The Change My Mind Project is comprised of an album with 12 original songs and a book, both of which I am working on simultaneously. As I edit or remix a song, I get inspired to write in the chapter about that song in the book. Together, they explain a journey I took and one anyone can take, from stress to rest.
More than half the book is already written and 7 of the 12 songs are ready for mastering! Now it is time to get some discipline and wrap it up. I see the light at the end of the tunnel growing larger all the time as I write the book and remix the album! YAY!
But, because I am a nit picker and a procrastinator, I need a kick in the pants in order to get to the light quickly. I need structure and deadlines in order to get things done. Who doesn't?
So I gave myself a kickoff morning: I watched two very inspirational videos (mentioned here) and sat down and made a plan to go forward. It was time well invested.
The top video:
I really liked the video, (featured above), by Elephant because it sums up some great tips on finishing tracks, singles and albums. Let me just focus on some of the great things he mentioned.
Setting deadlines is VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!
Secondly, don't use your eyes when you are almost done with a mix. Use your ears. I am going to listen in the beginning of my day, in the morning. Listen, (no peaking! at my DAW) write up what bothers me and then deal with those issue alone. Elephant writes them on paper, I use Wunderlist. Doing this every day, rinse and repeat until I don't hear anything that rubs me the wrong way should help me get rid of crap that is left in the mix. The list is very small as of date...
What he doesn't take into account in his video is the fear of being a novice, the fear that if I release crap I'll never hear the end of it. Fear can keep you distracted distraught and make you nit pick to pieces. It does me. But now I am so sick of treading water and want to get done with this project and move on that I think the desire to be done erases my need for perfection.
"Don't stare at the mountain in front of you just take the next step", I keep telling myself. The mountain is the release. Each step is a mixing session.
Getting the book done
The Change My Mind book is also a "mountain" that needs to be tamed. The fear element is pretty much similar to the fear of releasing the album. What will ppl think? Will anyone read it at all once it is released?
So how do I get it (them) done. Here was an encouraging video that came in a timely manner and I mention it here to encourage you too!
Her tips:
Finish your book. That is where I am now.
- Don't rush writing. Make you book as good as possible before it drops. Take your time. Do your research. Make it awesome.
- share it with some beta readers who know about that field. Get the criticism and tips before you publish!
- Get a professional editor it costs money but it is the most important.
- Make the book sparkle Typesetting (Book Write is a program fonts margins arrangement important. page numbers front matter get good illustrations. Get an ISBN Give someone else the job of making the cover.
Finished PDF: print on demand is the best for most people that are starting out.
A great article for novice book writers:
https://goinswriter.com/tips-writing-book/ is also a great resource/article for the aspiring writer.
All work and no encouragement leads to depression. Thank God for family/fans/community that encourage me, retweet my posts and urge me on.
A recent honorable mention on Twitter
I got this tweet from a new friend in Twitter the yesterday. Encouragement like this one drip in every now and then and they help empower me to keep on going! There is a saying if you want friends be one. If you want encouragement, be an encourager. Here is a lady who stopped and took the time to encourage me. So grateful. I then took the time to look into who she was and encourage her back.
As of September 15th 2019 (today) I'm up to 8756 followers on Twitter and meeting new and fantastic people all the time. I have become increasingly more careful whom I follow. Trolls abound and trolls waste my time. Then there are "the lonelies" as I call them. Men who want to get you in some way because they have no life of their own (sexually oriented trolls?). They always tweet in direct message as soon as you follow them with the words "Hello Dear" or even just "hello". People who are normal usually say "Thanks for the follow" and leave it at that. You need to steer clear of the lonelies, the trolls and the crazies out there and embrace the honest souls that are on Twitter to connect, share, and have fun.
As an indie it is important to build a fan base but perhaps even more to earn people's respect and trust. It takes time to earn that trust. But I figure that taking time to answer all DMs is a good start. I listen and respond asap. The trolls get blocked and the honest, good souls, the seekers and the fans get my attention and help.
I am thankful for posts like this one. Some people hate my voice some love it and most people don't even care whether or not I exist. But I figure that I'm doing the music for the ones who like my kind of voice and need to hear that unconditional love is what heals you. They are out there....somewhere.
So, what I am going to do get this project completed now that I am encouraged again?!
The Plan is to set deadlines for the music/book and break those deadlines into smaller goals. If I want a release in lets say February, I want the album to be mixed by Dec 1st - that gives the mastering guy time to get his magic done and me time to prepare a promotion and drop in February. (Not in January - everyone is broke then.) I will have to adjust the release date as time goes and I have new information.
Deadlines
Week #38 We are now in the beginning of week 38. Time to wrap up the song Rising.
September - 16th - 20th I'm going to concentrate on the song Rising. Now that the instruments sound rather good I'm moving to the vocals mix. Then I will put them together.
But I also need to fix the adjustment on the song Come to Me. I am shooting for the 20th of September (this Friday!) to send both songs to Panorama Mastering. (Come to Me was a small adjustment the vocals need to be decreased by 1 dB.) This is doable!
Also during this week, but less prioritised, I should read through the CMM chapters "Rising" and "Come to Me" in the book to see if I can wrap them up too. From now on I mix 9-5p.m. in three 2 hour intervals. I am a bit behind schedule today so I will have to mix tonight instead.
This is the schedule I'll try to keep myself to until Dec 1st.
