Question about making money while on (or applying for) disability
 

Hi folks,

I am in the never ending process of the circus that is SSDI. I am waiting for a hearing date at this point and confident that I will be awarded SSDI.

Suddenly though, there is a possible issue. As I sat home, unable to work and barely able to care for myself - I decided that I needed to do something before depression became a serious factor. I decided to write. It wasn't steady - two or three hours at a time was about my limit, though there were days that I'd put in multiple sessions after a nap or rest. Twenty nine days later I stopped writing on page 355. I had written a novel.

No sense writing a novel and sticking it into a drawer I figured, so I sent it out to a publisher. Rather than the rejection letter I expected in four to six weeks, I got an e-mail back four days later complaining of the nights sleep I cost the him when he couldn't put it down. He wants it. There's a contract on the way and the advance is generous.

So, am I employed now? Is this considered work? When I went to the state to see if I could be retrained in the early stages of this disease, I asked about writing and they said that no, writing was 'art' not work. Ultimately, does this completely throw a wrench into disability?

congratulations that is great. and that is definitely inome.. lol. the question being does the income cross certain allowed amount thresholds over a period of time. it is a little complex and someone better than me can answer the question, I think it would be like freelancing and the earnings would be spread over the time it took to write the book, but I could be wrong maybe you will be rich nd famous and wont need disability

Thanks so much for responding Mark. Yeah, I mean, I guessed that it would be income - but how on earth do you calculate the time period? I wrote it during January but there seems to be a few factors involved - some I would not expect them to take into consideration, others I would. For instance:

1. When a friend asked how long it took and I replied twenty-nine days, she countered with, more like 49 years of experience. She's not wrong, although I wouldn't expect SSDI to care about that.

2. Now that I have a publisher, there are endless edits - and I am STILL doing that - though I should be done this week. But then there's cover art to arrange, back cover blurbs to ponder endlessly, e-mails back and forth to other authors for recommendations, etc.

3. Though the advance will be nice, typically royalties are paid annually. While a (random guess) $7000 check seems big, that's $583/month or $134/week.

I'm not looking to take from the system if I don't need it, but I haven't got dollar one at this point and I've been cutting up clothes for toilet paper as I try to live on nothing for the last eighteen months. Even if I did get hit with the lucky stick and make it big - I'd still take the back pay as pain and suffering for them telling me I didn't need it for the last eighteen months - on moral principle.

Which brings up another point... Can they make me continue writing once I've shown success? I mean, obviously, if hit with the inspiration, I will continue writing. But the reason the book got written so fast is simply because I had the book inside me. I don't know if I've got another one in me.

say that you wrote it over a year. then the income will be divided by that number of months. if they ask why you didn't tell them you were working say you didn't consider it work at the time and just decided to send it to a publisher on a whim. I don't know if they consider income quarterly or you can do yearly. you would have to ask someone else on that or ican go peek for you. I have nothing better to do right now lol. I would definitely want my back pay if I was you. edit. I did some research and it seems you can work while applying or appealing for ssdi as long as you only make or average a certain amount each month. if you go over that even if they approve they will reevaluate your approval so make sure the time period fits with the maximum allowable monthly income under ssdi rules

Mark, thank you so much. You've been extraordinarily helpful.

No they cannot make you continue to write, however they will say that you can, and if such is the case, including you having been published, you will lose your claim out of hand. Also, one of the predicate issues revolving around ssdi is the thorny issue of retraining(thats why they have a VE at your hearing)and educational experience. If you're able to pen complete novels within just thirty days, and SSA has verifiable proof of you having done so, including that generous advance, in my opinion you have absolutely no chance of prevailing at any level in the ssdi system, nor should you.

you're allowed to make a certain amount per month no matter what your skill is. even with 7000 over a number of months you still deserve the ssdi that was coming for you and I would get a good lawyer to sort out the details and get what you deserve

Glad you responded before I signed! Thank you.

No, you are not looking at this from the proper perspective, and you have an entirely imperfect understanding of work allowances as they pertain to SSDI. First of all, in my experience those with the hardest road to hoe to a fully favorable decision, are those that come from the most education, and the most skilled and professional of occupations, regardless of their disability. Most people who appear before an ALJ must prove that they are capable of a "less then sedentary RFC," that means that you are unfit to even answer telephones with breaks every thirty minutes or so! How hard does that become, convincing an ALJ that you are fully, totally disabled , unable to do even sedentary work, while at the same time you are working a part time job?

99.9% of the time, you will lose right there, as your credibility will be virtually nil with the ALJ. Now, toss in the OP's skills, he has penned a novel, in just thirty days, and he has been advanced a significant amount of money for his efforts! Maybe 1% of the total population is skilled enough to compete at such a level. Such a person would have highly transferable skills, regardless of his disability.

So, hopefully you begin to understand the obstacles, and the biggest one is your credibility. SSA could care less if you can't find work, or pay your bills, all SSA cares about is whether or not from their perspective, you are capable of doing so, thats all that they need do, prove to their satisfaction that you are "capable!"

Now, how capable do you think one might be in the eyes of the SSA if they are claiming complete, total disability, but are at the same time penning complete novels in just thirty days time, and being advanced substantial amounts of money for their efforts?

The op in my opinion has no claim, whats more they really shouldn't have one. This certainly doesn't mean that they cannot apply, it is their right to apply, but they will be contributing to the back log and delaying someone else's moment before the ALJ. In my opinion the op hasn't a chance or prevailing at the hearing level. ;)

Not so. The fault is probably mine for not being clear enough though. The advance comes after the contract is signed. I have not yet signed.

My doctor has suggested that if I were considering an attorney, to forgo that route because my medical condition is too severe to require one in order to be successful. Riding to the bus station to drop off my wife on Saturday morning required a trip to the ER because the trip was too taxing and I went into crisis. I'm thinking that if I can't take a ride to the bus station without risking my life, then I have a pretty fair chance at hearing.

However, based on your input, the contract will sit on my desk until after the hearing and we'll see how it goes.