Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

Narrators

Volunteering as a LibriVox narrator

Before becoming a professional voice talent, I volunteered as a reader for 5 years at the Georgia Radio Reading Service. I read newspapers, Sunday sale pages, magazine articles and books for visually-impaired listeners who heard the broadcast over a special radio. I loved using my voice to help other people.

It is still important to me to be of service to other people. While Drew and I give money to charitable organizations, nothing can match the satisfaction of volunteering one’s time. I have been looking for a service project where I could once again give the gift of my time and voice-over experience to benefit others.

I am pleased to announce that I have decided to volunteer as a narrator for LibriVox, which is an Internet organization that creates audio recordings of works in the public domain. While working in my stunning soundproof studio, I can continue to serve a larger audience of visually-impaired and other people who need and enjoy audiobooks.

LibriVox header.jpg

 

10/30/21 Update:

I previously suggested that people volunteer for LibriVox. Be warned that LibriVox releases its recordings into the Public Domain, which means someone else could sell your recording and/or harvest your voice for AI without any compensation to you. For that reason, I no longer recommend newcomers volunteer there.

 

25 reasons clients hire this voice talent

Most of my articles in this blog pertain to working and marketing oneself as a voice talent. Today, though, I want to write to my potential clients. Sometimes you may need to persuade others in your organization to hire a professional voice talent instead of creating a recording using internal personnel. Here’s a way for you to spell it out for them!


V

oice-over
is my life’s passion! I didn’t wake up one morning and decide to go into
voice-over because I thought I could earn some easy money. I can remember
being in 5th grade and knowing that voice-over is what I was meant
to do. I have been in voice-over since 1999, and I intend to be working in
voice-over for decades to come.

O

utstanding
ability to take and perform to your direction. If you want a word or line
with different emphasis or characterization, I attentively listen to your
instructions and carry them out on the next take.

I

ntegrity.
 I don’t agree to voice every project that is offered me. I believe in the
power of the word, especially the spoken word. If I don’t like the words that
would be coming out of my mouth, I won’t say them. You can feel assured my
voice would not tarnish the image of your business by being associated with
some other project that you might consider questionable.

C

haracter
reads are a specialty. Two of my audiobooks required me to give a
distinct and unique voice to over 50 characters! I also have provided the voice for several characters in 2 videogames.

E

ducation.
I continuously invest in my education to maintain and improve my skills in
copy interpretation, script analysis, microphone technique, character
development and audio editing. I have studied voice-over with Nancy Wolfson, Jeff Freeman, Susan Berkley, Pat Fraley, Rich Jones, Judith Sullivan and Paul Armbruster. I also have taken a class on Pro Tools audio editing at the Art Institute of Atlanta. I’m currently studying Spanish at Berlitz so that I can perform your copy in another language.

O

ption
for assistance with script revision. I have superior writing skills, as
evidenced by my BA in broadcast journalism and the publication of several
articles in national magazines.

V

ersatile
and pleasing vocal range and pitch. My normal voice is a lower, resonant
pitch that is perfect for narrations in corporate America, but I can go up and down the scale and add characteristics to create
believable character voices.

E

veryone can talk, but not everyone can read aloud well, much less make themselves transparent in the process. As a professional voice actor, I can perform your script so that your audience concentrates on your content, not the manner in which it is performed.

R

ates
are attractive. Many voice talent belong to a union, which sets rates based
on the type of work performed and its usage. The rates shown are for the
voice talent only and do not include studio time. I have flexibility in
setting rates, which always include my voice talent and production time.

S

tunning SOUNDPROOF studio. My studio is custom-built for recording, incorporating special soundproofing construction techniques. The room has no windows, 2 layers of ceilings with added
insulation, 2 sets of doors at each entrance with barrier space and 2 layers
of 5/8″ drywall covering the 2×6 walls. I record in a WhisperRoom for enhanced sound quality. In my pristine recordings, you won’t hear kids, dogs,
lawnmowers, computer fans, airplanes, thunder, cars or even paperclips as
background noises.
 

 

B

usy people don’t have time to read. I convert your copy into communication.

Y

ou won’t need to go through the process again of finding competent, reliable voice talent.

 

 

K

eeps your audience listening and interested. Need I say more?

A

lways
on time. You won’t miss a deadline because you were waiting for me to finish your
recording.

R

esearch
is done prior to recording session. For audiobooks, I read the book at least
once prior to recording it. I spend time to look up and learn correct
pronunciations of proper names.

