It was 5 years ago today — 18 March 2021 — that I first heard about the situation that inspired my forthcoming book.

By the end of that year, I hadn’t done much on the project even though I kept thinking about it. I’d found 2 books and originally planned to mash them up in a new book like I did with Nellie Bly’s and Elizabeth Bisland’s books about their competing and very exciting solo trips around the world in 1889, creating Bly vs. Bisland: Beating Phileas Fogg in a Race Around The World.

However, 6 months later, I wrote in my journal on 22 June 2022: It’s been on my to-do list with no movement forward.

Fast-forward another 1.5 years to 5 December 2023. By this time, I had discovered a third book on my subject, which made my idea to combine texts more complicated. While this project was never far from mind, I still hadn’t taken much ACTION on it.

And then, I attended Jennifer Jill Araya’s workshop Dream Big: Year-End Goal-Setting for Creative Entrepreneurs.

I’m a planner by nature. I know and have written about goal-setting. I understand and have also written about the importance of writing your goals. I definitely get stuff done!

Yet I hadn’t taken the first steps of figuring out and writing a goal for this project until that afternoon with Jennifer. Writing a thought or a wish turns it into a goal.

Jennifer walked us through the framework for setting SMART goals.

As shown on Jennifer’s slide, SMART goals are:

• S — Specific
• M — Measurable & Meaningful
• A — Attainable & Assignable
• R — Relevant
• T — Time-Bound

I wrote my goal for the first time that day. I excitedly shared it in the Zoom chat:

In my Evernote notes for the workshop, I wrote “first quarter 2024” as my timeline for completion. I had no idea that I would feel called to do original research and how that would change the scope and deadline MANY times!

I wrote in my journal on 2/24/24:

It took me almost 3 years from the idea to get fully immersed in this story. Maybe the Universe had to align things for me to meet someone who gave me invaluable advice about structuring my story.

The project scope and my self-imposed deadline have changed several times, but my commitment to the work has only grown stronger. I craft my book every day!

Drew told me something that has become my guiding principle:

Write the book that YOU want to write.
Don’t worry about any deadline that you have set.

Longtime readers (and those who clicked some of the previous links!) know that one of my favorite books is Write It Down, Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want and Getting It.  Author Henriette Anne Klauser offers a number of creative ways to write down things, from filling in blanks in theme books to writing letters.

She assures us that any kind of paper or writing instrument will do. Her only rule is to date whatever you write down.

i’m not sure whether typing your thoughts on your computer screen has the same effect as putting your hand to paper. While we write using our keyboards and screens all the time, we have a greater personal connection when we physically write something on paper.

I actually had explored writing this kind of book about 30 years ago, but I ruled it out for a number of reasons. I didn’t realize that my old dream was now being fulfilled for me until recently when I transcribed my journal from 30 August 2000. This example further convinces me some ideas take time.

Acquiring my dream harp was the same way. I wrote at least 20 years ago — maybe longer — that I’d love to have a Lyon and Healy Style 11 because it has irises on the column and soundboard. I didn’t see it as a true possibility for me, though, and I even forgot I wrote it down. I certainly hadn’t had this model at the forefront of my mind when the opportunity suddenly arose in 2023 for me to buy this harp!

I encourage you to listen to those little glimmers of ideas, write them down, and see how great your life becomes as a result. The Universe will conspire on your behalf in its own good time and way to help you make them happen!

Screen shots from Jennifer Jill Araya’s slides used with her kind permission

The post Write It Down. Make It Happen! appeared first on Karen Commins.

Inspired by this article about how John Steinbeck used his diary while writing The Grapes of Wrath, I’ve been documenting my progress in researching and writing my non-fiction book in my daily journals. My journals are much more interesting as a result!

I then photograph my journal entries related to my book and use Evernote to transcribe them. Longtime readers know I’m an Evernote evangelist and use it for everything. I love it even more since Evernote actually transcribes my handwriting!

Authors who write in longhand could use this technique to quickly generate editable text rather than having someone laboriously type it.

I store these transcriptions in the Evernote notebook I created to house my book’s 1900+ (and counting!) research notes.

I tag the journal entries to be able to easily find them later. Once I launch the web site for the book, I’ll re-purpose all my journal entries into a new blog devoted to the book! The blog will certainly improve my SEO ranking for my book’s topic.

Since I was already doing that, I thought, “Why not transcribe the entire journal entry?”

On 12/14/25, I finally embarked on my long-held dream of digitizing my handwritten journals! I started keeping a regular journal on 8/28/99 and now am writing in book #86.

Over the years, Drew and I have looked for the best method to accomplish this task:

• I ruled out using my flatbed scanner because it takes too long to actually scan, plus you have to sit there with it and turn pages.
• I want to keep my journals intact, so that eliminated my super speedy Epson ES-500W from contention. I often use that scanner to create PDFs of Public Domain texts after Drew disassembles the book from the spine. I outlined my steps to perform OCR and otherwise optimize the scanned PDF in step 3 of Planning Your Trip to Public Domain World.
• Reviews of hand scanners made them seem unreliable and persnickety to use.
• The CamScanner app could do the scanning, but it doesn’t recognize handwriting.
• We bought a CZUR book scanner when they first came out. It also seemed to take too long to scan and was cumbersome to use, so we sold it. The newer CZUR ET24 Pro machine is far superior to the one we sold, but their app doesn’t recognize handwriting.

Since Evernote recognizes handwriting, I’m excited to use it to digitize my journals.

Here’s the process I use to transcribe my handwritten text:

1. Write in my journal as usual.
2. Take a picture with my phone’s camera of each page in the entry.
3. Crop the saved photo(s).
4. Share it to my computer. I AirDrop the photo between my iPhone and iMac.
5. Open desktop Evernote. (It’s usually already running.) Evernote will transcribe images on the phone, too, but I found it to be very frustrating because it would eat up time and memory.
6. Create a new note in the journal notebook.
7. Drag the journal picture(s) into my Evernote note.
8. Hover the mouse over the top right corner of the picture until the Transcribe button appears, and click it. Refer to the picture below.
9. Proof Evernote’s transcription for accuracy.
10. Create links to other entries, research, etc. that I mentioned in the journal.

It’s important to check the transcription carefully against the source text. The transcription process makes mistakes, including but not limited to these errors:

• For my handwritten text, Evernote’s transcription frequently uses wrong numbers, whether I’ve written a time, date, or a word count.
• It leaves out commas where I had them — almost always ignoring the Oxford comma and commas between independent clauses — and adds them where I don’t want them.
• It adds ‘s for plural words, which, as a grammarian, annoys me considerably!
• It removes the NOT part of contractions, completely changing the meaning. For example, wouldn’t becomes would.
• Even with typeset text from newspapers, magazines, and books, sometimes Evernote:
  • paraphrases content
  • removes, adds, or changes words
  • makes up whole sentences entirely.

