Tough Competition

          I think I figured out what I was doing wrong on some of my songs for my first album. I needed to add the beats a little at a time so that they line up with the singing. So, I'm going to try that next time I do an album, and hopefully, I'll get better results. I tried to make the production as good as I knew how to in my first album, but it's not a perfect production. I hope people will forgive me for being a rookie. I've submitted two songs to contests to get remastered by professionals. I'm no professional, but I'd like to achieve a quality sound in my recordings. My ranking has been increasing on the national and global ReverbNation charts. Maybe I'll be in a good position in a year. I was looking at the Billboard charts, and some people have been on that chart for over a year. The music is amazing. They have special effects that I've never seen before on Revolt Verified Videos. Also, I watched some Jamaican music by Bob Marley's youngest son and Koffee. They are pushing the boundaries with what they can do with their music. I have some tough competition I'm up against.

Bush

I just listened to Bush's new song. "Flowers on a Grave" has an excellent sound. It has the most amazing guitar riffs and production. I'd love to achieve something close to that kind of sound in my rock music coming out this summer. I doubt it'll sound that good without more expensive equipment like Bush has, but I'd like to get better. So, I've been listening to rock music by black people like Dionne Farris ("I Know") and by other people like Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love." I'm getting new ideas about what I can do with the guitar in my upcoming songs.

Social Media is Hard Work

Working on two albums and two books over the last week has taught me that it really is work. I thought I was going to have fun recording my music, but to be professional you need to put work into it. You need to put work into making your production as good as you possibly can. I actually submitted my song "I Love You, Boy" to a contest to get it remastered. I think the beats are off. I realize that these people with successful YouTube channels and social media platforms have A. invested a lot of money in the right gear B. Worked hard on developing and editing their videos and C. invested in advertising to grow their fanbase. After working on my book for over 12 hours yesterday and doing proofreading today, I feel like I've been working at a day job all day. It is not easy, but I enjoy it. It is something I think is worth investing in for my future. If I'm ever successful, all the work will pay off. It's a different kind of work than traditional 9-5 jobs. You work on your schedule. There's much more freedom to get creative. You can have fun, but it needs to be structured to grow your profits.

Write Hit Music

Maybe one day I'll share my songwriting method in a book. I have a method I use to write great songs. It may help other people to write better. I know it is working for me, and I'm writing better than I ever have in my life. The key is to seek the melody you're looking for. Search and seek for it and you will find it like the Scripture in the Bible. Keep playing around with melodies until you fall on a great one. It's sure to make your songwriting more productive. I know I have written over 85 songs and of those songs, about 27 of them are worth releasing. Mass produce songs. Write hit music. Live your dreams. There are so many melody combinations out there that you'll never run out of ideas. You'll always be seeking and finding new hits. That's what I discovered while songwriting last December: there are so many melodies out there to explore and rewrite into your own new music. Figure out how many possibilities there are and work your way through them.

Online Music Production School

          I'm currently attending a community college on the east coast, but I'll be transferring to a four-year university next semester if everything goes as planned. I'm seriously thinking about pursuing another degree in music production online after I finish my current college commitments. I need a professional sound to get my music up and running. No one will listen to your music if it isn't completed even if you write the best songs in the world.

          I've been thinking about marketing my music and my book on Amazon this last week since I published both of them to TuneCore and Kindle Unlimited. Promotion is key to growing your fan base. It takes an investment of your time and money. You need to come up with original advertisements that catch people's attention. That takes effort that I'm really not looking forward to, but I will push myself to do it anyway. An original idea makes up for humble beginnings. Advertisements aren't the greatest gift I've been given, but it's all worth it when you see a jump in sales of your music or your book. That's my goal over the next six months: to make better ads and to see better sales.

Taylor Davis

          I just watched an amazing free webinar by violinist Taylor Davis. She was so encouraging about how an independent artist could make it in the music industry today. It's more geared towards independent artists without a record deal than ever before. She has great nerdy music too. I never would have thought I'd enjoy nerdy violin music, but I think she has something there. I went to her YouTube channel, and she had millions of followers listening to her play nerdy violin music. There's a niche for everything like she said in her webinar. You only need 1000 true fans who invest $100 in you a year to make a living at music. That gives me hope for my book. I've been working on my second book, a sequel, since Sunday and have written most of it. I have about 30 pages done about the Rapture and the Great Tribulation. It's not as long as my first book, but it should work because it's going to be an ebook.

Encountering God

My journey to writing Encountering God: A New Dimension of God's Glory takes me back. My experiences walking with God and all the things that have dawned me by divine inspiration fill the pages of my new novel. It is now available for free on Amazon if you're a Kindle Unlimited member. It is a work of fiction that's based on some true things from my life as well as a rich fictional account of one angel from the future who returns after the Rapture to encourage a reporter in the present day. They time travel to Mars in the future, where there is an advanced civilization. There are many secrets of the universe revealed during the conversation with the angel and the journalist, named Gloria. Also, the story of Mr. Livingston is interwoven into the story line. He visits Mars through a portal from a bridge to the future on Mars. The cover of the book was inspired by a vision I saw of what a Martian might look like. I made it on construction paper with marker and crayon. I think the colors of the sunshine on the Martian landscape really made the cover stand out. It has a picture of a Martian standing in the sunlight with the stars of the universe behind him in the distance. The book is available on Amazon for free if you're a kindle unlimited member and $9.99 if you're not.