We recently connected with Jan Buckingham and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Through the years, I have been paid as a staff writer by many different publishing companies, including Warner Chappell Music, Lorimar and Windswept Pacific. However, I also worked as a flight attendant at the same time. Later, to supplement my income so that I would have enough to live on if the royalties on some years were not that much, I also worked as an actor, a teacher and a Realtor. Those jobs gave me a lot of life experience and helped me get new great song ideas.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Jan Buckingham, and I am a twice Grammy-nominated songwriter with many hits and gold records. I have had songs cut by Whitney Houston, Melissa Manchester, Air Supply, Journey, Tim McGraw, Pam Tillis, Crystal Gayle, Lee Greenwood (#1 song I DON’T MIND THE THORNS WHEN YOU’RE THE ROSE), and many others. You can go to my web page to see most of my credits: www.janbuckingham.com You can also go to www.reverbnation.com/janbuckingham to hear around 300 of my demos.

I wrote my first song at eight years of age, but I really started seriously writing songs at the age of 25, after my first divorce, when I found that writing songs made me so happy! At that time, I was teaching school, and I entered the American Song Festival and got a little booklet telling me about publishers, and the best cities to find them in. I made trips to Nashville for years after that, and then moved to Nashville with my second ex-husband in 1980.

I was signed as a staff writer to Warner Chappell Music twice, then to Lorimar, and then to Windswept Pacific. In 1990 I started my own publishing company, Duck House Music, where I have many of my hits, like CLEOPATRA – QUEEN OF DENIAL, cut by Pam Tillis. I had read a book called THIS BUSINESS OF MUSIC, and learned how important and profitable it was to own your own publishing. Even with the other companies I was first in, I split my publishing with them.

As years went by, I learned to write better and better songs. Listening to the radio really gave me an eye-opening perspective on the form of most hit songs, and the most popular subject matter. Love relationships are what is sung about the most.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I’ve heard many times: “Do what you love and the money will come!” That is true. I love what I do, and, over time, it has helped me have a very happy life.
Now, over the years, I also kept many “day jobs.” I’ve been a school teacher, a flight attendant, a real estate agent, and an actor.
I believe that having those jobs was like being paid to do research, to help me find good ideas to write about.
I also believe that a positive attitude helped me enjoy each day, whatever I was doing.

After having some hits, I was asked to play my hit songs in songwriter rounds. I was nervous at first, but I became more relaxed over time, and found that I loved to make people feel good, when they could relate to my songs. I also learned that I loved to make people laugh, when I played them one of my funny songs.

Another wonderful and rewarding aspect of my creative life is the joy I get from mentoring young songwriters. Working with these young songwriters has kept me up to date with the new writing styles.

I guess you could say that the best part of being successfully creative is that I get to do what I love every day!!!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I’m not a spring chicken, and I’ve had to learn how to maneuver through Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc. I started posting lots of pictures that people had taken of me playing and then texted to me. With a picture, I would advertise a new gig that I was going to play, or post pictures of that gig. I actually take pictures of the writers in my round when I’m up on stage with them!!!

For the last ten years I have been mentoring a lot of twenty-something songwriters… and they have been mentoring me!
Through those writers, and with their encouragement, I learned all about Distrokid and Canva and YouTube, etc.
Now I am releasing one song a month… a song that I have written and am singing. Learning how to do all that had quite a learning curve to it, but it was also a lot of fun, and it kept my mind active.

Oh, and on social media, I always make positive comments to other writers who are posting their work. I also return all calls and texts. It’s part of that golden rule: “Do unto others as y0u would have them do unto you.” I want my calls and texts returned, so I return all calls and texts to me. Oh, and I always keep my word. When people can trust you, they like you, and then they may share your posts with others. All that has helped my social media spread.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.janbuckingham.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jan_buckingham
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jan.buckingham1/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-buckingham-a84967287/
• Youtube: youtube.com/@janbuckingham
• Other: www.reverbnation.com/janbuckingham

Image Credits