I’ve used this process in transcribing my research finds. The transcription errors become worse as an article’s length grows. I’ve learned to break up long columns of text when I’m transcribing newspaper articles.

So far, I’ve transcribed 148 pages of my current journal and am up to date with it. I started transcribing Journal #1 from 1999 and have completed a number of its entries.

With over 26 years’ worth of words to transcribe, this project will definitely take a while! I keep this quote from Leo Tolstoy in mind:

A man on a thousand mile walk has to forget his ultimate goal
and say to himself every morning:
“Today I’m going to cover 25 miles and then rest up and sleep.”

PS. If you’re interested in developing a journaling practice, I’ve previously written how I use my journal and things I’ve learned about adding entries to my journals. I shared some entries with their take-aways in my This Date in My History series of articles.

Important note about your data privacy when using Evernote’s transcription tool

Evernote’s AI Transcribe FAQ states:

For audio, transcription processing occurs within Evernote. For audio summarization and image and video transcription, some data may be shared and processed by a third-party AI vendor.

Such content is only processed to complete your summarization or transcription request. Your data is not used to train AI models. Files are processed securely and deleted by third-party processors within 30 days. If you need more info, you can always review our Supplemental Terms, our Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.

Whether you’re using the audio transcription tool, the video transcription tool, or you’re converting your screenshots to text, you can trust that your content stays private and secure.

The post Digitizing My Journals With Evernote appeared first on Karen Commins.

I’ll share more as I continue with this project.

Behind the Scenes

I first wrote a bulleted list of the pieces of info I wanted to include in the video. I wrote the script and then recorded and edited it in my studio.

As is the case whenever I make a video, I always create my audio first and then match the visual components to it.

I either created the video clips by recording the screen with Camtasia or downloaded them from Storyblocks.com, where I have a subscription.

Their image search is very frustrating and frequently doesn’t reveal useful graphics, so I was pleasantly surprised with the video search. I quickly found usable clips that matched very well with my voiceover.

For instance:

• I said ‘But wait! If I’m going to write a new book, why not add my own research and conclusions to it, especially since I LOVE this kind of research?!’
  • During the first part, I showed a lightbulb that is outlined in blue neon, and the filament spells IDEA.
  • In the second part, I play a video of vivid hearts.
• Near the end, I say, “I still have much research and writing to do.”
  • I love the construction sign clip that flashes up the words “Work Zone!” I think it gives a nod to my site with my vacation postcard logo and my NarratorsRoadmap.com.

During a tour of the New York Public Library, we learned that the lion statues out front are named Patience and Fortitude, with Fortitude being the one closest to 42nd Street. I stood by the one named Patience because Drew and I agree that I could use more patience in my life!

We bought DJI Mic 3 wireless microphones for our live video shoots in New York. In past years, I had tried several lavalier mics and had not been satisfied with the sound quality from them. Drew researched wireless mics and discovered that podcasters use this DJI mic. It interfaces with a phone, making it an easy and portable choice.

At the end of the video, you’ll hear an F-major harp glissando, which I played on my Lyon & Healy Style 11 harp. I set my B and E pedals to sharp, which is the lowest pedal position. Instead of 7 tones in the scale, you only hear 5 of them: F, G, A, C, and D. It feels and sounds like magic to me!

Transcript with Video Description

[March 2021 calendar]
One day during the pandemic lockdown, Drew and I were watching a

[woman lecturing in sculpture gallery of a museum]museum’s
lecture over Zoom. The host mentioned a person and event that were on the periphery of the subject.

[handwritten Curiosity!]
I perked up with curiosity!

[Google what happened to]
I Googled the person to learn more. I thought the story would make a great book,

[Google is there a book about]
so I looked for one in the public domain that I could narrate, produce, and publish as an audiobook.

[pages turning in a book]
I found a book on my topic.

[woman’s hands thumbing over tops of a number of books]
Then I found another one. I discovered some other related titles and decided I could edit parts of them together and create a new book.

[blue neon lightbulb created in outline with the filament spelling IDEA]
But wait! If I’m going to write a new book, why not add my own research and conclusions to it,

[vivid multicolor hearts]
especially since I LOVE this kind of research?!

[Online Course in neon]
I went through a Research Methods for Writers course offered by my library.

[pan up from bottom to top of a stack of newspapers]
I’ve pored over 1000s of newspaper articles and

[Ancestry.com search for Immigration and Travel]
scoured Ancestry.com for factual evidence like passenger lists on ships.

[live shoot outside the New York Public Library, main 5th Avenue branch]
And now I’m here in New York at the world famous New York Public Library, ready to do more research on this exciting book project!

[live shoot outside New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on Amsterdam Avenue]
And today my research is taking me to the New Public Library for the Performing Arts, which is near Lincoln Center. I hadn’t actually been to this part of New York before, so that makes this research trip even more exciting.

[live shoot outside Columbia University, New York]
My research scavenger hunt in New York has now taken me to Columbia University. I’m so excited to be here, and I can’t wait to see what I’m going to find!

[white and orange construction barrier with words Work Zone]
I still have so much research and writing to do, and I look forward to sharing my first book with the world as soon as possible!

[Coming Soon in red neon on black background, with a single letter revealed at a time]
It’s even more exciting to me because it’s going to be a full cast audiobook, and I’m even planning the website.

[my postcard logo]
I’m Karen Commins, and I hope you’re living the life of your dreams! (harp glass)

The post I’m Writing a Book! appeared first on Karen Commins.

Rather than making New Year’s resolutions that were quickly abandoned, I’ve absorbed and applied a few guiding principles and actions over many years. Changing my thoughts and words have made a dramatic positive difference in my overall happiness and throughout my life.

Guiding Principles

1) Joel Osteen always says, “We can’t expect victory and talk defeat.”

2) Wayne Dyer always said, “We can’t get enough of what we don’t want.”

3) These 2 sentences are openings to the broad topic of mindset. Manifesting anything we want in our lives starts with our thoughts. Saying and writing our thoughts sends them out into the universe and gives them creative energy. Therefore, it’s vital that we are ever vigilant to think, speak, and write our words in the direction we want our lives to go!

Also remember: However we fill in the sentence “I AM ___” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy!

4) In 2016, I saw a video of Mike Dooley, who writes the notes from The Universe. He compared the manifestation process to a GPS system. You have to enter your destination (a BIG goal) and then put your car in gear. Don’t worry if you’re going the wrong way because you’ll get guidance! He said:

Guidance will be forthcoming.
You’re going to quickly hear — perhaps over Barry Manilow – “Make a legal U-turn!”
And you’re going to hear that until you get on track.

Dooley said to adopt a mantra like “Every day, I’m getting closer.” He said you can get excited about the details, but don’t make them the end result.

