Hi
I realised you were joking. Sorry Didier, I know I've been a bit remiss on posting to the boards, but puting in the improvements to Songstuff has taken ages! btw, I'll send you instructions on how to log in to the members area tomorrow, and at long last we can get the Artists area off the ground.
Dr Death, I agree with Didiers comments. On a general note I would say if you want to be treated as a professional then you need to act like a professional. By that I mean you need to pay attention to detail so that what you produce and how you behave is professional.
As an individual who doesn't have a manager, an agent or any other support, give yourself the best chance possible. Present yourself as a package. This goes no matter if you are a session musician or a writer, or a performer.
What you need is to do some homework so you can develop a plan of attack. For example, don't just put all your effort into recording a professional standard demo if you don't have a way of promoting it and selling it. If money is an issue, and it usually is, you need to identify a way of getting money you can use as a budget. remember there are often alternative to spending lots of money. For example, contact the local artschool to see if any students would be interested in creating artwork for you as part of their project work. The same goes for video. Local colleges may also have audio engineering and production courses, and they may be willing to record your work at a reduced rate or for free. Local business courses may also take an interest.
Some tips that should be useful. Find out who is who, locally, regionally and nationally. What do they do, hgow do they work, who do they work with. Keep it in a reference file you can use when you plan your pitch.
To begin with manage and promote yourself. This will help you learn about the business. Don't accept second best, especially from yourself.
Put together a promo pack. This should have promo photos, biography, contact details, website details, gig listings, reviews etc.
Don't be afraid, when the time comes, to use your local free newspapers. They are usually pretty helpful. This can give you reviews for your promopack and sometime features are picked up by larger newspapers, especially during 'silly season', otherwise known as summer.
Make it easy for others to help you. Give them the information and support you need. For example, don't just contact the local paper, prepare press releases, provide a pack of information to them etc. btw, local papers also take photos for their columns, so you should get a copy of any photos for your promo pack.
To begin with you will have to make to and mend, but as you get more material, such as photos to draw on, be ruthless with yourself, and weed out any substandard material so you are left with only the best.
Lastly, seek other peoples feedback. Not only on music, but your promo pack, your image everything.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
John