May 2011 Archives
Earlier this year, I wrote a popular article titled Reasons to Create Your Own Stuff. In it, I described the audiobook that I narrated for LibriVox and included a link to the book trailer I created to promote the audiobook. I also listed some of the marketing plans I had for the audiobook and trailer among my reasons to create my work in this way.
2) Rajkumari from Mumbai, India, left a comment on my post 10 ways to get work in audiobook narration, noting that an audiobook culture is not prevalent in India. When I responded, I said, "If the audiobook culture doesn't exist there, perhaps it's up to you to create it!"
Two bonus reasons to create your own stuff prompted me to circle back to this topic today:
1) My FREE, 10.5-hour audiobook of A Woman Who Went to Alaska is now available for download from LibriVox or through iTunes as shown on this page.
Bonus reason #1 to create your own stuff:
Copywriters have known for years that the word FREE is one of the most powerful and compelling words in the English language. If you can give away something valuable for free, you can get the widest range of potential buyers to sample your products, which in this case, includes my voice and interpretation, my audiobook production skills, my ability to write an effective script for a video, and my creativity in video production.
As I wrote that sentence, I was reminded of the important passage quoted below from Eckhart Tolle's incredible and highly-recommended book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose:
Bonus reason #2 to create your own stuff:
If the thought of lack -- whether it be money, recognition, or love -- has become part of who you think you are, you will always experience lack.
Rather than acknowledge the good that is already in your life, all you see is lack. Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
The fact is: Whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you are withholding from the world. You are withholding it because deep-down you think you are small and that you have nothing to give.
Try this for a couple of weeks and see how it changes your reality: Whatever you think people are withholding from you -- praise, appreciation, assistance, loving care, and so on -- give it to them. You don't have it? Just act as if you had it, and it will come.
Then, soon after you start giving, you will start receiving. You cannot receive what you don't give. Outflow determines inflow.
Whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you already have, but unless you allow it to flow out, you won't even know that you have it.
I have found this passage to be true of past voiceover jobs. In fact, Tolle's message was an underlying reason I decided to spend time narrating an audiobook as a service project. You see, I hadn't narrated an audiobook in a while. So, rather than feeling like an audiobook gig was being withheld from me, I gave this one to the world.
It feels great to be able to give!
What do you think of Tolle's assertion that you should give that which you think is withheld from you? Does it apply to your voiceover career or any other part of your life? I'd love to get your comments on the blog!
Like many of you, I love audiobooks and want to make it my major niche in voiceover. A couple of colleagues recently sent me emails asking advice about obtaining more work in audiobooks. As you might imagine, I wrote a rather lengthy reply from which I will add a condensed version later in this post.
At the moment, though, I want to share some hot news with you. The audiobook publishing industry has changed overnight with Audible's launch today of a new marketplace to connect audiobook rights holders with producers and narrators -- the Audiobook Creation Exchange, or ACX.
ACX launched with over 1000 titles, many of which have real budgets associated with them. You can find titles that interest you and submit an audition, much like the process on Voices.com.
However, ACX does not require a subscription fee from narrators. The thought is that the cream will rise to the top. Narration contracts wouldn't be awarded to talent who have issues in vocal delivery or sound quality.
You can read the official announcement from Audible. For more details, you may want to read today's blog article from my friend and fellow voice talent Dave Courvoisier.
As promised, here are 9 more ideas culled from my earlier emails to other voice talent that may help you meet and follow up with audio publishers so you can land work in audiobooks:
1) Obtain publisher contact info and submit your audiobook demo to them. Marketing your audiobook demo is the tried and true, #1 way of getting audiobook work. You can get publisher and producer info from the Audiofile Audiobook Reference Guide (where you can also be listed for a fee) and the Audio Publishers Association, if you're a member of it. Note that you should not submit a commercial demo to an audiobook publisher.
2) If you already have worked for 1 audiobook publisher, how did you get the gig? Can you replicate those steps to bigger success?
3) LinkedIn searches can lead to work. Have you contacted publishers directly or asked for introductions to them from among your LinkedIn contacts?
4) Volunteer to improve your skills, for instance at LibriVox or for a local organization that reads to the blind. Why not create something because you WANT to, rather than for the money and fame? (The money and fame will come.)
5) I went to Pat Fraley's audiobook class in 2006. One idea he presented to the class was to suggest a title (ideally with a movie tie-in) and send a custom demo to a publisher.