It can be so difficult to stay unattached to a particular outcome and let the Universe fulfill your desire in its own way and in its own time. If you’re interested, I offered examples and many resources about affirmations, visualizations, and outcomes in Narrator’s Cup of Joe — Woo Woo Blend.

5) Wayne Dyer always said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

6) What you put out in the world comes back to you and in a time and way you didn’t expect. If I kept saying to the Universe with great angst thoughts and words like “Why not me? What’s wrong with me?”, that’s going to keep showing up for me. It’s an endless loop. You’ve got to throw a wedge in there to change that loop because it’s a perpetual, negative cycle. It’s a terrible act of self negation, because then you start thinking things like:

• Obviously, people don’t like my voice.
• People just don’t like me.
• They don’t think I’m a good person.
• They think I’m not reputable.

These thoughts have no basis in reality! However, concentrated focus on and repetition of them make them part of your identity! As Wayne Dyer, Mike Dooley, and other spiritual teachers/leaders have said:

What you think about expands. Like a cold, the more you talk about something and more emotional weight you give it, the more it becomes part of you.

Actions I’ve Taken to Develop and Maintain a Positive Mindset

1) During Kristine Oller’s Jan. 2018 webinar about mindset, I asked her how to break my habitual thinking of comparing myself negatively to others. She said:

• old ways of thinking were prompting my compulsion to check social media and make comparisons
• look at the story you’re telling yourself and then collect proof that the OPPOSITE of that story is true — find five pieces of evidence to “force your mind to become creative and flexible.”

I realized that I was using those posts to gather evidence in the old “not good enough” story! I would see something on Facebook which the inner enemy would seize upon and start re-counting for me the auditions I had not won, awards I had not earned, money I had not made, publishers I had not worked for, etc.

I wrote down 8 ways that my story is different and sooo much better than the one the enemy was using! Take THAT, inner enemy!

2) Celebrate my own accomplishments, not just on social media but in a real way.

3) When my brain wants to seize on something and get in a downward spiral over it, I repeat out loud this quote from Paulo Coelho: “Stop being who you were and change into who you are.”

4) Tell myself in the mirror each day all the positive “I AM” statements that I can dream up. Write them down and then think about them and repeat them out loud through the day. Louise Hay’s book MIRROR WORK is an excellent guide for this type of mental reprogramming.

5) Write a compassionate letter to myself and re-read it out loud as needed. I am a much harsher critic of myself than I ever would be to anyone else! My letter is full of encouragement and praise that I wrote as if I were writing it to another person. It helps to re-read it when that “little girl inside” thinks things are unfair. This idea is an exercise in the book SELF-COMPASSION: THE PROVEN POWER OF BEING KIND TO YOURSELF by Kristin Neff.

6) Change the second thought to one that makes me feel better.

It’s very low and very disempowering when I’ve felt hurt, disappointed, frustrated, and angry because I feel like I’m being rejected by the world and/or people don’t like what I have to offer. We cannot help that first thought. It comes barreling in, unbidden, and we’re not in control of that.

We are in control of the very next thought! We are in control of our choice of what are we going to do with that thought we just had. I choose to think in the next thought of things I wrote in my compassionate letter. It’s a perfect antidote because what we see on the outside is a physical manifestation of what’s going on inside.

The It Works! booklet by R. H. Jarrett is a good primer for changing your thinking to create the life of your dreams. I especially recommend you read Brad Jensen’s review even if you don’t get the booklet.

Wishing you radiant health, unbounded prosperity, and every happiness in 2026 and beyond!

The post Change Starts With Your Thoughts and Words appeared first on Karen Commins.

I’ve been a proud member of the Professional Audiobook Narrators Association (PANA) since its inception. The organization offered its first convention PANAcon last month.

When I was asked earlier this year to speak at the first PANAcon on a panel about self-producing your work, I couldn’t say “yes!” fast enough!

If you attended, you should have received an email with links to the videos from all of the sessions. Download all the videos now because they won’t be available after 1 September.

This article and its resources should benefit attendees and non-attendees alike.

The Panel

I was delighted to join and learn from my co-panelists and multi-talented narrators Shiromi Arserio, Tanya Eby, and Cassandra Medcalf as they shared their knowledge and experience in writing, publishing, and marketing their books. I talked about creating and publishing audiobooks from Public Domain texts. Thanks also to narrator Kelly Wilkinson for facilitating our session, the audience members who spent time with us and asked wonderful questions, and to all the volunteers who planned, coordinated, and made PANAcon such a fantastic success.

As panel moderator, Shiromi asked very thought-provoking questions, a few of which I’d like to share here.

What was the most unexpected challenge or most pleasant surprise you encountered when you decided to release your own audiobooks?

I published my first title, a Public Domain book, in 2014. I didn’t know then how that action would completely open up and enrich my life!

Public Domain books have become my passion and a cornerstone of my work. I’ve taught other narrators about finding PD books they love and distributing the finished audiobook.

My ever-deepening interest in copyright led me to apply for and then enroll in the CopyrightX program at Harvard University.

After publishing that first book, I combined 2 Public Domain books into a new book. It remains one of my favorite projects: Bly vs Bisland: Beating Phileas Fogg in a Race Around the World.

I’m currently working on perhaps the most electrifying professional undertaking of my life, which started as an idea to record a single Public Domain book. I discovered more books on the subject and thought I’d create a mash-up of multiple PD books similar to Bly vs Bisland.

This new topic has evolved into a fascinating multi-year historical research adventure for a new book I’m creating that I’ll produce as a full cast audiobook! It will be a celebration of Public Domain texts and fabulous audiobook narrators!

I’ve always admired biographers and historians who weave together a wide range of disparate facts and sources into a compelling story. It’s thrilling to be on that path!

I love and am absorbed in my daily research! It’s terribly exciting to discover hidden gems that the (many, many!) others who dived in this ocean of material completely missed. I’m planning a research trip in the coming months.

The biggest joy of the whole thing is going from idea to implementation — to take something that I had as an idea and work at it to make it appear in tangible form. That’s what makes us artists and what makes self-producing worthwhile.

And I have to say, not spending my time constantly writing to people and saying, “please hire me, please hire me” is huge for me! I’m generating my own work and totally in my own lane here. You can’t put a price tag on that.

I’ve done a handful of public domain titles, and it’s usually just what seems like a fun book that I wish people would cast me for. But you’re much more strategic about how you pick titles. Did you want to talk about that?

First of all, know that an incredible trove of books are in the Public Domain that you would not expect to be there. Most people seem to think Public Domain books are 100 years old and overflowing with very florid Victorian language.

That’s not true! In fact, the juiciest Public Domain titles were published in mid-century 1900s. At that time, the copyright had to be renewed, and a lot of people didn’t do that. In fact, between 1931 and 1963, about 74% of the books published in the US are Public Domain! The copyright has expired, so anybody can do anything they want to with them.

