Platinum award-winning singer, songwriter, and lyricist Mark Winkler provides a handbook on writing great lyrics, chock full of songwriting exercises and engaging personal vignettes. This book crosses a variety of genres and teaches the craft of modern commercial songwriting as practiced by the likes of Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Bruno Mars. The book includes: ¿Highlights of great songwriters and their songs ¿Exercises that focus on storytelling and rhyming while adding specificity and color ¿Practical tips for writing great lyrics with accompanying templates ¿Annotated examples of songs to illustrate effective exercises ¿Information about people you need on your creative and business team ¿Next steps after you've written a great song ¿Tips on being a successful live performer to make songs pop By using great songwriters and their songs as blueprints, Winkler reveals the tricks of the trade and shows how you can improve your songwriting skills.