female producers operating in those times(most without that financial leg up.)Vachon is but one story.For that reason this is an ill researched book.
A few other women may not have stood on others toes as much as Vachon is capable of, nor claimed as much public or industry credit for themselves, but this book is but one story from the nineties,and it is in that context only it is best read.There were a small handful of extremely strident indie and studio women in Hollywood at the time,who broke significant paths for other women,not just themselves- in the choosing of projects they developed and the actions they took.The book is readable but indulgent insider name dropping. In one aspect a shallow take on a very political hollywood film business at the time.

You couldn't pay Christine Vachon enough money to give a course like this..........2007-03-01

...which kind of gets me wondering--why the heck don't *even more* aspiring producers and D-boy and D-girl wannabes get their hands on this amazing compendium of production experiences, take them to heart, and learn themselves a whole lot about the global film game in the process. If you've got the answer to that question, let me know. I'm still scratching my noodle.

Okay, so you're going to totally dig this book. Christine Vachon and her Killer Films outfit in N-Y-C, using that well-known convention of theirs--break the bounds of traditional (read: boring) publishing with a rather unconventional approach to bookwriting. Prepare for a wild wooly ride of a read...Christine's deft collaborators (egs. directors, financiers, and studio consigliatores) have chimed in here in various sections, offering up sage advice on the pit- and prat-falls of the indie and studio sides of the filmmaking biz, and what it's generally like working with Christine and her able band of brothers and sisters. That, for this here reviewer, was a right privilege...live recordings of Christine's conversations with her colleagues wouldn't have been richer. And like I tell you in my title...you couldn't pay Vachon enough to give this course. For a couple of Lincolns, this was a gold mine.

By the way, I think I've tattooed my entire Netflix wish list with every single Killer title known to Movieland. As luck would have it, ONE HOUR PHOTO was one of the better films of 2002, and little did I know that Christine was even responsible for getting this one made. Small world, baby.

It's an unsung job, the producing game can sometimes be, but mark it--without Christine's valuable input at various stages of the process, many of these so-called little pictures mightn't have been made, languishing in that purgatory of "development hell" (or turnaround) like 98% of the projects out there are in (according to every single statistic known to the filmmaking poobahs). One of the most inspiring statements from the entire book which I triple underlined, dogeared, and highlighted in tri-colour was her frank admission that producers must maintain "eternal optimism." They are the ones who are enthusiastic at all times, oftentimes when there's no reason to be, and oftentimes when there's no production necessarily to speak of. The equivalent to selling short on the stock market. If your sources' predictions are bang on, chances are you're going to make a "buchta" of cash.

Such boundless enthusiasm the mark of a truly gifted deal-maker, and in the trenches which is the modern-day studio system (read: the business of making movies), and the relatively recent advent of the "mini-majors" (or classics divisions of the major Hollywood studios), this brand of relentlessness has become all the more critical. Remove one element from the positivity puzzle, strip away a single grain of that much-needed goodness which is a key ingredient of the all-encompassing feelgood--by definition, a must towards smooth functioning on the film set--and off your high film concept goes into the grey ether.

Just for the rekkid, listening to podcasts helps, kids! I'd heard about this title after listening to Claude Brodesser Ackner's THE BUSINESS on NPR (goo-search it). I was so intrigued by Christine's outspokenness, that I simply couldn't curb my enthusiasm to hop on over to my favourite online book purveyor and pick up the nearest copy of her A KILLER LIFE.

Where is that extra star when I need it? Five estrellas, kids. Count 'em. Cinco.

--ADM in Prague

Film buff or not..........2007-01-02

This book is riveting reading for the fan or the filmmaker. Vachon has a talent for balancing intensive amounts of details with storytelling skills. You really will want to know how a distribution is made before the first frame is filmed. Her personality -- tough, passionate, centered -- also makes the book a compelling read. Even when her foes are completes a-hats, Vachon does not descend into bitterness, but rather, makes another compelling lesson.

better than film school!.......2006-10-12

As an aspiring producer, I have long looked up to the indie queen Christine Vachon, and I was interested to read this book after having read her excellent SHOOTING TO KILL. I read that book when I was back in college, but this book is better. It's definitely more personal - in a way it reads like a memoir.

