094: From Piano Teacher to Novelist with Jerald Simon

Jerald Simon’s creativity knows no bounds—from composing hundreds of piano pieces to writing motivational poetry and now fiction. In this episode, he shares how his debut novel The Musical Realm brings music to life through an imaginative fantasy world. Jerald also offers valuable insights into self-publishing, branding, and marketing for teachers and creatives who want to share their work with the world.

1. Jerald shared his journey from piano teacher and composer to author and entrepreneur.
2. How his company, Music Motivation®, helps students learn theory, improvisation, and composition through a practical, creative approach.
3. He shared about his new book, The Musical Realm, as his first full-length fictional novel.
4. He discussed his creative process, explaining how he outlines all five books in advance.
5. The challenges and rewards of self-publishing, including handling editing and cover design.
6. The importance of marketing and retaining rights as an independent author.
7. Jerald discussed his marketing strategies, including sending out 500–1,000 review copies, using press releases, and building grassroots engagement before paid ads.
8. How branding, consistency, and niche focus help authors and teachers stand out.
9. He encouraged teachers and creators to “think like a business”.

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1. Enjoy 15% off any purchase fromMusic Motivation®for life using the discount codeTOPMUSIC, which can be used multiple times on any product.

Links Mentioned

1. Jerald's website:Music Motivation®
2. Jerald's YouTube channel:YouTube.com/jeraldsimon
3. Jerald's book:The Musical Realm (Amazon link)

Today's Guest

Jerald Simon is the founder of Music Motivation® and focuses on helping piano students and piano teachers learn music theory, improvisation, and composition. He refers to these areas as: Theory Therapy, Innovative Improvisation, and Creative Composition. Simon is an author and composer and has written 29 music books featuring almost 400 original compositions, 14 albums, three motivational poetry books featuring over 400 original poems, and is the creator of the best-selling Cool Songs Series, the best-selling Essential Piano Exercises Series and Essential Piano Lessons for piano students and also Essential Piano Teachers for piano teachers.

About Rachel Ehring

Dr. Rachel Ehring is a pianist, teacher, music administrator, and lover of piano teaching gadgets. She holds a DMA in Collaborative Piano from the University of Colorado Boulder and a MM in Accompanying from the University of Kansas. She currently serves as Director at St. John’s Conservatory of the Arts in Orange County, CA. Previously, she held positions at Concordia University Irvine and Henderson State University. Rachel is passionate about empowering music teachers to create engaging and exciting lessons for students of all ages. When she isn’t playing the piano, you might find Rachel reading books with her son or walking her beagle Frieda.

1. Visit her website at RachelEhring.com
2. Visit her Instagram page: @rachelehring
3. Visit her YouTube channel: @dreamlavendermusic6694
4. Visit her Etsy shop at Dream Lavender Music

Thank you for tuning in!

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