It's also not mentioning that incorporating (or being an Einzelunternehmer exceeding €600k) means you need to do formal accounting (Bilanzierung) which is a lot

It's also not mentioning that incorporating (or being an Einzelunternehmer exceeding €600k) means you need to do formal accounting (Bilanzierung) which is a lot more involved than what any non-expert should handle personally so you will need a tax adviser to avoid severe fines for easy bookkeeping mistakes. That's another factor when deciding whether to go for a UG/GmbH or Einzelunternehmer. That said, the costs are based on revenue so you'll ease into it, it's just another cost to be aware of. Oh, and if you hire anyone for any editorial or creative work and they're not doing it as a UG/GmbH, be aware of Künstlersozialkasse payments (which you have to handle yourself unprompted). You'll usually get a visit by the Deutsche Rentenkasse after about 3 years for an audit and they'll be very unhappy if you didn't pay your dues.