You feel like you are going through all the trials and tribulations with her. There's a lot of exciting stuff here - she battles the MPAA over Boys Don't Cry -- the bond company takes control of Far From Heaven-- she has interactions with big stars like Jude Law and Julia Roberts.
I have never been to Sundance, but Vachon's Sundance diary takes you through that festival with her.

All this makes for a book that's immensely readable; I couldn't put it down. I really liked the spotlights from other industry figures, agents, studio heads and directors like John Cameron Mitchell (who did my favorite film, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH!) If you are in the industry, want to learn about the industry or are just plain curious about how movies get made, go out and get this book now!

The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide: A Business and Legal Sourcebook

Average customer rating:

Excellent book - idiotic title
IT TAKES YOU STRAIGHT TO SCHOOL (wink)
MUST Have
Good book for everyone that wants to know the business
More Than a Great Book--It's a Public Service

The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide: A Business and Legal Sourcebook
Gunnar Erickson , Harris Tulchin , Mark Halloran , and J. Gunnar Erickson
Manufacturer: Schirmer Trade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0825673186
Release Date: 2005-02-01

Book Description

This seminal book explains the nuts and bolts of the legal and business aspects of independent film productions. Contracts, distribution and financing are explained in down-to-earth language. Basic contracts and other forms used in the industry are included.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book - idiotic title.......2007-10-22

This book is a serious but very readable approach to educating filmmakers on the maze of legal hoops that must be jumped through in order to create a film. Indispensable resource to have.

IT TAKES YOU STRAIGHT TO SCHOOL (wink).......2007-09-19

The book gave me moe information than needed. It talks about the complications in distrubution deals, the unions, music, digaital cameras, and a few other things upcoming producers need to know about the industry before signing into or onto something. I highly recommend it to producers, writers, and directiors. It remind us that the film world is like a whole other business on another planet.

MUST Have.......2007-05-12

If you wanna get into any sort of video field, or wanna know how the industry functions, and what are the legal and business issues you have to deal with...

...this book is a MUST Have.

Good book for everyone that wants to know the business.......2007-01-19

not only did I get this for myself but I got two other friends their own personal copies (got tired of them borrowing mine). It will keep you out of legal trouble in the film industry and give you insight as to how things are structured.

More Than a Great Book--It's a Public Service.......2004-06-16

This is more than a great book--it's a public service. The
authors share insights from their decades of legal and
entertainment production experience, in essence offering
thousands of dollars of free legal advice to aspiring
independent producers. Beyond offering a roadmap of business-
planning steps, the book includes templates of numerous legal
forms that an independent producer might need. Meanwhile, in
clear and artful prose, they alternate between You're-Not-God
straight talk and You-Can-Do-It encouragement. Between the
lines, there seems to be a genuine interest in helping
important stories and quality independent work to see the
light of day. I've read other books on the business side of
entertainment that were helpful, but this stands out as the
best of the lot.

NMS Review for USMLE Step 3 (National Medical Series for Independent Study)

Average customer rating:

NMS for boards

NMS Review for USMLE Step 3 (National Medical Series for Independent Study)
Mitchell H Rosner , and Andrew E Lazar
Manufacturer: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1582558337

Book Description

The thoroughly updated Second Edition of this popular and widely used review book offers excellent preparation for the USMLE Step 3. This edition contains six simulated USMLE tests, totaling 900 questions followed by answers and explanations. Questions are organized into clinical encounter frames and written in a case-based interactive format that closely simulates the actual examination. They expose readers to all the physician tasks and practice settings--office, hospital, emergency department, and satellite clinic--that are tested on the exam. The comprehensive coverage includes internal medicine, general surgery, psychiatry, pediatrics, neurology, and obstetrics/gynecology. A bound-in CD-ROM contains questions that simulate the computer-based test format.

Customer Reviews:

NMS for boards.......2007-04-11

Great book,really helpful.Questions are much harder than you'll find on the boards.

Self-employed Tax Solutions: Quick, Simple, Money-Saving, Audit-Proof Tax and Recordkeeping Basics for the Independent Professional

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Small Business Answers
Self-employed Tax Solutions
Learn about taxes. Without pain.
Excellent Book
A Few Issues but Holding a Few Gems Too

Self-employed Tax Solutions: Quick, Simple, Money-Saving, Audit-Proof Tax and Recordkeeping Basics for the Independent Professional
June Walker
Manufacturer: Globe Pequot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0762730714

Book Description

A how-to book of practical know-how for the some 25 million Americans who are self-employed -- about business deductions, easy recordkeeping, estimated taxes, pension plans -- everything an independent professional needs to know about the tax consequences of his or her business.

