Resources

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Copyright Office

Organizations

Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)

• Excellent resource for the budding songwriter

Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts

• Legal assistance for qualifying low-income artists and entertainers in Middle Tennessee; also offers seminars on legal and business issues for artists and entertainers

The Nashville Writers Meetup

• Meetups for Nashville-area fiction and non-fiction writers

For Your Library

This Business of Music: The Definitive Guide to the Business and Legal Issues of the Music Industry

All You Need to Know about the Music Business

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Art of Songwriting

Writer’s Market

Guide to Literary Agents

Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market

Nashville Entrepreneur Center

Evolve Women

SCORE

Nashville Business Incubation Center (NBIC)

• Programs designed to support and develop entrepreneurs

U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

• Information on starting your business (from obtaining loans, to education and technical assistance)

Inc.

• Information, advice and resources from the publishers of Inc. magazine.

The Startup Slingshot (For inventors and small businesses)

• Courses (in the form of articles and interviews) in the fields of developing your idea and turning it into a business, internet marketing, drafting a business plan, raising money, and other startup advice

United Inventors Association

• A non-profit that offers educational outreach programs to inventors, including a video series, blog, and newsletter

Idea Next Step

• Information for novice inventors and knowledgeable inventors

Inventors Magazine

• Information in the form of articles; classified ads

National Inventor Fraud Center

• Tips for new inventors in avoiding losing money and losing rights to your invention

The Skillery

• Classes on topics such as “Turn your tech idea into a reality,” “Understand your brand,” “Get your products into stores,” “Intro to hand embroidery,” and “Introduction to modern calligraphy”

Kickstarter

• Funding platform for creative projects

Tin Pan South

Nashville Independent Film Festival

Southern Festival of Books

Americana Music Festival

Germantown Street Festival