Gerald,
Big can o' worms you opened there, Tex. And like everything to do with music, it has a lot of sides to it and not easily explained. Some you probably realize, and some you might not understand how the "other side" thinks.
So if you'll bear with me and read along, I will try to describe it as best I can.
First of all, it is not just in "your backyard." It is EVERYWHERE. While here on the Ramp and in Nashville, we eat preach, breathe and do co-writing and it is comes completely natural, it is actually something not much of the world understands or even considers. Unless you grow up in a band situation or being around other musicians, which about 90% of writers/artists are not, you would not even know that it exists. Most people are woefully ignorant of music history and grow up "living room writers", growing up on their own, writing and learning to play on themselves. It is a very personal process, their emotions, their ideas, their realities. Other people simply never enter into their way of thinking.
As we grow in the craft and realizing the actual business requires other people, we are left to our own designs as to how we get there. It most often leads online, which usually leads directly to the sharks in the business, (which convince them to NEVER trust anyone again in any way shape or form) so you are off the bat, going into something that rubs against people like aluminum siding salesman.
There are also the "bull headed" people, who think they know it all, get reinforcement from their friends and families, and are "not going to do that crappy way that NASHVILLE does it, because listen to all that crap on the radio!!! I can ALREADY WRITE BETTER THAN THAT!!! I DON'T NEED ANYBODY ELSE!"
So between people that have been burned, and people that have more ego than common sense,you have the problem to begin with.
And while we would all love to have a plethera of co-writers and people beating our doors down, the reality it is a lot like being the kid on the playground no one picks for their team. "PICK ME, PICK ME!!!! MAMA NO ONE WILL PLAY WITH MEEEEEEE!!!!"
Yeah, it is hard. And one of the things you have to rise above. I can only tell you why it is and some examples of what people here have done and continue to do, both here and in their own neighborhood.
#1. SUPPORTING OTHERS.
You can look at this neighborhood as a microcosim of your own. While you might have been around for a while, we have not seen or heard from you till yesterday. You popped up, and we are very happy you are here. We talk all the time about getting involved here, and trying to help everyone, but unless they chime in and let us know about them, we never know if they are there, or who they are.
And EVERY COWRITER COMES FROM KNOWING THEM FIRST.
No one is going to respond positively to someone who just pops up and says 'hey, I'm new here, WANNA CO-WRITE?"
There are many reasons for this. Knowing what you do and what kind of person you are first. We have all dealt with total idiots.People who are bullheaded, who won't listen to anything, who are arrogant, hard to deal with, don't return messages or phone calls, and usually those people are SOME OF THE WEAKEST WRITERS ALIVE BECAUSE THEY ARE SO INSECURE, so you don't want to deal with them anyway.
So people want to get to know each other first. That takes time. And everyone wants someone to write with THEM, but they rarely spend any time getting to know the OTHER person.
Have you listened and commented on other people's songs?
Have you gone out of your way on a week night to someone else's show whose music you admire?
Have you visited their web site and talked about THEIR MUSIC and not your own?
Have you directed other people to them and brought people to pay for their music?
In Nashville, we often know each other for YEARS before we actually bring up the question of co-writing. The higher the level, the more connected, the more proficient the writer, the more they have going on, and the reluctance they have to write with people they don't know.
#2. CONTENT.
If you are performing a lot, asking people and getting no repsonses, you might have to look at your material. A lot of time, people might just not be interested in the type of songs you write. Younger people, any one under 30, generally have NO interest in writing with anyone over thirty. Usually the over thirty people's songs are not in the "youth pocket."
While you might be doing well in writing for certain subjects, is that what other people are into? Do you do a variety?
#3.TIME.
Sometimes it just takes time being out there, and being consistant. If you create a quality product, be it in your own music, or the shows you do, people will come.
But mostly it is just getting to KNOW people first, before any committment to writing. Writing is like dating. You want to know the other person first.
MAB TOURS.
Now you mentioned an interesting thing and you can look at it like this. You see, most of the people here have done my tours. They have gotten to know each other online, and then further that when they have made trips to Nashville.
Take OD, for example. OD has done several of my tours. We have written many many songs, and I have introduced him to many artists and other writers. One of those writers is Norm Bradley, who used to be here a lot until his job changed, keeping him off this site a lot.But at the time, OD was just getting around. So he comes to town. Norm, who lives here would support me at every show I did and support other artists I work with. He came to all our parties and became a big part of "our gang." So Od came in doing a tour, paying me for my time and expertise, the two of them and I wrote a few songs. Two of those, both I and Norm have played all over town. That represents OD, and his name and work gets out there. As people get to know him, they possibly want to write with him down the line, if he can keep from driving the women crazy.
But an interesting "side benefit" is that OD's opinions have gotten more and more educated. He is actually very good at giving out constructive advice for people. He has pushed Kevin to write tighter. Kevin's overall songs have gotten better. At the same time, he has traveled to Texas to visit Justin, and get to know his family and him. He has saved Justin some steps of coming here and helped him tighten up his songs.
So out of one person paying me to learn some things, he has been impacted and impacted 3-4 other people. And he has gained friends for life. He has visited Boston, to see Matt. He has gone to Florida,.where he met and worked with a dozen other writers.
Now if you did something similar, it would be the same with you if you followed up. I just dropped off another person at the airport. Her name is Janice Starodub. she is from Winnipeg and four years ago, thought there was no one around her either. She learned some things from me, did a few tours, had me up to Canada, and now has developed into a full blown manager, about to get one of her artists a record deal out of Nashville, has put a full festival together and has gotten a reputation as THE GO TO person when it comes to country songwriting in her part of the country.
Another is Matt Casey, who is in Boston. He now has a writing group of 200 people from New England to Nashville, writes with dozens of artists, has had hit writers to Boston, won this years NSAI song contest, and now has his own publishing company in Nashville.
But had those people not done anything with me, or been over here building their connections, they would have not done any of that. But EVERYONE of them did things for OTHER PEOPLE FIRST. Whether it was paying for my tours, finding ways to get artists gigs or open doors, co-writing or developing artists, it all started with them doing things for OTHERS FIRST.
It just takes one. You start there. It is hard. If you are in some place as big as Canada, or remote like john in Austrailia, it is going to be harder to do. But it can be done.
You should be listening to other people's material. Developing personal relationships with them here online. And PARTICIPATING IN THIS THREAD. The people who just come in, are here for a while, all seem to not do a lot. People that stay involved, usually find out information that helps them in their own areas. That is what you are doing now. If you stay involved, post, ask questions, people will get to know you and then you will find co-writers if you are writing what they are interested in.
That is the secret.
MAB