More about Song-Writing Classes and Resources

Some people, like Taylor Swift, are just prodigies. They just never seem to run out of words to put down on paper, and what ever they write always seems to sound heavenly.

But for most people, a little training in your desired profession can't hurt, even if your desired profession is to be a songwriter, and you've already got six notebooks full of lyrics.

So if you miss the deadline for GRAMMY Camp, or perhaps you're already out of high school and it's too late, don't worry. You still have plenty of options.

First and foremost, there are colleges, like the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Berklee has several online classes that teach songwriting and other forms of creative writing.

Both BMI and ASCAP offer workshops. BMI offers a songwriters' workshop in Nashville, and there is no charge, although it probably fills up well in advance. In New York, they offer a jazz composer's workshop and a musical theater workshop. BMI 101 -- a one-hour overview course that discusses performing rights and other necessary information, is available in Los Angeles and New York.

ASCAP has programs around country music, rhythm and soul, Christian and film scoring.

There also are a variety of independent venues, including The Songwriting School of Los Angeles, Songwriting Lessons Online, SongU.com, and TakeLessons.com.

Remember that classes and workshops are also great places to network. You can meet both experienced professionals as well as other classmates with whom you might find a connection and want to work with.

Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley met at Belmont University. They started playing together and today they are one of the top acts in country music: Florida Georgia Line. Never underestimate the power of meeting people!

So, if you're interested in making a career out of songwriting, first and foremost, start writing. But secondly, consider taking a course or two. You could come away some very valuable information you would not have gotten otherwise. And you may also come away with some very valuable partnerships that never would have happened if you hadn't been in the right place at the right time.

Good luck!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

The Deadline for Grammy Camp is March 31st!

If you have a high school student -- or if you are a high school student -- who is dedicated to music and is very talented, you might be interested in GRAMMY Camp.

It sounds like a wonderful opportunity. Country singer Maren Morris went to GRAMMY camp and now she is a successful country singer and songwriter!

But the deadline is March 31st for the 2017 summer session so you need to act fast:

Here's the information from their website:

GRAMMY Camp is a 5-day nonresidential summer music industry program for high school students interested in having a career in music. Hosted by Belmont University in Nashville and USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, students from across the country apply for one of the eight offered career tracks. GRAMMY Camp faculty of music professionals as well as guest industry professionals provide valuable insight to give the campers the best chance at achieving success in their chosen career.

Join one of our info sessions where GRAMMY staff will be available to answer your questions on an informational conference call.
Tuesday, March 14 at 4 p.m. PST/7 p.m. EST GRAMMY Camp: General Info and How to Apply
Thursday, March 16 at 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST GRAMMY Camp: A Parent's Perspective
Monday, March 20 at 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST GRAMMY Camp: General Info and How to Apply

RSVP to reserve your spot in the call-in: Email grammycamp@grammy.com

2017 GRAMMY Camp Dates & Locations:

GRAMMY Camp Nashville – Tuesday, May 30 - Saturday, June 3, 2017

GRAMMY Camp Los Angeles – Tuesday, July 18 – Saturday, July 22, 2017

Financial assistance is available for students who need it.

Check out all of the possible career tracks below or download a printable version:

Audio Engineering

Electronic Music Production (LA only)

Songwriting

Performance - Vocal

Music Journalism (LA only)

Video Production & Motion Graphics (LA only)

Music Business (LA only)

Performance - Instrumental

Good luck to all those high schoolers who get in! And for those who don't, don't give up! Keep working at it!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

A Must Read: "We Were the Lucky Ones" by Georgia Hunter

Georgia Hunter was 15 years old when she found out that her grandfather was a Jewish holocaust survivor. With a fervor that I can only liken to someone who finds out they are adopted and then can't sleep until they know who their biological parents are, Georgia sets off to find out more about the one-fourth Jewish heritage that, until her 15th year, she didn't know she had, and in the process uncovers a tapestry of amazing, incredible stories of her family's past sewn together with boundless strength, optimism and faith.

Georgia's journey took her to France, Poland and Brazil to speak to relatives first-hand who were able to tell her about family members and the incredible situations they survived.

The entire process, from making the decision to write We Are the Lucky Ones to finishing the manuscript and seeing it published, took her 9 years.

I had the pleasure of hearing Georgia speak recently at the Darien Library.

She chose to weave her story into a novel, so that she could bring past family members to life in a very arresting and colorful way.

This amazing book can be found on Amazon.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Writers: Take Time to Mentor the Next Generation

When I was in sixth grade, there was one specific day that I recall very well. Our class had study hall, and once a week during study hall we went to the school library. It was one room of wall-to-wall books.

