Hey Reader,
I've got a book for you. It's about writing.
Writing words, not music.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
I'm reading the book because I want to be a words guy. (I write a newsletter every week)
I was cruising through the introduction when this sentence sucker-punched me…
"I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do - the actual act of writing - turns out to be the best part."
Anne, and I, lost some of you with the part about forcing yourself to write. You love it, can't get enough of it, and wish you could quit your 9 to 5 and stare at your DAW from sun up to sun down.
But I read the Facebook groups. There are plenty of music makers out there, maybe even you, desperate to be published. Desperate for that first placement. I was that guy. I saw having my music published in a production music library as my last chance to stay working in the music business.
I don't blame that version of me for his misplaced priorities. I just wish he would have enjoyed the process a little more.
Fast forward a decade and a half. I can make it through days and sometimes weeks without looking up from my laptop.
I still write, but now I must be diligent to make the time. When I do, that feeling, at the end of the day, of listening to a piece of music that did not exist when the day started, is unmatched.
Don't be too hard on yourself if you've lost the plot. Life is tough. Families need to be fed.
I have a few libraries that need my attention. Songs to master. Alt mixes and stems to export. Descriptions to write. Tags on tags on tags. Publish, distribute and repeat.
I have a good gig. I'm grateful for the work. Just reminding both of us the writing, the making, the creating - that's where the magic is. That's the best part.
Talk soon,
Jon