Transitioning into a professional musician

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Hm. A lot has happened. Some good and some bad.

I had a concert and it was excellent. The best part about it was that I brought a compilation album and gave them away to people who signed up for the Knights of Zoltan mailing list. . . AND I GOT 12 PEOPLE TO JOIN! I couldn't believe it and I almost cried when I realized that people raising their hand to volunteer their contact information to me means that I have my very first official fans! YES!

On the other hand, my band members are not doing as much as I'd like and I'll probably have to find new ones.

-I'm up to chapter 7 in Think and Grow Rich.

-I FINALLY figured out how to put music on my website.

-I just got Welcome to the Jungle in the mail today.

-I got 2 private English students now (not music but I am my own boss)

-A person who saw my show said he wanted to take guitar lessons from me but hasn't contacted me yet.

-I got mailchimp going on my website.

-I finished my very first freelance composition job, the money should come in soon.

-I made a partnership with Brandon Strader to run a composition-for-hire business together with him as the mixer. We specialize in rock/metal. I can't wait to find some more jobs!

-I am over halfway finished with my RocketHub campaign video.

Edited April 18, 2013 by The Legendary Zoltan

[Ryan Jobson]

Very happy to hear of the good news coming in, and I hope it keeps coming. I'm following a similar path, having quit my marketing job to go to school for audio engineering and continue making music and doing other projects on the side. The only advice I can give you is: feel the fear, and do it anyway. There are no wrong decisions. Any path you take will be a learning experience. The important thing is to act, and not hesitate. If you aren't happy with how things are going, change it. No one else is going to do it for you.

Best of luck

[Drachefly]

John Scalzi's advice on becoming a professional writer was not to quit the day job until it was holding you back from making more money writing.

I think the same idea applies to becoming a professional musician.