6) Connect with publishers on social media sites. Commenting on the publishers' posts on Facebook congratulating them on Twitter, etc. seems like a non-pushy way to follow up and consistently get your name in front of people who may hire you. Also, are you may want to become an active member on the Audibook Community site.
7) Think about a value added service you can offer to publishers. How much and what kind of promotion do you do for the other projects you have voiced? How are your video skills? I think if I can show added value to a publisher in marketing, such as by creating a video book trailer, publishers may be more inclined to want to hire me to narrate a book.
8) Start your own audiobook company and sell your offerings as digital downloads through Amazon. With tons of books in the public domain, you just have to look around for suitable books.
9) This last one may sound far-fetched, but give yourself an attitude adjustment every day in the mirror. Tell yourself "this is could be the day that an audiobook publisher offers me a narration contract for an audiobook that will get great reviews." Things I've been speaking into the mirror have been coming to pass!
I know that audiobook work, like everything else in a thriving voiceover career, requires persistence, patience, and an attitude of gratitude. I also know that the more I relax and go with the flow, the more things like lucrative voiceover gigs come to me. I can look back over the last 11 years in voiceover and see where I have tried too hard to make things happen. When you try too hard, you actually push away the good that was on its way.
You and I cannot be denied the good that is on its way to us. If I don't have something in my reality now, I know it's on its way to me....like my Grammy for Best Spoken Word after working the ideas in this list!
Can you add some more ideas about gaining work as an audiobook narrator? I'd love to get your comments on the blog!
Recently, I received this message as a comment on the entry A plan to break into voice-over:
Karen,I can not tell you how thankful I am for your blog, and your selfless giving of voice over artistry information.I am at turning point in my life and realize I've been working 20 years in a industry I have NO PASSION FOR! In thinking, "how do I change this?", I remembered the excitement I felt when asked to record automated attendant messages twice in my career. I've always been told I have a good voice and can't wait to become a part of the community.I know a lot of hard work will be involved but one day I hope to be successful and pass on my knowledge just as you.You are wonderful,God Bless,Veronica
While I truly appreciate and am grateful for Veronica's praise about my blog, I want to talk about her paragraph about passion. The key is not to find a job and industry that you are passionate about, but to create a LIFE that you are passionate about!
The last sentence was written with apologies to my eighth grade English teacher Mrs. Ellington, who would hate to see me ending the sentence with a preposition. She made us memorize a list of prepositions, and I credit her with my strong knowledge of and passion for English grammar.
There's that word again -- PASSION.
When people feel that something is missing in their life, they often say they want to feel passionate about something. Rather than doing the self-reflection necessary to understand what is missing in their life and make adjustments, I have observed that most people hurriedly make 1 or -- even worse -- a combination of the 4 life-changing decisions below. I've also included some of the common thought patterns that may lead people to the decision.
1) Have a baby
- "A baby would bring us closer."
- "A baby would always love me."
- "I might get a reality TV show if I have enough kids." (If you don't believe me on this point, do you remember the Octo-mom, or have you counted the number of shows about huge families on the TLC channel?)
2) Change residences
- "I'd be happy if only I had more space."
- "I'm tired of this neighborhood."
3) Change jobs
- "I have no passion for my job or industry."
- "I'd be happy if only I made more money."
4) Change relationship (get married or divorced, find a new love interest)
- "I want to be in love again."
- "I'd be happy if someone paid attention to me."
- "You don't bring me flowers. You don't sing me love songs."
Unfortunately, making any of those decisions without FIRST analyzing the cause of your feelings of discontentment will not solve the problem. Instead, the change will only serve to complicate the underlying issue, which often can be summed up as a matter of self-love.
If I were having a conversation with Veronica, I'd ask her these questions:
- What was it about recording the phone messages that you liked?
- Why did it matter to you?
- Did you like knowing you were helping people?
- Did you feel important or special to be asked to record the messages?
- Did you get a buzz knowing that people would be hearing your voice when they called the number?
Veronica's answers to these questions could be very illuminating in ways that she wouldn't expect.
In her landmark books Wishcraft: How To Get What You Really Want and I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What It Was, Barbara Sher wrote about finding your touchstone, which is the emotional core of the goal. When thinking about the things you like to do, you can find your touchstones by asking yourself thoughtful, probing questions like those above for Veronica. When you know WHY something is important to you, you make much better choices.