Customer Reviews:

Small Business Answers.......2007-09-05

"Self-Employed Tax Solutions" is an excellent self help start to treating your cottage industry as a business and working your way through the intricacies of filing federal taxes as a small business. Ms. Walker's explanations are clear and well illustrated.
We had no trouble understanding each point and applying the rules to our own small business situation. The only problem we found was her citing a court ruling, putting it in quotes, and not providing a bibliographic source.
Both the glossary and the index are adequate for the novice readers. The style was breezy and light, which made the reading easy.
A good place to start for an entry level "indie" who needs basic tax information. She has several "wish I'd thought of that" ideas for keeping records and saving time.
Nash Black, author of "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks and Pitfalls for Authors."

Self-employed Tax Solutions.......2007-06-13

Easy to understand. I am new to it all and learned quickly thanks to Junes pesentation of the material. Also will be a great reference manual come actual tax time!

Learn about taxes. Without pain........2007-03-30

I highly recommend this book! I am about to graduate design school and am starting up a sole proprietorship. I realized I know absolutely nothing about what I'm getting into tax-wise, so I picket this up on Amazon. An excellent buy! This book is incredibly easy to read and understandable, despite the fact that you would expect the subject matter to be painfully dry. It's not. The world of taxes isn't half as painful and boring as I expected it to be, thanks to this book.

Excellent Book.......2006-12-30

This is a very well written book that provides a lot of insights to self-employed people. Provides very good ideas on deductions and methods to legally cut the self-employed person's overall tax burden.

A Few Issues but Holding a Few Gems Too.......2006-12-24

I pretty much never comment about the font a book is done in, but let me start out my review by saying that this book had the oddest font choice I've seen. The letters were very thin, squarish, and actually hard to read against the white. It made me realize just how important something like font can be in a book.

So, on to the content. This book is written by a self-employed person, for self-employed people, to help them manage their records for taxes. She doesn't want you to DO your taxes - she wants you to hire someone, like her, to do them for you :). She just wants you to be informed about what is going on, and to perhaps help prod your tax person along if they're not very good.

In case you were thinking this book was a mere "nice to have", she says in her introduction that "Such complications [of not handling this properly] could prove fatal to your enterprise." I love it how books say "you must buy me or you will DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH!!!" A page later, she promises "If you use this method, you will never miss a tax deduction" which I sort of doubt :) So this book has already hit a few of my buttons in book reading - threatening certain doom if I don't get the book, promising the moon, and being hard to read :)

Much of the first part of the book focusses on whether you should go into business for yourself, what it means to be self employed, and whether you should be a DBA, Sole Proprietor, LLC, etc. Hopefully anybody looking for tax solutions has already gone through those stages and isn't looking for all their information on these important decisions in a few pages of a tax book.

But on to the meat. When you get into the realm of *taxes*, the book really does well. It explains the difference between personal gifts (tax deductible up to $25 per person per year), entertainment expenses, free giveaway items (pens etc), charity donations, and more, in very clear language.

The book goes into travel deductions, home office deductions, leasing and buying equipment. It gives a ton of examples. Some people might find them annoying - I admit that many of them are quite silly. Still, it's easy enough to skip over them if you're not into cutesy examples, but if they help you absorb a concept, they are there for you to read.

Like with any business book, there are a lot of very common sense things in here - but a few very key tips. The interesting thing is of course that depending on who reads it, they might find different things to be fascinating vs well known. Something that one person says "of course" to, someone else might say "That'll save me thousands!" So it's good that all bases are covered in here.

Well recommended as a book to at least get out from your local library, or to get and share around your network of business-owning friends. It's not a book that I need to sit on my library shelf, but it was worthwhile to read and glean a few important tidbits from. I'll now pass it along to other business owners to let them pick out their own gems.

