is there any money in amateur composing?  i don't plan (or desire) to quit my dayjob, nor does it fail to provide financially.  but, i do some composing on the side, and i'm curious if it's worth trying to make a dime at the same time.   i'm well aware of more accomplished composers who'll get commisioned to do work.  but do any amateur composers ever get paid?  do sheet music publishing houses have any interest in paying a few bucks for a composition?  does the pop industry buy tunes and turn around to have someone else perform/record/produce them?

i've composed a pop-song or two, but most of what i've done is [neo?]romantic stuff (in the vein of chopin, brahms, rachmaninoff, glass).   is one type of music  more marketable than the other?  i'm guessing pop songs are easier to pawn off--and also i care a great deal less about what is done with them.

any suggestions for further reading?  good books on the subject?
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Scot Ranney's Jazz Piano Notebook, Volume 1 - jazz piano tricks of the trade

Volume 1 of this educational jazz piano book contains 15 jazz piano exercises, tricks, and other interesting jazz piano techniques, voicings, grooves, and ideas Scot Ranney has picked up over decades of playing on stage.

Being a pro jazz pianist requires good ears, experience, and a bag of tricks that create the kinds of sounds people expect to hear from a jazz pianist. The entries in this book will give you some of those tricks.

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Scot Ranney's Jazz Piano Notebook, Volume 2 - jazz piano tricks of the trade you can use today
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Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Notebook - jazz piano tricks of the trade

Volume 3 contains 12 jazz piano exercises and explorations by the acclaimed jazz piano educator, pianist, author, and recording artist Tim Richards.

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Tim has a new book out Beginning Jazz Piano (Pts 1 and 2)

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Volume 4 is by Jeff Brent, a jazz pianist, composer, teacher, and author of "Modalogy" and other acclaimed jazz theory and education books. In this book Jeff shares detailed analysis of transcriptions of live performances. He covers everything from the shape of the songs to the tricks and licks he uses in improvised lines to the ideas behind his lush chord voicings.

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