I wrote my schedule in my calendar (yes I use paper!). And then I set the alarm to get up tomorrow. I am not known for my effectivity but I am going to give it my best. (Opps! the 12:00 signal ran and I stoped writing this to eat lunch!)
October:
I have only 20 working (mixing) days that month, (drawing away some in order to help my in-laws and bake for my husband's birthday): The songs Those Eyes and Everywhere with their chapters.are the priority. Week 40 and 41 are earmarked for the song and chapter "Those Eyes" and week 41 - 43 for the song and chapter "Everywhere".
Week #39 (23rd to 27th of September): I could start on the October goals if I am done with the September ones. That IS the plan!
Week #40 This is a week where I will be working on remixing two songs in parallel. Those Eyes and Everywhere. Mostly Those Eyes! Only a little Everywhere to keep my head clear. Finding great reference songs is difficult but a priority this week.
Week #41 Work with the song Everywhere all week long and celebrate my husband (58 years old!). If I get tired of fixing Everywhere or get done with it I can continue on with Those Eyes if I wasn't done the week before.
Week #42 During this week I continue to remix/edit Those Eyes. On the 18th of October I need to send the song Those Eyes for a mastering check! Just to keep the deadlines.
Week #43 I need to send the song "Everywhere" to the mastering guru On October 25th.
Week #44 My husband has a few days off and that means I will effectively have two or, at most, three mixing days as a buffer but not the whole week. I'm going to prioritise some extra time with him that week. Also, my son is moving from one town to another at the 1st and maybe he will need some help/assistance. The 4th is our wedding anniversary (33 years) and we might just celebrate it during my husband's autumn break. So this week is up for grabs. I do have my schedule to get back to if time allows. If I have time I should get started on the song Change My Mind. If I am not done with Everywhere, it is high time to end that track.
If I get ahead of my schedule I might just complete "Jag Lutar Mig Mot Dig Alltid" track and music video because my friends have been waiting for it for so long and I need a track uploaded to Spotify to get an artist's account ready for the pre-save of the album through Show Co.
November has only 19 working days (if I take away time for my in-laws)
Week #45: is to start checking the final issues on the song Change My Mind which is the title track of the Change My Mind album. I'll be referencing against a commercial track or two and only fixing what is clipping or needs to be enhanced.
Week #46: Change My Mind should be sent to Australia on the 15th of November. I have already worked with that track loads (for months after Nashville) so this should be doable. If I get tired of mixing it I or I get done early I will begin to do the final remix of Questions, my favourite song on the whole album and, with it, the final song to be polished before the mastering stage.
Week #47 The song Questions and its chapter will be the priority during this week.
Week #48: It is finally time to send the final song, Questions, for a mastering check on November 29th.
December
I figure that things can happen that mess up my planning at any time, but, if I keep myself to this schedule/rate, I should be able to write the Change My Mind Book during December while I wait for Panorama mastering to find the time to get the mastering of the album done.
The things that can set me back are if I get sick; if Nicholas in Australia thinks I should make any major changes to a track or many tracks and other unexpected things.
I have found that I have to give myself structure and deadlines in order to get this project wrapped up.
Monday 16th (today)
✔️Q.T.,
✔️plan deadlines (this article took me hours to do)
✔️guitar set with All the CMM songs
Logic Pro X: Check against the reference song in blind test, check overall level of vocals against reference song today. (Not looking at the DAW) write down improvement areas in Wunderlist; vocals clip and move parts of one track to the lead and background vocals. choose parts to activate and throw out the rest. Check background vocal mix and lead vocal mix and balanced within the vocal sum then automate
if time allows remove three more do's on the Wunderlist list. I also have to iron shirts after 5 p.m.
Tonight mix pass number two.
Tuesday
I'm helping my in laws but then, after I get home I need to mix 4 hours 2 x 2 hours balance instruments and automate.
Wednesday:
Do the wash and mix 3 x 2 hours on Rising continuing with the work I started during the week.
Thursday and Friday
Mix, mix, mix against a reference song or two and fix Come to Me as soon as Rising is completed. Then, send both for a mastering check via dropbox.
WEEK #40 30 Sept - 4th of October.
It is important to start on Those Eyes even if Rising should go over schedule. So that from the 23rd it is now the song Those Eyes that is the most important. And Rising only gets an hour a day if anything needs more attention. Gotta move on.
I won't be posting more for a while cause I am bearing down but finally,
On a side note: a sneak peek at a book cover idea for the upcoming CMM book!
There are a lot of things that have to be done in order to launch a book . Like designing the front cover. I have no money and my time is limited. I looked into Book Wright (blurb) and did this simple sketch. Let me know what you think! I still have to figure out if I can or need to import my Pages (Mac OS X), ebook into BookWrite and then to a publisher like Amazon or how to do this. I am so confused. My sister is the guru. She is an editor so I will have to ask her...
All of this: producing an album; writing a book to go along with it and publishing both, is a long hard journey! Once I get the hang of it I have many books and songs in the pipeline ready to follow after in a quick sequence. I have a lot to share with this hungry world before I croak. But the hardest part is getting the first book/album done. These two books about an indie musician's diary are a documentation of this process.
Anyway, this is the first sketch of the cover of the Change My Mind book. I love my hair in this pic and I don't care what people say about me not showing my face on the front cover. They can easily see me on the back one with Tyra the ewe that taught me so much while filming the music video for the song (Psalm 23) Just How Good. I like it.
I know this was a rather lengthy chapter but I believe that it is interesting for my community and those who work as writers, songwriters etc to get a look into my progress. Until next time!
Liz