Paul, let me preface this by saying I haven't the faintest idea what constitutes a "hit," or what to do with one if I had one.

I default to audiences. Whatever I may think of a song (and I'll usually find plenty of fault with everything I write), whether something's "good" depends entirely on the audience. And that's why I play out--a lot. If people request something again, it's a "keeper." If they request it a lot, it's album material. (And if they don't request it, I may never play it again.)

If I get people asking (occasionally happens) whether such-and-such song is on a record anywhere, I'll tell them, "no, but it'll be on the next one," and hand them the Red Notebook so they can get added to the e-mail list and notified when the next album happens. About the best I can do.

So when I have stuff professionally recorded (which I haven't been able to afford in a long time), it's with the intent of it going on a CD that's going to be sold. So I don't do demos per se. When I participated in the Pineyfest Demo Derby back in 2007, four of the five songs I had Mike "the Foot" Dunbar & Co. do were co-writes, that I could turn over to the authors and let *them* run with them.

My idea of "success" as a writer is other people playing my songs. That happens--just nowheres near enough. And that's the other reason I play out a lot--it's the only way my stuff is going to get exposure. If I want to see who's promoting my material, I pretty much have to look in the mirror.

Lots of luck.

Joe

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