Whenever I see or hear about a book that piques my interest, the first thing I do is check out its copyright status. Is it in the Public Domain, or did the author or publisher renew the copyright?

A lot of people ask me for help finding a book, and the first things I ask them are:

• What do you like to read?
• What kind of books do you like?
• Which genres do you work in, and which do you want to work in?

You’re going to spend time with this book, and you may or may not make any money on it. You might as well do something that you really like that looks good for your portfolio.

Remember I said the key publication dates range between 1931 to 1963. The earliest age of a Public Domain book in that range is 95 years old, meaning it’s stood the test of time. If a book has a lot of ratings and reviews and continues to be of interest, then it’s probably going to make money.

Everything published in the US in 1930 and earlier is Public Domain. Books published in the US in 1931 will all become Public Domain on January 1st. It’s not too soon to find one, record it, and have it ready to publish in the new year!

Goodreads maintains lists of books that are popular for a given year. You can review their list of books from 1931 to find one that speaks to you as an artist. The books that appear high on the list usually include big sellers in literary history that we always hear about. They attract a lot of attention with many people, including big audio publishers, who are eager to record them. Further down that list, though, you’ll find books that are still interesting, that people are still reading and writing reviews about on Goodreads. I think that list is a really good place to start.

As someone who produces their own audiobooks, you have to handle the distribution, the marketing, the cover art, the writing. How are you able to manage your time?

I take an incremental approach, and I create a to do list every day in Evernote of three things:

• • Most important task of the day — If this was the only thing you did today, you’d be satisfied. (1 task)
  • Secondary tasks of importance — Completion of these tasks will make the day even better. (2 tasks, though I often add more)

This article details my use of Evernote and links to the templates of my daily and monthly action plans.

Almost every day, I list 2, 30-minute activities: research on my book, and content creation. For instance, it might take me several days to write an article like this one if I’m just doing a little bit at a stretch.

I’m not saying I always accomplish everything — or even anything — on my daily list!

I take you behind the scenes of my process and offer 9 ways I’ve increased my output in my article How I Get Stuff Done.

In terms of marketing my own books, I’m a firm believer in having a promotions calendar. Look for things in and associated with the book that give you reasons to talk about it long after its release date.

I mentioned Bly vs Bisland earlier. Two female reporters, Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland, each went on a solo trip around the world that started in November 1889. I can promote that audiobook:

• every October 2nd because that’s the date Jules Verne’s imaginary character Phileas Fogg made a wager that he could go around the world in 80 days
• every November 14th when the race starts
• every December 21st as that’s the date Phileas Fogg won his bet
• every January 25th on the anniversary of the end of the reporters’ race
• Nellie Bly’s and Elizabeth Bisland’s birthdays and dates of death
• if their name comes up in the news or I create some other reason. For instance, I’ve talked about it being a good book to listen to on a winter trip!

I might only promote that book a couple times a year, but I love having options!

At least enter basic dates on your promotion calendar and add a reminder a week before the date. Once you develop assets of marketing pieces, you can just pop them back out on social media again. Nobody knows or cares that this is the same thing that you used the last three years on the same day! Just keep utilizing and repurposing the things you have. You don’t always have to create something new.

My Audiobook Marketing Cheat Sheet gives you a bounty of tips and tactics you could employ to market your book.

Audience Q&A

How do you determine if a mid 1900’s book is in the PD?

You have to research the copyright date. See Step 1 of my article Planning Your Trip to Public Domain World.

Can you take a public domain book and make it more of a modern story?

Absolutely! If you want a great example, look no further than WICKED! Gregory Maguire imagined new stories for the beloved Wizard of Oz characters because they were in the Public Domain. He wrote a book, which became a bestseller. He then licensed the rights — making even more money for himself! — for a musical and movies, plus all the merchandise!

However, you don’t have to invent a new story. Remember, you can change anything you want in a PD book. Narrator Alison Larkin received great acclaim about her adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic book Great Expectations. She changed Pip’s gender to female, which breathed new life and meaning into an old story.

An email recently arrived in my inbox promoting the March 2026 release of Lady Tremaine: A Novel by Rachel Hochhauser, in which the author tells the Cinderella story through the point of view of the stepmother.

Your possibilities are limited only by your imagination and creativity!

Would you ever write and record an introduction to a public domain book, for example as a way to address problematic language that you want/need to keep in? Or would you just put the disclaimer in the written description?

Public Domain means you, as the producer, can create the audiobook any way you want. If you want to change the language, change it. If you want to delete sentences, paragraphs, or pages, delete them.

I look at each book on a case-by-case book and decide whether I’d add a disclaimer to the book’s description. For something like Huckleberry Finn, I’m not going to change the language. I would add a disclaimer in my book’s printed description and say this language reflected the time that it was written, viewpoints have obviously changed for the better since then, and be aware you’re going to hear objectionable language.

I haven’t included a disclaimer in the recording, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do so.

Disclaimer examples are in Step 6 of my article Planning Your Trip to Public Domain World.

Do you make an e-book of a public domain book you’re making an audiobook of?

I only need an ebook if I want to claim the title on ACX. If I’m going through another distributor, I don’t need an e-book. More information is in Step 2 of my article Planning Your Trip to Public Domain World.

If you work with a person who has already released the e-book on Amazon, how do you handle the royalty share percentage on Audible?

Ebook and audiobook royalties are 2 different things. If the rights holders of the Amazon edition and audiobook are different, they don’t share in each others’ royalties.

Once you produce a PD book, how then do you distribute it?

You have to make this decision for each book. I have a distributor comparison chart for members of NarratorsRoadmap.com, where I look at 22 criteria for 6 distributors. Not only are the royalty amounts different, but you’ll want to consider how often a distributor pays you, whether they offer promotional support like download codes, and many other factors. I also provide my full recommendations there.

You may want to join Rebecca Hefner’s Facebook group Marketing Audiobooks Wide as it’s a reliable source of information.

On all my audiobooks, I want to claim the book on ACX with exclusive distribution on Audible for at least the first 90 days. With an exclusive deal, I’ll receive Audible download codes, which everybody understands and are a great way to promote the book.

Exclusive distribution also garners the highest royalty rate Audible is going to pay anybody. Audible pays me 40% for exclusive distribution, but if I’m not exclusive, they only pay me a 25% royalty rate, leaving a gap of 15%. I think contemporary romance and other modern fiction like cozy mysteries are going to do better with wide distribution. I’ve been publishing biographies and history. So far, the wide distribution hasn’t made up that 15% difference. I therefore still have some books that remain exclusive with Audible because they’re paying me the most money.

