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Monday, July 30, 2012

How The Freelance Writer's Den Breathed Life Into A Musician's Den

How The Freelance Writer's Den Breathed Life Into A Musician's Den
by Glen T Brown
As a man who has become a writer and a publisher by means of blogging, I'm becoming increasingly aware of how much the quality of my writing effects my message. When I first started to write online, I was not too concerned about sharing my writing with others. But now that my writing has a purpose to support the musicians' community in my city of Hamilton, Ontario, I know that I can no longer rely on my simple instincts.
Just like I needed lessons to learn my musical craft, I need lessons to learn my writing craft. My goal is to become a reliable "communicator of excellence" on behalf of musicians and the music trade. Membership in the Freelance Writer's Den will provide the sharp, high-level training I need.
My writing goals are already on track to benefit our community of musicians numbering more than 2000 people. This December I will be printing The Greater Hamilton Musician Annual, 2012 Edition. This print magazine will be a compilation of my inaugural year of blog posts found in Music Biz Bits, and will be distributed through local music stores, music schools and musician hang-outs.
My membership in The Den during the few months prior to publication will be indispensable. And the exciting thing is that we will all get to hold the results in our hands when the copies are printed!
The Musician Annual project excites me on its own. Being able to share it and fine-tune it in The Writer's Den would be amazing! I want to be sure it makes a spectacular impression. The reputations and the public profile of the musicians I write about depend on it.
The idea of a local "musicians' den" in Hamilton is not just in my imagination. There is no single meeting place, no scheduled meetings, and no set agenda. Instead there is the local music business where freelance musicians actively ply their profession. Our meeting places are music stores, instrument repair shops, rehearsal halls, recording studios, basements, orchestra pits, churches, backstage areas, pubs, nightclubs, and special venues where we bring music to weddings, anniversaries, parties, neighbourhood events and community celebrations.
How dismal life would be without musicians!
Yes, we are the musicians of Hamilton, Ontario. We have a great purpose in our city, and we have a den.
Like musicians all over the place, we are taken for granted. We are expected to play for free, or with the pass-the-hat method. A few lucky ones have a full-time gig and they don't have to network and market themselves too much, but mostly it is the opposite. Musicians need help to get the word out about their talent, and they need support in marketing themselves smartly and managing their careers. Musicians need a voice in the city and they need a voice to help them speak to other musicians in the den. My writing helps them do both.
Writers make the invisible visible. They make the silent speak. They give voice where no one is speaking out.
Writers become the eyes and ears of the collective population, scribes of the unheard conversations, reporters of yet-unannounced good news. Where there is a struggle, writers can bring potential solutions to light and facilitate discussion and understanding. Musicians can always use their music to convey their message, but my purpose as a writer goes beyond that to document their talents, joys, triumphs and trials, and to help them form a tighter sense of community between themselves.
I feel compelled to do this as well as I possibly can.
The benefits of taking part in The Writer's Den will be many. Carol Tice, Linda Formichelli and John Soares, backed up by their community of peers and students in The Den, will expertly equip me to become the best possible communicator. I will get top-quality tutoring on the nitty-gritty of writing, including the big-picture stuff like managing workflow and deadlines, and even some helpful coaching on making the financial side of things work well. The members of the Freelance Writer's Den and all of my readers will be able to see the results of my progress as I continue posting about local music.
Thank-you for the opportunity to write for musicians.
Share this article with your musician friends. You can also request a free subscription using the form to the right.
- Glen

1 comment:

Vigabo said...

Excellent as always Glen. Great job.