I love hearing that you are talking about the book and doing readings to an audience who loves your music now. It just seems smart because you have an audience other writers don’t. You have done the heavy lifting of making the books. Time to sell the story with the voice in performance. You by-passed the gate keeping!
My music audience is small Cynthia but they do exist after decades of putting out records and touring! I remember when Patti Smith's Just Kids was just a few years old, a couple women in the bookstore where I worked were talking about her. "You know she does music too," one of them said. "Oh really?" said the other. Maybe I can find some new listeners through my readers, I hope so.
You’re a powerhouse Amy, two fantastic books along with everything else you do. This post is such a useful (and daunting) insight into the hard slog of writing, let alone self- publishing. I hope you can take a few moments during your book tour to reflect on what you have actually achieved👍 #Bravo
That's very kind of you Chris and I appreciate it! Lots of time for reflection while I'm driving, I will try to remember not to be too hard on myself for what I didn't get done.
Moving a draft/text from one working platform to another is a pro move, one that I use, too.
For drafting, I usually work in 4theWords. The gamification elements make it easy to break projects into smaller, manageable tasks, and the interface is simple and clean.
For my music writing, the group I'm in uses WordPress, so I have to transfer the text there. When I do, I look it over again, and I always catch things I missed in 4theWords.
When you're working in one platform, your eyes and brain can play tricks on you, and seeing the text in a different environment helps.
Talk about connection. I can relate to everything in this column as I self published my first memoir “The Most Beautiful Girl: A True Story of a Dad, a Daughter and the Healing Power of Music.” I did hire a few people to help with mechanics. Oh, and, a big publisher made me a terrible offer that I also walked away from. That book still makes me a little money. And the wonderful Claudia Church read the audio book. As an aside, I interviewed Joyce Maynard for my Guy Clark book. She was friends was Guy, Susanna and Townes. I love following her on Substack, too.
Same here Tamara, I loved your latest post about that period of Nashville when I was first visiting/deciding to move there. Your Guy Clark book is a wonder! And yes, love reading anything Joyce writes❤️
I promise, I don't linger for more than a few seconds on those posts Hal! Or possibly forward to my daughter saying "aren't you glad you don't live in NYC anymore if THIS is people's idea of a good time?" But that prob makes me worse than the yogurt people!
That’s a great read Amy. And there’s me thinking it was as simple as jotting a few ideas on the back of a cigarette packet then sitting back and watching the cash roll in!
I love hearing that you are talking about the book and doing readings to an audience who loves your music now. It just seems smart because you have an audience other writers don’t. You have done the heavy lifting of making the books. Time to sell the story with the voice in performance. You by-passed the gate keeping!
My music audience is small Cynthia but they do exist after decades of putting out records and touring! I remember when Patti Smith's Just Kids was just a few years old, a couple women in the bookstore where I worked were talking about her. "You know she does music too," one of them said. "Oh really?" said the other. Maybe I can find some new listeners through my readers, I hope so.
Learning stuff, as usual! ("Courier feels friendly, low-stakes. Times New Roman is when you’re ready for the big show")
What's yer font of choice?
Monaco. And Courier too. Kinda sticking to the early Mac days. Trying to keep that look. Change is death, right?
You’re a powerhouse Amy, two fantastic books along with everything else you do. This post is such a useful (and daunting) insight into the hard slog of writing, let alone self- publishing. I hope you can take a few moments during your book tour to reflect on what you have actually achieved👍 #Bravo
That's very kind of you Chris and I appreciate it! Lots of time for reflection while I'm driving, I will try to remember not to be too hard on myself for what I didn't get done.
Moving a draft/text from one working platform to another is a pro move, one that I use, too.
For drafting, I usually work in 4theWords. The gamification elements make it easy to break projects into smaller, manageable tasks, and the interface is simple and clean.
For my music writing, the group I'm in uses WordPress, so I have to transfer the text there. When I do, I look it over again, and I always catch things I missed in 4theWords.
When you're working in one platform, your eyes and brain can play tricks on you, and seeing the text in a different environment helps.
I will check out 4theWords Mark, thanks.
You could do a great lecture on the reality of writing a memoir! And get paid for it!
I second that emotion
I will try to do it, thanks Chuck!
That’s such a good idea Truus, thank you!
Talk about connection. I can relate to everything in this column as I self published my first memoir “The Most Beautiful Girl: A True Story of a Dad, a Daughter and the Healing Power of Music.” I did hire a few people to help with mechanics. Oh, and, a big publisher made me a terrible offer that I also walked away from. That book still makes me a little money. And the wonderful Claudia Church read the audio book. As an aside, I interviewed Joyce Maynard for my Guy Clark book. She was friends was Guy, Susanna and Townes. I love following her on Substack, too.
I love getting to know you here, Amy.
Same here Tamara, I loved your latest post about that period of Nashville when I was first visiting/deciding to move there. Your Guy Clark book is a wonder! And yes, love reading anything Joyce writes❤️
Um, "watch IG posts of people waiting on line in NYC to buy frozen yogurt." I can think of many timewasters. That was a new one.
And this is true: "if you feel like you belong in the world of books, you do."
I promise, I don't linger for more than a few seconds on those posts Hal! Or possibly forward to my daughter saying "aren't you glad you don't live in NYC anymore if THIS is people's idea of a good time?" But that prob makes me worse than the yogurt people!
I thought NY'ers knew better than to stand on line for most things. Life, esp in NYC, is way too short.
That’s a great read Amy. And there’s me thinking it was as simple as jotting a few ideas on the back of a cigarette packet then sitting back and watching the cash roll in!
That's what I thought too when I started, Chris! Thanks for reading.