On ACX, do you create a Rights Holder’s Profile as well as a Narrator Profile? And do you have to make a Direct Offer to yourself?
You do need separate narrator and RH accounts with different email addresses. They can use the same tax ID (SSN or EIN, which I recommend, as discussed near the end of this article.) You won’t make an offer to yourself. Instead, sign in with your RH/publisher account, select Already Have the Audio (DIY project), and upload all of the files, including cover art.

NarratorsRoadmap.com members can watch my 1:48:21 webinar Public Domain Audiobooks and Self-Publishing, in which I show the entire process for claiming a book as an ACX rights holder.

Does your Audible listing state that it is a public domain book?
Each distributor asks for basic information including the copyright date and owner. I’ll enter the original publication year and “PD” or “Public Domain” for the original rights holder.

Would you create an LLC for your publishing empire?
You don’t have to establish an LLC. I run a sole proprietorship and file a joint 1040 tax return with my husband that includes a Schedule C for business. I have 3 “Doing Business As” (DBA) names: A VOICE Above The Crowd, Jewel Audiobooks and NarratorsRoadmap.com. You really need to talk to your accountant about your particular situation and what makes sense for you.

Regardless of your business type, though, you will want to ensure your business earnings and expenses are separate from your personal ones. Maintain different bank accounts and credit cards for personal and business uses.

You’ll find more info and Q&As on my Public Domain Narration Headquarters page. I hope you feel inspired and equipped to tackle a Public Domain project and self-produce your own work!

The post PANAcon Panel and Q&A on Self-Producing Your Work appeared first on Karen Commins.

My daughter asked, “Do you ever have any regrets, Mom?” And while I know she was asking this question on a philosophical level, my mind immediately went to this puffin sweater I saw in Iceland. It’s been 3 years since I saw it in a shop there, & I still regret not buying it.

Her comment struck a chord with the Twitterverse. Her post received hundreds of replies about similar missed shopping opportunities and garnered thousands of likes.

I have my own story about the same sort of regret, along with some ideas about living with no regrets.

On Saturday 5 March 1994, we were in Munich, Germany. I wrote in my journal:

I actually saw a poster advertising Barry’s European tour and his date in Munich. I looked around to see if I could find one pasted on a wall that I could steal! (Don’t judge me!) The one I saw was in a store window. Since the tour is postponed indefinitely, I may try to go back to the store (if I can remember where it is!) and try to buy that poster.

Alas, it was not meant to be. After touring Neuschwanstein Castle the next day, I wrote:

Once we got back to Munich, we walked up the Marienplatz trying to find the Barry tour poster. Either my memory is failing, or I just saw an overwhelming amount of stuff yesterday. In any case, we couldn’t find it again (sob).

I always regretted that I didn’t go in that music store and try to buy that poster when I was standing there! I looked for the poster for years to no avail.

On 15 February, I decided I’d finally put this remorse out of my life. Somebody in Germany had an eBay listing for the Hamburg poster in that long-canceled 1994 tour. Since I never found the one for Munich, I thought Hamburg would be close enough. I bought that poster!

In the glorious perfection of the Universe, 3 days shy of the 30th anniversary of my original sighting in Munich, the poster arrived at my house! It was in almost mint condition, as if it had been waiting for me for 3 decades.

I had it framed, and I can say without any bias that it looks spectacular! I hung it in my craft room with my other framed Manilow art. To be clear, when I say “I hung it”, I mean “Drew did the work while I watched!” We had to re-arrange that whole wall and move one of my other pieces to accommodate this new addition.

5 Ways to Live With No Regrets

I’m not sure it’s actually possible for me to be completely free of regrets. However, I’ve found these rules help me minimize and eliminate them:

1. When shopping, the time to buy it is when you see it.

One of the respondents to Celia’s tweet included a picture of a store interior in which the owner displayed a sign that read “Nothing haunts us like the things we didn’t buy.” Given the overwhelming responses to her tweet, I think it’s true!

2. The corollary to the first rule is “If I have it, I’ll find a place for it.”

Almost always, the thing in question would be an impulsive purchase. I used to talk myself out of buying things because I didn’t know where I’ll put it. Repeating this tenet out loud helps me know whether the item truly has lasting appeal and needs to be in my life or would be quickly forgotten if I walked away from it.

3. To quote my favorite line from Gone With the Wind: “Askin’ ain’t gettin'”, to which I always add: “If you don’t ask, you don’t get!”

You’ll never know what will happen unless you ask for what you want. You might be turned down. You might be ignored. But what if you get the answer that changes everything?!

This principle is very important in the Law of Attraction. You have to be very clear about what you WANT and ask the Universe for it or something better. 

Sometimes it’s hard to have the courage to ask, which leads to the next guideline.

4. Feel the fear, and do it anyway.

Susan Jeffers wrote an excellent book with that title that I found to be helpful when I read it years ago.

Resistance shows up in many ways, with the leading method being some type of fear. I don’t necessarily mean some big fear like the loss of a home or relationship. I’m talking about little — and possibly also irrational — fears, like worrying what someone will think about me or being afraid to audition for an audiobook because I might feel overwhelmed with the workload if I were cast for it.

I have to push all those types of thoughts aside and just DO whatever is in front of me.

5. Be kind and compassionate to myself and remind myself that I’m doing the best I can each day.

This rule is the most important and the most difficult to implement. I’m not always successful at it.

It’s all too easy to fall in the trap of “could have/should have”, which can lead to a downward spiral of negative thinking. Continuing to blame or criticize myself for my (in)action in some past situation doesn’t change the situation or help me feel better about the outcome. It only keeps me stuck and not living my best life in the present moment.

Do you have a shopping sorrow or a way to combat regrets? I hope you’ll share it in the comments!

The post Living with No Regrets appeared first on Karen Commins.

I think many people may wish to start a journaling practice at the beginning of the new year. This list, which is no particular order, goes beyond the advice and info I shared in my article How I Use My Journal. I encourage you to read that article, too.

I choose to handwrite my entries because it slows your brain, and your thought process is different.

Number the pages and the books so it’s easy to cross-reference from one book to another.

I date my entries and add the time and my location. My location is usually “sitting on the sofa.” (haha) However, my journal is my constant companion. I’ve written on buses, trains, and planes; in hotel rooms; at cafés; and sitting poolside. I’ll also note whether I’m watching a TV show or listening to music. The TV distracts me from writing, whereas music usually enhances my writing.

I bookmark entries with Post-It Tabs if I wrote about something of significance that I want to easily rediscover. The Tab has enough room for me to write a few words on it with a Sharpie to identify why I marked the page.

Those who know me won’t be surprised that I also snap pictures of some entries in Evernote so I always have them available wherever I am. (Shameless plug: If you’d like to learn to use Evernote, I’ve created a video course about it for members of NarratorsRoadmap.com.)

