The Get Good feature in the current issue of Modern Drummer magazine (December 2011 cover date) involves the topic of writing your own drum method book. Among the gentlemen we spoke with for the piece was Joe Bergamini, senior drum editor for Hudson Music and co-owner of the independent music publisher Wizdom Media.

"When someone submits a proposal for publication," Bergamini says, "what I look for is something that hasn't been done several times already. That's getting harder to come by, because there are so many great books already published on practically every topic. It's got to be something with a new twist that is applicable to a wide variety of drummers. Beyond that, you need a thesis: a clear approach that makes sense from point A to point B."

The MD feature includes many other good tips geared toward the drummer/educator pondering the idea of writing a book, so if you fall into that category, you might want to check out the piece. It would also be helpful to examine a selection of the better method books that have been released recently. Check out the Reviews section at moderndrummer.com, where we've posted a number of these Critiques, some of which have previously run in Modern Drummer magazine and some of which will appear in the near future. You might want to jot down a few of the titles that look interesting to you and then head over to your favorite drum shop and look them over.

As Bergamini suggests, there is much to be gained by finding out which concepts have been covered extensively and which ones have been under-explored -- or perhaps untouched. You might just identify a niche that your book idea would fill perfectly. And, of course, if you do follow through and end up being the author of an important new method book, we'd love to check it out ourselves.