"I’ve made it," she thought.

‘Before Meet Me Under the Mistletoe went gold," Bexley native Betsy Jackson recalled recently, "I got an advance and bought a washer and dryer. That night I just sat and watched the laundry."

Randy Travis eventually recorded the song —which Jackson, of Nashville, Tenn., co-wrote with Mark Irwin and Joe Collins — for his An Old Time Christmas album.

Her success before age 30 was "wonderful, exciting, disillusioning," Jackson said.

"You achieve something you want at a young age. What do you do with the rest of your life?" The answer, for her "Keep making music."

Other Jackson-penned songs include Can I Rest a While With You (recorded by Glenn Yarbrough and by Marilyn Sellars — whose album, Love Lifted Me, Jackson produced), Rise Above (Sellars) and Empty Cup (Brenda Russell).

For her part, Jackson has a singing voice that echoes that of Carole King or Joni Mitchell — but with a tone all her own. "When people say they like it, I just say, ‘Thank you.’ I am a songwriter who tries to be a singer."

Jackson, who graduated in 1979 from Bexley High School, claims to have fallen in love with music "before birth." She remembers her older brother and sister, Fred and Leslee, playing rock ‘n’ roll records. "I was really into music before I could do anything else," she said.

By age 3, she sang harmonies. By 10, she played the guitar. At 15, she wrote songs.

She headed for Nashville after graduating magna cum laude from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. "Any parent would be concerned," she said, "that it’s not the most practical way to make a Living." Still, her parents supported her choice.

Jackson, who has seen her share of aspiring songwriters, cautions those who might be Music City-bound:

• Finish school
• Find a day job.

For four years, she has worked in the Nashville office of Gibson Musical Instruments. "I’ve been able to survive. Being a songwriter only, in a town where 30,000 to 50,000 claim to be songwriters, is a tough gig."

• Immerse yourself in the field. "I can’t tell you the number of people (such as producers) I’ve happened to meet."

• Join professional organizations, such as the Songwriters Guild of America.

"Play open mikes; see what others say before you approach a publisher."

• Don’t give up.

"Everybody wants to get their songs cut yesterday. It takes a couple of years to get your first cut -- usually five. Publishers want to know if you’re in it for the long haul. ... Their attitude toward me changed when they knew I’d moved here and had a job."

Jackson also reminds others about the meaning of the term "music business": "Music can be fun, but the business can be horrible. The pain of rejection — and there’s a lot of rejection in this business —is devastating."

Jackson, who composes 12 to 15 songs a year in various styles, doesn’t spend all her free time writing anymore. "It used to be ‘Have a career or bust.’ I want to live and have a balanced life, too. "Songwriting is the most painful experience in my entire life. But I love it when it’s done."