On this particular occasion, the teacher, Sister Joan Bailey, called me over to her from the other side of the room. I went. As I approached, she pulled a book off the shelf and handed it to me. It was about creative writing. "I think this book would good for you," she said. And then she walked away.

I stood there for a moment in mild surprise. My first thought was, "Wow, she thinks I have writing potential??" Then, my second thought was, "Wow, she thinks I have writing potential!!!"

I had my first story published in the 8th grade newspaper, then another in a high school book. It all went up from there. Today, I am a professional writer. And it all began with a nun who spoke one sentence.

Yesterday, I received an email from my local library announcing a new writing group for girls between grades 5 and 8. It brought me back to that time when I was a girl between grades 5 and 8 and I was just starting to plant the seeds of my future.

And I felt a sense of both hope and wonder. Hope that this new writing club would help open the creative minds of many girls between grades 5 and 8 and plants the seeds of their future. And wonder about whether any of those girls, either here in my home town, or elsewhere throughout the world, would become the next great writer.

I look forward to seeing who that might be, and even to mentoring some of those future writers myself. If you are a successful writer, think about who you might be able to mentor -- high school students, college students, your next door neighbor's kid. Look around you. Reach out and share your gift with the next generation.

The future awaits! And you have a very big role to play in it.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

I've Just Joined the Self Publishers' Showcase Family!

I'm excited to report that I've just become a member of the Self Publishers' Showcase author family.

Starting tonight, they will be tweeting every other day for me to their database of 196,000. I look forward to the people who will be introduced to my book, In Fashion's Web, and whom I might meet.

Self Publishers' Showcase is a website that highlights indie fiction and nonfiction. They offer author bio pages and conduct author interviews.

The site is published by Dominion Editorial, a publishing, marketing and literary agency which handles ebook formatting, editing, proofreading and book marketing.

My author page (below) showcases my novel, website, blog, and social media links.

If you're interested in hearing more, go to selfpublishersshowcase.com or dominioneditorial.com.

I'm looking forward to the exposure this new venture will give my book!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

The Notebook: A Great Example of How to Use Flashbacks

Spoiler alert: If you haven't read The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks, or you haven't seen the movie, I'm about to give away the story line, so if that bothers you, you may want to skip this post.

I recently (finally!) read The Notebook. I got tired of all the buzz about it being referred to as the best love story ever, or the quintessential love story. I wanted to know what all the buzz was about.

So I read it. And oh my God. What a book. It's not a very long book – about 240 pages. But it's long enough for the characters to be deep, and real, and raw, and for readers to fall in love with them.

What I like most about The Notebook though, is Sparks' use of a flashback. Next to A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford, The Notebook is the best use of the technique that I think I have ever read.

Page one starts with an old man shuffling around a nursing home. But the book quickly shifts to that same man at age 31. Then, for the bulk of the book, Noah is 31, and is remembering or flashing back to age 16 when he first met Allie, so it's actually a flashback within a flashback, because he goes from elderly to 31 to 16, then back to 31, then back to elderly, which is where the book ends.

The shifts in time and age are well choreographed, and the flashbacks are easy to follow. I highly recommend reading The Notebook first if you are considering putting a flashback in your book.

Or, if you're not writing a book, but you happen to love good romance stories, The Notebook is one of the best. Enjoy!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Hand Out Business Cards for your Book

One of the first things I did after I self-published my novel, In Fashion's Web, on Amazon, is created business cards just for the book.

The card includes:
-a jpeg of the cover
-The name of the book
-The name of the author
-A link to the print version on Amazon
-A link to the Kindle version on Amazon
-A note that says you can also search Amazon by name
-And a note to 'like' the book on Facebook

There is no personal information of mine, such as my email or phone number. I left those off so that I could promote the book with people I meet on the street. Here's what it looks like:

I print these on my home printer, but you could easily have them made up at a place like Vistaprint online or a local retail printer in your home town.

When I meet a woman and I've had a few minutes to speak with her, I ask her, "Do you like to read?" and if she says yes, then I give her my card.

For example, yesterday morning, I was at my mechanic's get the oil changed in my car. There was another woman there also waiting for her car. We struck up a conversation and I asked my usual question. She said yes and I gave her a card.

I've given out cards in supermarkets, parking lots, Dunkin' Donuts, doctors' offices, to women in the hallway of the building I work in, etc. And some have bought the book as a result.

Whether you have a traditional publishing contract or not, you are still responsible for marketing your own work. This is one way to help, especially if you're traveling out of state or even out of the country.

Give out cards in the airport, on the beach, on vacation, on business trips. The farther you can distribute your cards, the better.

Now, I have to go print some cards!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.