From Veronica's message, it seems obvious that she has done some serious thinking and decided to embark on a new career in voiceover. Since I don't know Veronica, I can only speculate about her answers and motivation to become a voice talent in the hope that it gives you food for thought about finding your own touchstones and designing the life you want.
For instance, I wonder if Veronica has a touchstone of recognition. If so, changing jobs to become a voice talent may not be the most satisfying way to bring more recognition into her life. In fact, if she knew that recognition was the thing that she felt was missing in her life, she might figure out ways to get it in the very job for which she says she has no passion.
Her touchstone might have something to do with becoming wealthy. If that's the case, she will feel discouraged to read fellow voice talent J. S. Gilbert's thoughtful, in-depth analysis of the annual salary review in Parade magazine. Gilbert notes that a voice talent profiled in the review had the lowest income of any of the respondents. He also mentions that his article may extinguish the flames of passion.
Of course, Veronica may truly have a touchstone that involves creative expression through her voice -- something more meaningful than simply being told she has a nice voice. Every person who contacts me about getting into voiceover tells me that exact same thing! I'm not picking on Veronica here. I'm just pointing out that the people who write to me probably have nice eyes, nice fingernails, and nice knee caps, but, since no one has complimented those things, the prospective voice talent don't try to turn them into career choices.
Without further exploration on Veronica's part, she wouldn't know whether she should become a voiceover talent, a puppeteer, singer, telemarketer, lawyer, or a political advocate. These choices could have the same touchstone but would require wildly different actions.
I think we all yearn for some way for creative expression, and the lack of it may be at the root of some of the dissatisfaction with our lives. I've read that Adolf Hitler dreamed of being an artist but couldn't get into art school. Can you imagine how much better the world would be if he had only followed his dream?
Where other people paint a canvas using brushes, I do it with words, either by giving voice to words written by others or putting my voice into words for others to read. The right kind of creative expression for each person would be that thing they want to do for its own intrinsic enjoyment. Maybe it becomes a career choice, but then again, maybe it doesn't.
Through her self-assessment, Veronica might realize that she needs the cheers or applause from an audience. Voiceover is usually a solitary pursuit, which again indicates it wouldn't be a good career choice. She might even realize that she doesn't enjoy reading!
On the other hand, she could be passionate about using her voice to make a difference for others, but she doesn't want to take on all of the myriad responsibilities associated with running a business as a voice talent. In that case, Veronica might prefer to volunteer to read for the blind or the children's story hour at the library.
You can have passion for a lot of things, but you don't have to make a career from them. You don't have to make any money from them at all. As an example, I use my passion for English grammar when writing these blog entries and my private journals.
I'm also passionate about the Eiffel Tower. I have a web cam app that lets me view it any time I want to see it. I just spent my birthday week in Paris, and we stayed in an amazing apartment a block away from the Tower. It was so close that I felt like I could touch it out the open window.
While there, I found a way to combine my passions for writing and fine pens with my passion for the Eiffel Tower -- collecting antique inkwells featuring the Eiffel Tower. I've started researching pictures on-line and creating a compendium of available styles along with selling prices.
Voice talent Karen Commins marries her passions for writing and the Eiffel Tower
by collecting antique souvenir inkwells from Paris featuring the Eiffel Tower.
In this one, the Tower tilts back to reveal the ink reservoir underneath.
Will I ever make any money from this new hobby? Probably not, but it's not my intent to make money from it. My intent is to honor my touchstones of romance and beauty by bringing those attributes into my life (and consequently, these antique inkwells into my display cases!) as much as possible.
The good news is that each time you follow your passion in one area, the enthusiasm, excitement, and joy you feel from your new discoveries will overflow into every other area of your life. As a result of simply researching what it takes to work in voiceover, Veronica has already increased the level of positive energy -- or passion -- in her life.
If, after spending time in contemplation and figuring out that a voiceover career truly gratifies your touchstones, don't be too hasty to quit your current job. Since security is one of my touchstones, you can trust me when I encourage you to think of your current job as a subsidy to your art.
Every moment has meaning, so whatever you're doing now will only help you in the years to come. By analyzing your touchstones, you can figure out what's missing in your life and take the action needed to develop a rich, full, wonderful life that you are PASSIONATE about!
Karen Commins
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
• Greetings from Karen
• How to Reach Me
• Places I've Been
• Advice for Your Journey
• So You Want to Get Into Voiceovers?
• My Path So Far
• How to Reach Me
• Places I've Been
• Advice for Your Journey
• So You Want to Get Into Voiceovers?
• My Path So Far
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