I also create an index in each book. Leuchtturm 1917 books (medium, hard cover, A5 size approximately 8.25″ x 5.75″, plain paper) are my favorite due to their array of cover colors, paper types, and built-in features of numbered pages and index pages. These books have a few preprinted index pages. I usually need to use some blank pages to continue the index.

Leave space after each entry so you can later add things you forgot and/or new, related info/comments.

Change pens and ink colors to suit your mood and make the writing process even more enjoyable. I mainly use fountain pens, rollerballs, and ballpoints. I also have some glitter gel pens that are fun at times. I’ve drawn with colored pencils on some pages. I don’t like to write with pencils, but I suppose they are fine if that’s your choice.

Feel free to type entries on your computer, print them, and affix them to your book pages. Or, you could keep the journal completely digital.

Include different media: pictures; collages; rubber-stamped images; ephemera like business cards, tickets, name tags, receipts, vacation itineraries, cruise newsletter clippings, and anything else that interests you. Your journal is a playground for your creativity!

You have complete freedom to write as much or as little as you want as (in)frequently as you want. I write everyday. Some days I’m expansive and write what I’m thinking and recount conversations I had. Some days I write quick bullet points of things that happened that day and/or to-do lists for the coming days. Some days I mix both styles.

Your journal can be part scrapbook. I include pictures of audiobook cover art and AudioFile Magazine reviews. When I’ve designed an ad or a postcard, I usually include a copy in my journal.

Rather than maintaining a separate commonplace book of quotes, I copy them into a day’s entry. I seem to remember things I’ve written better than things I’ve typed. Quotes can come from anywhere — articles, books, social media posts, and even texts.

You’re not limited to 1 journal! For instance, I maintain a separate book for my harp practice notes. I’ve written answers to journal prompts in their own books. I ordered one of Seth Godin’s Ship It Journals when I was designing NarratorsRoadmap.com.

Write whenever you feel like it. I usually write in the evenings before bed, but I will write at other times, too. I often write in my journal for a bit if I’m feeling stuck at work or annoyed at something. I can let off steam in my journal and refocus my mind on the task at hand.

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you in starting or rejuvenating your journaling practice.

I am so convinced about the power of a journal to help you live your best life that I want to send a special book to 5 of you as a new year’s gift! The first 5 people who send me their mailing address by email before 31 December will receive a journal book with a beautiful cover that relates to audiobook narration. To be eligible, you must supply your mailing address in email, not a comment on this post or sent via social media like Facebook Messenger. I will send out the 5 journal books using USPS Media Mail sometime after I return to work in January.

The post Things I’ve Learned About Adding New Entries to My Journals appeared first on Karen Commins.

I received this comment on my article Public Domain Narration Headquarters. Since the question involves a book still under copyright, I decided to create a new article, redacting some of the identifiable aspects of the message.

I would love to record a memoir by a great [person]. Once recorded, I think there would be a market for it. The book was published in 2002, therefore is not public domain. It’s sold by Amazon but there is no audiobook of it.

I know I’ll have to contact the publisher but I don’t know where to go from there. I don’t know how to set up a contract for the job (I’d be willing to do royalty share). I don’t know how to get the audiobook onto Amazon and Audible so people can buy it.

I’ve recorded more than X books, mostly for Learning Ally. I have a good home studio. I got two jobs from [a Big 5 publisher] but have not been having much luck with auditions of late. My work of late has focused on [certain]-themed books. I haven’t figured out Findaway or Spoken Realms. I’m getting my business education from you and APA but there’s a lot I need to learn. Any advice you can give will be appreciated.

Thanks for the note.

First, this article may seem more of a general answer than you’d hoped. It needs to benefit the most people. Obviously, each discussion and negotiation about audio rights and audiobook production will be unique. I can’t anticipate or explain every possible scenario, and the scope of the topic is beyond what I can cover in an article. I can only give you a basic game plan and some resources.

Second, I need to state a few general facts about copyright so we’re all on the same page:

1. The audio rights holder (RH) could be the author, literary agent, or publisher.
2. Every book published in the US after 1963 remains copyrighted. Only the audio rights holder has the legal right to make an audiobook of these titles.
3. Titles published in the US before or during 1930 are in the public domain. Anyone can make an audiobook of these books without obtaining any permission or paying any licensing fees or royalties. A new year of books enters the public domain every 1 January, meaning that books published in 1931 will be public domain on 1/1/27.
4. Books published in the US between 1931 and 1963 may be public domain or could still retain copyright.

You must research the publication and copyright renewal dates to determine a book’s copyright status, and, if it is still copyrighted, the rights holder. If it’s public domain, head over to my Public Domain Narration Headquarters for more info and resources.

This article concerns only those books still in copyright. 

Decide Desired Outcome

Before I continue, let me state that anyone who plans to approach a rights holder about narrating their book needs to already be experienced in recording audio files and having them proofed and mastered.

Your chances of success are further helped if you have completed projects for RHs through a distributor platform (ACX, Findaway, Spoken Realms, Author’s Republic, etc.) or directly with publishers or production companies. You also will want to be knowledgeable about audiobook distribution and have a distribution plan ready for books you wish to license.

You can narrate a copyrighted book in 1 of these 2 ways:

1. License the audio rights
   • usually requires an advance payment against projected royalties — the amount is a negotiation point
   • licensee is responsible for cover art, distribution choices, and marketing
2. Persuade the rights holder to retain their audio rights and hire you to narrate/produce the audiobook
   • This option intuitively seems easier to pursue with authors if you are willing to be paid by royalty share or possibly a royalty share hybrid where you receive an amount less than your PFH rate up front to cover your production costs.

It’s important to know how you plan and expect to create the audiobook BEFORE you contact someone about audiobook production for several reasons:

• A publisher may not license titles to an individual. You might need to partner with a production company.
• If you want to license the title, the rights holder needs to know you have experience producing audiobooks and have created a distribution plan.
• An author may not be interested in managing the process and only wants to license the rights.
• Authors who want to produce the audiobook may need guidance from you about the whole process, particularly distribution options.

I’m not trying to sell you anything, but I hosted a webinar about licensing audio rights with Jessica Kaye. Jessica is an IP attorney and Grammy-winning audiobook director and distributor. If you’re interested, the replay with transcript and sample contract are available on my Shop page.

This article contains some pros and cons of the approaches, as well as some considerations for a licensing offer.

Also, this is a good place to point out that members of my NarratorsRoadmap.com site have access to my exclusive Audiobook Distributors Comparison Chart in which I list over 30 attributes for 9 distributors and share my distributor recommendations.

Discover Rights Holder

In either case, you’d start by determining who owns the audio rights so you can send them a query.

I like to begin my quest with the author or literary agent as I usually receive a faster response.

In this case, the author has passed away. I therefore suggest starting the query with the publisher rather than researching the author’s estate.

