Yesterday I launched Rob’s Totally Awesome Guitar Teaching Handbook, my guide for running a successful guitar teaching business. It’s been two years in the making. I summed up my feelings in the Conclusion, written during yesterday’s marathon of last-minute writing, editing, and battling Microsoft Word:
“If teaching guitar is about spreading joy, writing this book has been like collecting joy in a giant container. Today I finally get to tip it over.”
Writing this book taught me several things:
1) I love writing every day. I love how it wakes up my creative mind. It’s like having X-ray vision, except it’s Creative Vision: I’m more playful with language in conversation, a humminbird glistening in my backyard inspires a line of poetry–I even pay closer attention to music.
2) I love self-publishing. I probably would not have written this book had I been born 20 years earlier. Even if I could have found a publisher, royalties would not have paid for all the tea I drank as I wrote. But by self-publishing, I keep over 95% of sales (the rest goes to PayPal), which means I don’t need to sell nearly as many books to make it profitable. Plus, the popularity of my website may help me sell more books than a big publisher every could have.
3) I love teaching guitar. Putting my ideas about and enthusiasm for this job into words has driven the feeling home.
Comments 6
Congratulations! I’m glad to see any self-made publishing come out! If you would like the 5th Fret to review it, just let me know!
Again, congrats on the new book!
Thank you, and I’d love a review! Check your email.
i love guitar
Perfect timing! A friend and I are both looking to start teaching in our area and are looking for the best ways to begin. I’ll be sending him this link so we can check it out together.
All the best!
Russ
http://www.learnfromvideo.info/guitar-lessons/
Awesome, Russ. Let me know what you think of the book!
Very nice, sir!
I actually found out about your blog by your book, as my friend has been talking about it for a little bit now and I became very curious. Keep up the good work!
Matt M
Virtual guitar lessons