Personal & lifestyle services
Books and taxes for memoir and life story writers.
A book project priced in stages, hours of recorded interviews to transcribe, a print run for the finished book, and a client who wants extra copies for the family. Your own bookkeeper stays on all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June brought in $5,600. The print run for a finished manuscript went in as a project cost, tied to that client's final invoice, not general supplies.
- Memoir project milestone paymentBook project fees
- Extra copy printing, client reorderBook printing and binding
- Transcription service invoiceTranscription services
- IngramSpark printing orderBook printing and binding
- Recording equipment repairInterview and recording equipment
Why your books are different
Memoir writer books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business runs on staged project payments across a months-long book, interview hours that need transcription, and a physical print run at the end. When the books do not know that, the monthly number is a guess.
-
1
A book project deposit gets counted as a finished sale
A client who pays a deposit for a full memoir project has paid for months of interviews, writing, and editing that has not happened yet. Counting the whole deposit as income the day it lands overstates that month.
What we doKeeps project payments visible against the stage of work delivered, so a deposit does not make one month look bigger than the work done so far. -
2
Transcription costs get buried in general expenses
Hours of recorded interviews sent out for transcription are a real per-project cost that scales with how long a client's story takes to tell, but lumped into general spending it is hard to see if project pricing covers it.
What we doKeeps transcription costs in their own line so you can see whether your project pricing covers the real cost of turning interviews into text. -
3
Printing and binding get mixed into supplies
A print run through IngramSpark or a local bindery for a finished manuscript is a project cost tied to one specific client, not a general office supply, and treating it that way hides what a finished book actually costs to deliver.
What we doKeeps book printing and binding tied to the client project it belongs to, so you can see the real cost of delivering a finished book. -
4
Long projects make monthly income look inconsistent
A single memoir project can span six months to a year, so a month with a milestone payment looks nothing like a quiet month of interviews and drafting, and an owner comparing the two thinks something has gone wrong.
What we doTracks project income against your own pattern of staged payments, so a quiet writing month reads as normal, not a warning sign.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a memoir writing business.
Set up once for how book projects get paid in stages. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Book project feesStaged payments across a full memoir or life story project.
- Book printing and bindingCharges to clients for finished copies of their book.
- Hourly or single-session workShorter projects like a single life story chapter or interview session.
- Editing and ghostwriting for existing manuscriptsWork on a client's own draft rather than a full project.
Money out
- Transcription servicesOutside services that turn recorded interviews into text.
- Book printing and bindingPrint run and binding costs through IngramSpark or a local bindery.
- Interview and recording equipmentRecorders, microphones, and related repairs.
- Editing and proofreading helpOutside editors or proofreaders brought in on a project.
- Travel for interviewsMileage or travel to meet a client in person for interviews.
What we watch for you
- Project stage revenue
How much of a project's total fee has been collected against work completed. It shows if pricing is keeping pace with the timeline.
- Transcription cost per project
Transcription spending against project fees. It shows whether pricing covers the real cost of turning interviews into text.
- Printing cost per book
What a print run actually costs against what is charged to the client. It shows the real margin on delivering a finished book.
- The set-aside
The running tax total, tracked every month, so April lands as an expected number.
Ask Gus
Things memoir writers ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
That is normal for a project at this stage. I track your income against your own pattern of staged payments, so a quiet writing month does not read as a problem.
Right now it is running a manageable share of your project fee. I kept it in its own line so you can watch that as projects get longer.
The reorder and what you charge for it both get tied to her project, so you can see the real margin on delivering the finished book.
The tax side
The tax side of a memoir writing business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing over a long project. Deposits counted too early, printing costs buried in supplies, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Self-employment tax on book projectsFor a memoir writing business, self-employment tax runs 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax when the owner is not paid through payroll, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- 1099s for project helpA transcriptionist, editor, or ghostwriter helper not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026.
- Mileage for interview travelTravel to interview a client in person can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile from January through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile from July through December 2026.
- The QBI write-offFor a memoir writing business, the pass-through deduction lets an owner take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income, a figure that only comes out right when the books are kept right all year.
Deductions memoir and life story writers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Transcription service fees
- Book printing and binding
- Recording equipment and repairs
- Editing and proofreading help
- Travel to client interviews
- Writing and layout software
- Home office space for writing
- Website and portfolio hosting
- Business insurance
- Professional writing association dues
- Continuing education in writing or publishing
- Storage for client interview recordings
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A memoir writer's year, kept every month.
Book projects run for months at their own pace, and gift-giving seasons often bring new client interest. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Start the year's work
For a memoir writing business, last year's return gets started in January, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.
- April
The return is filed
For a memoir writing business, the return is filed and signed in April, with no surprise bill since the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
The July check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether current projects changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday gift season
Memoir projects are a popular holiday gift request. Gus looks at any moves worth making before December.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for memoir and life story writers. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions memoir writers ask first.
Does a large project deposit inflate my monthly income?
No. Gus keeps project payments visible against the stage of work delivered, so a deposit does not make one month look bigger than the work done so far.
Can Gus tell printing costs apart from my regular supplies?
Yes. Book printing and binding are tied to the client project they belong to, apart from general office supplies, so you can see the real cost of delivering a finished book.
Do I need to track transcription costs per project myself?
No. Send the bank statement and Gus keeps transcription costs in their own line so you can see if your project pricing covers it.
My income swings a lot depending on where I am in a project. Is that a problem?
No. Gus tracks income against your own pattern of staged payments, so a quiet writing month reads as normal, not a warning sign.
My books are behind from focusing on a big project. Is that fixable?
No. Hand over the statements you have and Gus sorts through what is behind, with the accountant checking it, typically inside a week.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever