Gospel Songwriters-Handle with Christian Care!

   Years ago, shortly after I answered God's call to be a gospel songwriter, I was at a restaurant with people after a concert. One of the people was a minister who had been a professional southern gospel singer. He dominated the conversation, speaking of his experiences traveling around the US--most of which were negative and had left him jaded and bitter toward the industry. That night as I prayed, I asked the Lord to never allow my experiences, which were yet to unfold, to make me bitter or jaded.
   I have related that story because of the topic of this article—the treatment of lesser-known songwriters by artists. Some of my experiences have been bad, some good. I want to write about them honestly, but I want to assure you they have made me neither bitter nor jaded.
   My writing career began as a local journalist and literary writer. I have also been an editor of literary journals. My experience in those fields is quite different from mine

as a gospel songwriter. I wrote short stories or poems and sent them to journals. A reasonable expectation was within six months I would receive a letter informing me if the work was accepted or rejected. If I hadn't heard in six months, I dispatched an inquiry, which usually elicited a reply. As a small press editor, I endeavored to respond to writers within six months or sooner. Most small press editors do their jobs as labors of love for little or no recompense, on top of their regular jobs and responsibilities.
   I came from this into the world of an unknown southern gospel songwriter. They are two very different worlds. I put demos into the mail and I followed up within a reasonable amount of time to make sure they had been received. I kept careful records of songs I sent out and of to whom and when they were sent. I followed-up by phone. For the most part, I found phone calls to be a waste of time. Either no one answered or someone not directly involved with the group did and they could not answer my questions. Occasionally, I would get someone from the group on the line only to hear things like, “I haven't seen it, but it must be here somewhere,” or “Our tenor must have it. He looks after the demos.”
   Later, to save the cost of wasted phone calls, I moved to following up with e-mail. Most groups don’t let songwriters know demos have been received and they ignore queries. If called out on it, they say they are too busy. In this comparison, it should be noted magazines and journals publish on regular schedules. Groups do not record on regular schedules. While songwriters need to allow some leeway, most artists could treat lesser-known songwriters better by telling  songwriters when demos are received and notifying writers as soon as they know if the song(s) are or are not going to be used or if they will be held for future consideration.
   This sort of behavior happens with the majority of groups. There are some exceptions I would like to mention. Very early on, not realizing Mark Bishop writes his own songs, I sent a demo to him. He graciously wrote me an encouraging letter telling me this and expressing that my work showed talent and I should continue writing.
   When my husband and I got to go to the National Quartet Convention, the first thing I wanted to do was to find Mark and thank him for his encouragement. When I did, he told me to burn as many demos as I could and to hand them to everyone. Later in the week, he passed me an aisle and said, “Go visit Karen Peck—she's looking for songs now.” Mark may never record one of my songs, but his consideration in sending a follow-up letter and offering advice at the NQC will always mark him as a fine Christian gospel singer in my books. (By the way, Karen Peck's office always follows up with an e-mail to tell me Mp3s have been received.)