US Folks - What business activity code (NAICS) do you put on tax form Schedule C

[AmHere]

Form Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) has field where they request you to put in a business activity code.

Here are some I think may be valid, but I am not sure.

511000
Publishing industries (except Internet)

519100
Other information services (including news syndicates & libraries, Internet publishing & broadcasting)

999999
Unclassified establishments (unable to classify)

What do US folks here put in this field? Am I not seeing something more applicable?

Thank you.

[LilyBLily]

711510 Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers

This is the one I use and recommend for any author.

The ones you suggest might be okay, and 999999 is fine, too. One could object that writers are more likely to be audited than, say, internet publishers, which is under 519100. Interestingly, if one doesn't do print and one does do a podcast in addition to ebooks, maybe this would be a good code.

However, since our main business does not exist unless we write, I think 711510 is the correct code. 

[AmHere]

Thanks Lily. 

I guess my thinking is we are not just writers/authors but really publishers since we take care of everything. I am not even sure how much it matters.

Also I read Internet Publishing as being the medium through which one sells!

[LilyBLily]

Thanks Lily. 

I guess my thinking is we are not just writers/authors but really publishers since we take care of everything. I am not even sure how much it matters.

Also I read Internet Publishing as being the medium through which one sells!

(My bold.)

The category doesn't matter anywhere near as much as two other lines: Gross income and net profit. If your business as an author-publisher-cover designer-ad rep, etc. produces gross income AND net profit, you're probably going to pass muster with the IRS no matter which code you choose. If you earn nothing or next to nothing and only have losses AND if you try to use those losses to offset other taxable income, then the IRS is likely to want to find out if this is a business or a hobby. Hobbies can't have losses that reduce taxable income. Businesses can. Mind you, a business does not have to be profitable; after all, most small businesses fail. People think they must show a profit a certain number of years out of five; this is not true. There are many authors who make a very big score one year and may not earn anything at all for years before or after, but that does not mean they aren't conducting a business during those years. 

This isn't tax advice. It's anecdotal information based on years of experience.   

[okey dokey]

Lily is right. Your business does not have to show a profit.
You ble to just have to be able to prove you're trying to make a profit.
Always be able to document expenses.
Amazon deducted losses for years before showing a profit.
And I NEVER say I wouldn't care if I never sold a thing.