E

quipment
is industry standard. Instead of recording straight from a low-end microphone into the computer, I record on a Neumann TLM 103 mic connected to a
Voicemaster Platinum processor. I use Pro Tools LE with a Mbox on my Macbook
Pro computer. If necessary, I could exchange session files with any other
recording studio in the world.

N

umerous clients and credits, including: Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits, Pepsi Cola, ADP,
Verizon Wireless, Georgia Department of Transportation, Delta Airlines,
Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, BlueCielo ECM, Georgia Institute
of Technology, and Orkin.

 

 

C

redible
and creative actress who delivers sensitive and well-timed copy even during
cold reads.

O

ffers custom auditions of your script for FREE.

M

ember
of Audio Publishers Association. I maintain contact with audiobook publishers
and can direct you to resources that may assist you.

M

arketing
expertise is FREE. I minored in marketing in college and am a perpetual
student of marketing books. I love marketing and am always happy to discuss
it!

I

nformation
technology narrations are a specialty. I earned a MS degree in computer
information systems and worked over 20 years in IT positions including
programmer and LAN/WAN/e-mail administrator. I can perform scripts geared to
a technical audience with complete authenticity and believability since I
actually understand the words that are coming out of my mouth! 🙂

N

ot
all things to all people. Would you hire a plumber to fix your air conditioner? Companies value those with expertise in an area, so why should the voice of your important presentation be left to someone who is not skilled in voice-over delivery? Even among voice-over projects, I am selective about those I will perform. For instance, if you want someone to record a movie trailer, I can refer you
to other talent. I specialize in audiobooks and narrations, including
podcasts, documentaries and corporate presentations. I also enjoy performing scripts
used in radio and TV commercials, as well as video games. I often voice the initial greetings and on-hold messages for phone systems, but I will not undertake telephony projects requiring hundreds of menu prompts or file conversions.

S

atisfaction
guaranteed! I require 50% payment up front when beginning a project. If you
are not delighted with your recording, I will not invoice you for the
remainder. I don’t know of another voice talent who dares to make this
promise!

You may have noticed that I only listed 24 reasons that I should be your voice talent. The last is that I’m FUN! I see the use of humor as a mission-critical element in my voice-over business. Everyone is under enough stress, so I want to use humor to help people feel at ease. Contact me now so we can get started on your next project!

 

Reading for success

If you don’t like to read, voice-over is not the field for you.

In addition to reading, interpreting and performing others’ scripts for pay, I am convinced that the most passionate and successful voice talent seem to have an inherent love of reading. For instance, my friend Bob Souer finds and reads all sorts of interesting things on-line, which he shares with us on his blog. I recently had a discussion with another friend Dave Courvoisier about the merits and pleasures of the Amazon Kindle wireless reading device.

I plan to buy a Kindle for pleasure reading, but I may also use it in the recording booth to perform some auditions and possibly longer material. Since I have remote control of Pro Tools through my handy TranzPort, I’m really thinking of setting up a second computer monitor in the booth…..but I digress.

Any reader of my blog would know that I love words and language. I frequently refer to books that I am reading or have read since they help shape my perspective as a person and voice talent.

“Whatever you want to do or be in life,
you will find the blueprint for success
by carefully reading…”

I have loved books since childhood. I can remember my mother taking me to the library so I could check out armfuls of books. At that time, I could read 50 books in the summer. I still frequently utilize my library card although my time for reading is more limited. These days, I might read 50 books in a year, and I am in the midst of several books at any given time.

I can tend to read a lot by one author at a time and/or in a certain category of book. I constantly find myself reading books about marketing, success principles, the Law of Attraction, biographies, spiritual fiction like The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and other fiction and non-fiction.

I also avidly listen to audiobooks, especially for biographies and fiction requiring numerous characterizations. I think everyone who is or wants to be an audiobook narrator should spend time listening to and learning from others. In fact, whatever you want to do or be in life, you will find the blueprint for success by carefully reading, observing, and applying the success stories of those who have achieved your desired status.

I have often sprinkled quotations in these blog essays. Reading quotes from Emerson, Thoreau, and other great thinkers inspires me as I move foward in the life of my dreams. No matter what challenge I face in my voice-over career and life in general, I find encouragement and advice by reading the words of others:

Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve.
He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.
— Leonardo da Vinci

Write down the thoughts of the moment.
Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.
— Francis Bacon

The world belongs to the energetic.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reading has been the underlying foundation for my every achievement. However, as Seth Godin reminds us in his blog entry describing how to read a business book, achievements also require action.

