Assuming you can string a sentence together, having a book published isn’t as difficult as people think. You identify a gap in the market, figure out who’s going to buy it, and make a case to a publisher. So why does it seem like an impossible dream for so many people?
The answer is that most people who say they want to be published authors don’t really mean it. What they mean is that they want to be a particular type of published author. They don’t dream of writing GCSE psychology textbooks, or guides to managing Type 2 diabetes, or cash‑in celebrity biographies. They want to write literary fiction, or detective novels, or children’s books. For all that they profess to love the craft of writing for its own sake, when it comes down to it, they’d rather not write at all than be the wrong sort of published author.
The same sort of romanticism is equally prevalent in the world of music, where the fear of ‘selling out’ took hold in the ’60s and still retains a powerful grip. Groups who perform their own songs often seem to look down on covers bands, even though they’re the ones making a living from their music and filling venues every weekend. Writers and producers revolt against the idea of making library music, even when their music already sounds like library music. I know a singer‑songwriter who literally refuses to perform his best song, because it doesn’t represent where he is as an artist (or something).
I’ve fallen for this starving‑artist stuff myself in the past, and what I’ve realised far too late in life is that you should take all the opportunities you can, because they’re not mutually exclusive. Joining a pub band won’t stop you from writing your own songs, but it will make you a better musician and give you invaluable insight into what audiences like. Making soundalikes for a music library won’t compromise the integrity of other music you make, but it’ll up your game on the production front. Engineering also‑ran bands or composing hold music for phone systems isn’t lowering yourself; it’s a learning process.
To grow as an artist or producer, you need to be able to find the art that’s hiding in every corner of the musical world.
To grow as an artist or producer, you need to be able to find the art that’s hiding in every corner of the musical world, no matter how ‘commercial’ or apparently valueless. Expose yourself to as many different experiences as you can. Challenge yourself in as many ways as possible. Work with people from every walk of life.
Is it a guaranteed recipe for success? Of course not. But when you come to write your book, you’ll have some good stories to tell.
Sam Inglis Editor In Chief