I look up the book on Amazon and find the publisher’s name listed in the Product Details section of the page. You might also find it by using the Look Inside feature if that’s available for the book. Be sure to look at the hardback and paperback versions; the Kindle edition may have been published by an entity that isn’t the original book publisher.

If the book isn’t listed on Amazon, you can Google the title

I then Google the publisher’s name to see if they have a web site.

You usually want to connect with someone in the Subsidiary Rights department. You can look through the publisher’s site to find that department.

I don’t like writing messages to general email addresses like info@publishername.com. I use a Google site search on LinkedIn to see if I can find an employee in Subsidiary Rights.

site:LinkedIn.com PublisherName.com subsidiary rights 

If a name pops up, I’ll review their LinkedIn profile to ensure that they currently work with the publisher in the sub-rights department. Many times, a past job matches my search, and I don’t want to waste time writing to the wrong person.

With the particular book mentioned in the message, I couldn’t find anyone on LinkedIn for the publisher’s sub-rights. However, this publisher has an easily-discoverable site with a menu option for Staff. None of the descriptions included the word “rights”, so I’d write to either the Production Manager or the Executive Editor.

Find Contact Info

Once you have a name, you’ll need their email address.

Here are 4 tactics that may help you to discover the email address for a person:

1. Google one or more of these search terms:
   • [name] + email address
   • [name] + contact
   • site:[DomainName.com] + [name] + contact, where DomainName.com is the website URL
2. Enter the website domain name at Hunter.io. It will return a list of verified email addresses at that domain. You can search the results for the person you want to contact. If that person’s name isn’t listed in the results, you can use the “best guess” for the format of the email address.
3. Look on social media for their account and simply ask them for their email address.
4. Facebook users also may list their email address in the About section of their profile.

Send Initial Query

If you’re writing to the author, I suggest you do some additional research before contacting them:

• Read the book, or at least read the Kindle sample.
• Do your homework and look at the author’s site and social media. Follow authors on social media and comment between releases. If they talk about a new project, you might contact them about it.
• Your research will uncover specifics that will appeal to the author and help you make this initial query more personal and effective.

In addition, if the author already has some books in audio:

• You wouldn’t need to include comments in your query about the booming audiobook business. They already know!
• Check the narrators of the audiobooks. If the author only uses 1 narrator, don’t be a poacher! Find another book and author to contact.

NarratorsRoadmap.com members have additional resources available regarding author prospecting in the Create Your Own Path video course.

You might want to review my points of email marketing advice before firing off a message.

Your query should be brief — 50-125 words seems to be the sweet spot. You might compose the message on your phone to ensure it stays on a single screen. You can use the following elements:

1. Confirm that the person you’ve contacted does indeed control the audio rights for the book.
2. Ask whether they already have plans to create an audiobook.
3. Explain your interest in/connection to the book.
4. Succinctly mention the tremendous and continuous growth in the audiobook market.
5. State your background to give the RH confidence in your ability to produce the audiobook.
6. Request a reply.

Don’t Send a Sample

Many people send a sample from the book with the initial query to authors, and it’s a winning tactic for some.

For me, sending the book sample with the query is putting the cart before the horse. I’d wait to see if the person expresses interest before I spend time creating a sample.

You’re trying to start a relationship. A sample can feel pushy to the author — like you meet someone on a date and tell them you know all about them, want to build a house with them, and have already picked out the wallpaper!

When you include a sample, send it as a link rather than an attachment to the message.

Respond As Appropriate

If you don’t get a response within 2-3 weeks, I’d send another message. Be prepared to follow-up many times before you have a decision, especially if you’re communicating with someone at a large corporation.

You may need to negotiate the licensing terms.

If you want the RH to hire you, you may need to answer their (possibly many) questions about audiobook production, including things like how they can post the book on ACX and choose you as the narrator.

Produce and Distribute the Audiobook

Once you get a YES, you would sign appropriate contracts.

If you need a contract template in a work-for-hire situation, you can download one from ACX on this page. You can modify the Narration Services contract template to suit your circumstances, starting with removing “ACX” from its pages. Licensing the audio rights requires a different contract for which I suggest you consult with an attorney.

With a contract in place, you would record and produce the audiobook as you’ve done for other clients.

The steps to make the audiobook appear on Audible and other sites depends on which distributor(s) are chosen. If the author hired you, they select the distributor(s). If you’re the audio licensee, you would follow the distribution plan you devised earlier.

Basically, each distributor has its own method of intake for audio files and cover art. With many sites, you simply create an account, supply tax info, login, and upload the files. Note that on ACX and Findaway Voices, you as an audio licensee would use a different email address than your narrator address to create a rights holder account. (Your 2 accounts can use the same tax ID.) Other distributors may require a different means to establish an account and transfer files.

Those who license the rights are responsible for marketing the audiobook. My Audiobook Marketing Cheat Sheet has a wide range of ideas and tactics to help you promote your audiobook.

I hope this overview helps. If you have questions about this article or next steps, please leave a comment below. Good luck in obtaining this book, and please keep me posted so I can cheer you on!

Photo: Storyblocks.com

The post How to Narrate Copyrighted Books appeared first on Karen Commins.

I adored David when I was young, and I learned a valuable lesson from him as an adult.

In the 1970s, David Cassidy was one of the biggest stars on the planet. He seemed to have it all: talent, looks, charm, money, opportunities as a singer and actor, and legions of fans, including me.

Somewhere during the years, he decided his outsized life wasn’t enough, and things went horribly wrong for him.

In June 2018, we watched the documentary David Cassidy: The Last Session. I was sad to see him looking so bad, as much of it was filmed 2 months before he passed on 21 November 2017.

The clips of him in his 70s heyday were incredible because of the 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of screaming fans.

However, rather than feeling grateful for the adoration of so many people and enjoying that life, he seemed dismissive of it. He said he never wanted to be a teen idol, and he felt frustrated that he couldn’t play the type of hard rock music that he wanted to.

David couldn’t accept that the ROCK market didn’t want him to sing, but the POP market did. Or perhaps he would have found an audience who liked him as a rocker. I don’t know that he tried. This article has a good sampling of David’s comments.

I’m sure it was very difficult to be in the “hurricane of success”, as Barry Manilow calls it, especially for someone so young.

The documentary included a phone call from him where he admitted that he had lied about his drinking and really had no sign of dementia. He said his liver disease was from alcohol poisoning, and he “did it all to myself”. He said he drank to fill the emptiness.

I remembered reading David’s memoir years ago and thinking that he was very bitter.

I could relate to David’s feeling unfulfilled by his work. I spent YEARS working at the IRS feeling extremely frustrated and wishing that I wasn’t there and was instead doing voiceover work full-time. However, I did appreciate that my IRS career gave me financial security and healthcare options I wouldn’t have had as a freelancer.