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Outstanding guide to producing
There is an Indie Neverland After All
Best behind the scenes indie film book I've ever read
Producers aren't directors
Blunt as Hell, Thank God

Shooting to Kill
Christine Vachon , and David Edelstein
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380798549
Release Date: 1998-09-01

Book Description

Complete with behind-the-scenes diary entries from the set of Vachon's best-known fillms, Shooting to Kill offers all the satisfaction of an intimate memoir from the frontlines of independent filmmakins, from one of its most successful agent provocateurs -- and survivors. Hailed by the New York Times as the "godmother to the politically committed film" and by Interview as a true "auteur producer," Christine Vachon has made her name with such bold, controversial, and commercially successful films as "Poison," "Swoon," Kids," "Safe," "I Shot Andy Warhol," and "Velvet Goldmine."Over the last decade, she has become a driving force behind the most daring and strikingly original independent filmmakers-from Todd Haynes to Tom Kalin and Mary Harron-and helped put them on the map.

So what do producers do? "What don't they do?" she responds. In this savagely witty and straight-shooting guide, Vachon reveals trheguts of the filmmaking process--rom developing a script, nurturing a director's vision, getting financed, and drafting talent to holding hands, stoking egos, stretching every resource to the limit and pushing that limit. Along the way, she offers shrewd practical insights and troubleshooting tips on handling everything from hysterical actors and disgruntled teamsters to obtuse marketing executives.

Complete with behind-the-scenes diary entries from the sets of Vachon's best-known films, Shooting To Kill offers all the satisfactions of an intimate memoir from the frontlines of independent filmmaking, from one of its most successful agent provocateurs-and survivors.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding guide to producing.......2007-09-13

Christine Vachon has written an extremely accessible, entertaining book about what it means to be an independent film producer. She covers every step of the movie-making process, from finding a script to casting to hiring a crew, editing, etc. She covers the material with an engaging style and a sense of humor, and the facts are punctuated with examples and anecdotes from the movies she's produced. She's candid and unapologetic, and apparently some reviewers here have a problem with that. News flash - if you intend to make a career in the film industry, you better get used to people who yell, tight schedules, high expectations, plus low budgets if indies are your thing. If you spent any time on a film set, you would know that it is the producer's JOB to be tough, to get things in on time, and to run a tight ship. At the end of the day, it's the producer's butt that is on the line. It's just plain silly to give the book a low rating because Christine had the guts to be honest about the way things work on a film set and you wouldn't want to work with her. It's clear that some reviewers here need to get a thicker skin or find a different calling.

Christine's films have been critical success stories despite their low budgets and tight time frames - she knows what she is doing and has taken the time to write a wonderful introduction to the world of filmmaking for beginners and those of us with some experience. I highly recommend this book.

There is an Indie Neverland After All.......2005-09-20

Not only is this a thorough and informative piece of work, which would make it worth twice the price all by itself, it's also an inspiration and should be read by anyone, writer, actor, producer, director, anyone.... who's ever been told you have to compromise your vision in this business to get your movie made. There are several great stories in this book but the image that keeps resonating in my head is Christine Vachon, the High Priestess of Indie Film and Soverign Protector of Infant Directors, saying to the producer's rep: "We'll talk about it" and saying to everyone else after hanging up the phone, "We're not cutting anything, we're not cutting anything." Not only did I not know there were people out there doing such things, I had begun to wonder if it was even possible. This book can make you believe again. I didn't read it. I devoured it.

Best behind the scenes indie film book I've ever read.......2002-10-14

Having just directed a low-budget feature in Hollywood, I wish I had read this book beforehand (and I certainly wish my producer had read it). Vachon breaks down the process, making it understandable to even the most novice film fan. The writing is gutsy, the tales from the trenches always interesting. One of the must-reads if you're at all interested in making movies.

Producers aren't directors.......2002-09-24

Somewhere between the world of independant movies and studio pictures reside a group of people who've bounced between both worlds and have taken up residence in the void. The author is one of those people. This book isn't very informative for the ultra low budget producer but a good read nonetheless. Although at times it wanders aimlessly while the reader tries to figure out which of the half-dozen guys named "Todd" she's talking about now. I'd recommend this book to people with budgets in the neighborhood of 100,000 to 5 million. I wouldn't call it a very good resource for locating financing.

Blunt as Hell, Thank God.......2002-06-20

If you want to know more about what it's like to produce, rather than HOW to produce...this is the book. Vachon takes you through her life, and I've learned more about producing just from reading about one of her days. She's honest, doesn't preach much, doesn't give very many golden rules (since we all make our own), and tells you how it really is. If your tired of reading books on forms and paperwork, negotiating and contacts, and are just plain interested in what it's like to be IN IT, buy the book. It's so worth it.

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