How many times have you gone to eat somewhere and they tell you it will be a 20-minute wait for a table? Or you arrive at the doctor’s office for an appointment, yet still end up sitting in the waiting room for 15 minutes before they take you back (to an exam room, where you wait for another ten minutes). Perhaps you take your car in for an oil change and they tell you they can do it while you wait – for 45 minutes.
In this day and age, most people in those situations pull out their smartphone and (sigh) surf social media. That time could be a lot more productive. I suggest that those instances provide opportunities to learn, not about what your friends and family did last night, but to get educated further in your field.
In no particular order, here are just a few examples of the types of resources that are at your fingertips with that phone that you are about to gaze into while you wait your turn for your haircut:
1) Over the weekend I was telling a client who is interested in dipping their toe into the water relative to songwriting that I would send a link to what Nashville-based singer/songwriter Marc-Alan Barnette puts online. For those of you who don’t know him, he has written over 3,000 songs and was the guest on Episode 102 and Episode 12 of “Now Hear This Entertainment.” He actually writes a lot of educational posts on his personal Facebook page, but does have a Blog section on his website (and has been published here on the Now Hear This site too).
2) I was telling the same client that another great resource is the book published by our late friend, CJ Watson. He had been the guest on Episode 41 of NHTE and is said to have written over SEVEN thousand songs. His book is called The Everything Songwriting Book: All You Need to Create and Market Hit Songs.
3) Mella Barnes is a singer/songwriter who has also authored a book (which was featured in a Huffington Post piece). To say that she’s (also) an avid blogger is putting it mildly. Wow, talk about impressive. She posts a blog twice a week although it feels even more frequent than that. You can also hear my interview with Mella from back when she was the guest on Episode 152 of NHTE.
4) I met Barbara Cloyd when we were both in Alabama at a songwriters festival and jumped at the chance to also sit down with her for an interview for NHTE then (Episode 146). Lo and behold, this summer when I was in Nashville, I got to reconnect with her after she performed at a writers’ night. Barbara is a songwriter, teacher, and the host of the Monday Open Mic at the famous Bluebird Café. She also puts on an event called Play For Publishers. To that end, she put up an Instagram post recently that was great (about what is looked for in a song) and thus hers is a good account to watch (Follow) in terms of being able to learn something from, as opposed to just “surfing the ‘Gram” aimlessly.
5) Of course, you can also get tips for your career right on your smartphone by downloading one or more of the volumes in my Bruce’s Bonus Book series so that you always have them on-hand, whether you’re at a gig or waiting to see the dentist for your teeth cleaning. Think of it as an electronic workbook and/or checklist.
What are your favorite websites, online resources, blogs, or other online destinations that you find helpful? Share them with our online community in the Facebook group!