Today I signed up to enter a contest called Play for Publishers at the Bluebird Café. This is a weekend event and five or six Nashville music publishers will be there to listen to new songs. I submitted three songs and the lyrics. Only sixteen songwriters will be accepted to participate in this event. The deadline to submit your songs is September 7th and the winners will be notified by September 12th.
I am nervous and excited at the same time. The nervous part is that I am sharing a part of me when I write a song. Sometimes it is hard not to take it personal. Yes, it is my song. Will I be disappointed if I am not accepted? Yes, I will be. But.......... What if I am selected? How cool is that? Not only do I get to play for Nashville publishers but I get another opportunity to play at the Bluebird Café. I have played there twice at open mic nights and have tried to apply online for tryouts to play at the Bluebird. I have failed to get past the sign in process. If you get past the sign in process you are then allowed to go to the Bluebird and play one song and one verse. The winners will get to play on a Sunday night writer night with other singer songwriters.
This is a crazy business. You have to put yourself out there. You have to be able to face disappointment in hopes of achieving success. I have had many rejections and I would like to say that it gets easier, but that is not true. The bottom line is rejection is hard. I will keep trying and writing songs.
I could be worried and fret about the process. The thing that I try to remember is I am not in control. I am glad I am not in control. I could do a great job of messing up my life and in the process mess up my families and friends lives also. God is in control. I may not be a commercially successful songwriter but I do believe that I am blessed by God. I don't know how any of this will turn out. Maybe when I die my grandkids will cherish my songs? The outcome of my songs is not in my power. My part in the process is to write the lyrics and melodies that God gives me. The rest is up to him. If God wants me to be successful as a songwriter, nothing and no one will be able to stop me.
This helps me to deal better with disappointments. Just because I fail it does not make me a failure. I am excited about the journey.
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I am nervous and excited at the same time. The nervous part is that I am sharing a part of me when I write a song. Sometimes it is hard not to take it personal. Yes, it is my song. Will I be disappointed if I am not accepted? Yes, I will be. But.......... What if I am selected? How cool is that? Not only do I get to play for Nashville publishers but I get another opportunity to play at the Bluebird Café. I have played there twice at open mic nights and have tried to apply online for tryouts to play at the Bluebird. I have failed to get past the sign in process. If you get past the sign in process you are then allowed to go to the Bluebird and play one song and one verse. The winners will get to play on a Sunday night writer night with other singer songwriters.
This is a crazy business. You have to put yourself out there. You have to be able to face disappointment in hopes of achieving success. I have had many rejections and I would like to say that it gets easier, but that is not true. The bottom line is rejection is hard. I will keep trying and writing songs.
I could be worried and fret about the process. The thing that I try to remember is I am not in control. I am glad I am not in control. I could do a great job of messing up my life and in the process mess up my families and friends lives also. God is in control. I may not be a commercially successful songwriter but I do believe that I am blessed by God. I don't know how any of this will turn out. Maybe when I die my grandkids will cherish my songs? The outcome of my songs is not in my power. My part in the process is to write the lyrics and melodies that God gives me. The rest is up to him. If God wants me to be successful as a songwriter, nothing and no one will be able to stop me.
This helps me to deal better with disappointments. Just because I fail it does not make me a failure. I am excited about the journey.
.