When I acted like David and bemoaned what I thought I lacked, that lack continued to show up for me. It caused me to feel very unhappy in the present moment. I didn’t realize back then that such thoughts are an act of self-negation.

Acceptance Is Key

I wish I could somehow convey what a difference ACCEPTANCE made to me!!

It started with me saying out loud and with true feeling “I ACCEPT MY LIFE!” It seems like such a small thing to say and do, but it made such a tremendous difference. EVERYTHING changed at that point. The desperation I felt for my situation to change vanished and was replaced by enthusiasm for the work I was doing.

I wrote in my journal on 12 August 2008:

I ACCEPT MY LIFE!

I realize at long last that I have been blocking things from coming to me with my resistance to my day job. I read about these things in books, yet I never saw myself or my actions mirrored there. Today, p.43 of Secrets of Success has much more meaning to me:

Your emotional broadcast must align with your specific goals if you want to achieve real results…The irony is that attaching our joy to something in the future actually sabotages our ability to be content now. And according to the laws of intention, it greatly reduces our potential to attract the very things we’re pinning our hopes on. The solution comes from choosing to live now in the happy energy that we want to create.

Accepting my life is a huge relief. I no longer have to pretend to be something else. I can feel happier in the present moment knowing that I am where I am supposed to be. I have said the words many times, but I had feelings of doubt. I always felt like I should be doing something else. If I had free time at work, I felt like I needed to be working on voiceover goals, but doing so made me feel guilty.

[My best friend] said she could see for years that my resistance to my reality was blocking me from receiving. She said I had put up walls and was only looking for things to come to me a certain way.

I know that acceptance of my very wonderful life is not dependent on getting a particular job, either at the IRS or in voiceover. Accepting my life means I can be like water, flowing smoothly and easily on my life’s path.

As soon as I accepted my life AS IT WAS, things started to flow better in both the thrival job at the IRS and in my voiceover business.

Declaring that you accept your life is not saying you’re accepting that your dream won’t happen. Instead, you’re telling the Universe that you accept how things are RIGHT NOW and that you know your dream (or something better!) will materialize in its own good time without your need to stress, push, and force the result you want into being.

All of the metaphysical teachers stress that we can focus on what we want with the calm assurance that we free the Universe to provide it or SOMETHING BETTER to us at the right time. Otherwise, you may find yourself feeling increasingly desperate for your desired outcome, which activates the Law of Paradoxical Intent and pushes your hoped-for outcome further away.

Acceptance led me to embrace my work, both at the IRS and since then.

David Cassidy’s story continues to be a powerful reminder to me to be grateful for my life and not spend my time and energy discounting it and desperately wishing it were the exact way I envisioned it. However, we can do things that make our lives even more rewarding and meaningful.

Redefining Work

In 2018, as I was starting to develop NarratorsRoadmap.com, I wrote in my journal about reading the article How to Do the Work Only You Can Do by Jeff Goins. Goins interviewed former astronaut Alan Bean, who later documented his space flights by painting what he had seen. I tweeted the article on 6/20/18, commenting “I love this inspirational story! I’m realizing more and more that work I feel called to do and things that I want to create aren’t necessarily what I and other people would think of as my career.”

I hope you’ll read the article, but I wanted to highlight some important passages from it:

Your life’s work is rarely what you expect it to be….Alan had to paint the moon because no one else could — at least not like him.

…we all have something like that, something only we can do. You may call it a purpose or a calling or your life’s work, but you are here to do important work. And sometimes, you have to leave your comfort zone to do it.

[Bean] began experimenting with ways to make money off his art. But how could he earn enough to provide for himself and his family when he kept comparing himself to the likes of Monet and Picasso?

We all do this: we question the work we do and compare it to what someone else is doing. But that’s their duty, not ours. And they have the authority and advantage over us because that’s THEIR work.

…to do your duty, the work that only you can do. You can’t compare yourself to others and keep trying to measure up to someone else’s standard. To do what no one else can do, you have to use what no one else has.

Which is to say, the tools and skills and experiences that make you uniquely you are incredible advantages over the competition.

As an audiobook narrator, I’ve often been snared in the trap of comparison-itis and have done the inner work needed to usually be free of it. (If you’re interested, NarratorsRoadmap.com members can watch a video where I shared my “Antidotes for Comparison-itis and Bad Review Fever”.)

For years, I waited for certain things to happen through my work as a narrator, yet they’ve appeared for me as a result of creating my site. While they didn’t look like I envisioned or come from the direction I expected, I’ve learned to count all my blessings regardless of how and when they show up for me.

As we start a new year, my goals are simply to continue accepting my life and embracing the work that is mine to do.

To that end, I am excited to announce I’m starting something new on 18 January:  the Narrators Roadmap Club on Clubhouse! Every other Wednesday, I’ll host the Pit Stop room, which is your fortnightly mid-week rest area to refuel your drive. My friend and co-host Anne Flosnik and I will talk with narrators who have careers beyond narrating. I invite you to join the Narrators Roadmap club to be notified about upcoming discussions, and I hope I’ll see you in the Pit Stop!

The post Embracing Life and Work appeared first on Karen Commins.

I started to write this quick story as a Twitter thread, but I strive to keep my original content on MY site and share it on social media.

On Tuesday 3 June 2014, I wrote in my journal:

The recording of FANNY HERSELF [by Edna Ferber] is done! Yay!

I had been thinking…of how to change the title to make the book different from the free edition…I want to retain the original title but add something to it to differentiate it [due to Kindle rules for publishing public domain books.]

The Audioblocks site [now Storyblocks.com] lets you search by instrument, mood, and time in addition to genre…I knew I wanted something with a violin solo since Fanny’s brother Theodore was a child prodigy violinist. She and her mother had to do without almost everything in order to pay for his studies overseas. He doesn’t even have a lot of lines in dialogue, yet you always know about Fanny’s brother.

I found a piece that sounds like a clock ticking and machinery before a violin solo of a contrasting tune emerges. It has a tension that suddenly resolves, just like the end of the book! I really liked it on the first listen and declared it perfect on the second one when Drew listened and liked it, too. The music was named “Passionate Instinct”.

And “Passionate Instinct” is now part of my ebook’s title — FANNY HERSELF: A PASSIONATE INSTINCT. Drew and I both think it sort of describes the book.

Not only did I write all of that in my journal, but I also wrote this 2014 article about finding and using M. Leone Bracker’s hand-drawn illustrations from 1917 in my ebook.

I looked at the illustrations this morning, and sure enough, I found one of Theodore playing violin for his teacher.

You can hear the haunting violin music I selected for the credits below.

Opening credits (Note that book was in the public domain when I recorded it. I would now say “The text is in the public domain” instead of the details I gave about the original publication.)

Closing credits

The post The Story Behind the Story Part 2: Music appeared first on Karen Commins.