Help me, help you improve your mixes?

Published: Thu, 11/01/18

My friend wants to write a book.

For some reason, his first act was to start contacting publishers.

He said, "Just sent the manuscript for my first book to a publisher. I probably have another 30 or so publishers to try before I get a yes, but let's see how this one pans out."

I told him that this was the wrong way to go about it.

I told him, don’t wait for permission from a publisher. Just start writing and self-publish.He responded with, "Time, time, time. I took the easy way out."

I made a mental facepalm, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Lol. Finding a publisher is not the easy way out."

I didn't say "lol" in real life. This was an online discussion. I'm not a lunatic.

He decided that he wouldn't be able to dedicate the time to promote the book to make it successful. Keep in mind that he also wasn't willing to write the book unless he had a publisher.

So he was looking for a shortcut. An easy way out, as he said himself.

But the thing is, publishers still want you to promote your own books. They'll much rather listen to a book proposal from a person with an audience and a platform than someone that just has an idea.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Everybody has a great idea. It's the same whether you're pitching a book or a startup. The ideas are great starting points, but it's the execution that matters. It's what you do now, not what you think you can do in the future.

I promote my book Step By Step Mixing obsessively because I believe it can help musicians and audio engineers like yourself. All through self-publishing my work to my audience. Would I say yes to a publisher some day? Maybe, but in the meantime, I don't have to.

And the promotion pays off because it's the best-selling book I've ever written, with raving reviews from people all over the world.

But I'd like to make it better and for that, I need your help.

I'm working on version 2.0 right now and it's the first time I'll be publishing a physical copy of the book. However, before I do that, I want to make sure it's absolutely the best version I can possibly make.

So if you want to help me do that, you have two options:

1. Reply to this email and let me know in person what you think I can improve. I'll read every email while thoughtfully stroking my beard, pondering how I can help you.
Or...
2. Fill out this survey instead. I can take criticism, but if you'd rather do it anonymously, this is the option for you.

Of course, if you haven't read Step By Step Mixing yet, I'd still like to hear your opinion on how I can help you improve your mixes.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Björgvin