Since my last update, I have continued organizing the draft of my piano-playing book. A few weeks ago, I printed nearly seventy-pages, which I read over, scribbling notes in the margins and on the backs of pages. Since then I have been going through my notes and making corrections to the draft on the computer.
I’m making progress. Organizing my “jumble of ideas,” as I put it last time, is taking a long time! To re-use the “moving into a new house” analogy I brought up before: most of the boxes have been emptied; there are pictures on the walls; the bed is in the right place; the kitchen items are in the kitchen, and many of them are actually in the correct drawers. In other words, the moving process isn’t over, the house isn’t exactly ready for a housewarming event, but it’s inhabitable.
Translation: the ideas of the book are basically organized, there is a sequence that makes sense, but I am still working on the flow, cleaning up the writing, and also still thinking about what content needs to be there, and what content I need to add or modify.
Good times.
I’m also organizing my first “focus group” session, in which I will share my book ideas with my piano students on Zoom. I will give them the current tour of the book as it stands. I will be very interested in their feedbacks, since the book is designed for people just like them (adult learners). What’s the right balance of prose/ideas and practical exercises? What ideas should be included to maximize the book’s impact? Talking to them will give insight.
In summary, we continue marching forward…