Godin maintains that business books are 95% motivation and 5% recipes for achieving success. He advises us to read business books with an objective in mind. Actively highlight and write down passages and ideas that inspire you to action toward the changes you wish to make. He states:

If three weeks go by and you haven’t taken action
on what you’ve written down,
you wasted your time.

In your voice-over career, you will spend time every day reading from scripts. I encourage you to read just as much, if not more, for your own improvement and enjoyment, as well as for the improvement of your voice-over business. When you read something that inspires you, write it down and take action toward the life of your dreams!

 

Think/Write/Speak what you WANT into BEING!

Karen views sunset.jpg

Cruiser Karen Commins contemplates the Caribbean colors
 

I just wrote the subject line on Twitter in response to voice talent Alison Pittman’s tweet:

A negative mindset can be picked up so easily,even over the internet airwaves.
seeps through yr fingers into the keys of yr keyboard&beyond

A negative mindset will prevent you from achieving the success in voice-over that you desire. I previously have written about the power of words and the reason you shouldn’t compare yourself to other people. However, I admit I’m not always good at implementing these points for myself.

What exactly is a negative mindset? According to Esther and Jerry Hicks, authors of numerous books on the Law of Attraction, you will have a negative mindset any time that you feel a negative emotion. They say that a negative emotion indicates you are feeling a lack of harmony with what you really WANT.

For instance, you may complain that a voice-over client is slow to pay you for a recording. What you really WANT is something along these lines:

  • appreciation for your work
  • respect for your talent and time
  • immediate payment for the job

Complaining not only makes you feel worse in the moment, but it actually perpetuates the problem!

I’m currently reading the Hicks book Money and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health and Happiness. On pages 186-7, the authors assert:

It may sound strange, but the fastest way to an improved work environment is to look for things in your current environment that make you feel good. Most people do exactly the opposite by pointing out the flaws in where they stand in an effort to justify an improved environment. But since the Law of Attraction always gives you more of whatever you are giving your attention to, if you your attention is on unwanted things, then more unwanted things are on the way as well….No matter how justified you are in your negative emotion, you are still messing up your future.

Steve Pavlina wrote on his positive and thought-provoking blog the best explanation I have seen for assuming responsibility for the outcome of your thoughts:

What if I deny responsibility for what I experience? What if I say, “Something out there is causing these problems, and I’m only noticing what is happening”? Then I’m powerless to change my reality. If I focus my thoughts on what I’m already getting, I’ll unknowingly activate the Law of Attraction to continue bringing me more of the same. My situation will never fundamentally change. And how can it change? If I’m thinking about what I’m already getting, then I’m manifesting a loop. It’s stable. If my life is filled with the manifestation of my desires, I’m in heaven. If my life is filled with what I don’t want, I’m in hell.

No matter what your circumstances, you can find something more positive to think/say/write/do about it. If a client is slow to pay you, you can think about the pleasure you had in doing the job. You can think how nice it is that you aren’t depending on that payment for your next meal. Once you begin to appreciate all of the good things in your life, you’ll find more to appreciate.

To reinforce my changes of thought, I will write down lists of things I want to bring to life. Instead of complaining about someone who is slow to pay me for a voice-over job, I will speak and write down words like these:

  • I have clients who love and respect me.
  • I have clients who want to work with me.
  • My clients bring me interesting and well-written scripts that are a pleasure to perform.
  • I love when people tell me they recognize my voice after hearing me on an audiobook or national TV commercial; it makes me know I am doing work that means something to people.
  • My clients value my time and pay me promptly. In fact, they usually pay me before I can send an invoice.

Over time, I have noticed dramatic shifts in my reality as a result of these kinds of thoughts.

You can’t just change a single thought and expect your world to change. It’s the persistence of positive thought that will bring about the changes you seek. Thought alone does not bring about change, but any change you want to make starts with a change in thought.

Next time you’re feeling negative, try thinking instead of what you WANT. What you put out into world comes back to you, usually in ways you didn’t expect. By projecting a positive attitude, you can expect positive results!
 

Social networking in voice-over

In the attitude of silence,
the soul finds the path
in a clearer light,
and what is elusive and deceptive
resolves itself into crystal clearness.Mahatma Gandhi

I am and have always been a voice-over actor in my soul. I am passionate about my work and cannot imagine my life if I didn’t express myself creatively behind the microphone. However, even with my boundless enthusiasm for and commitment to my voice-over work and clients, my soul also needs quiet time for nourishment and relaxation.

I feed my soul in several ways, both large and small. Most recently, I took a large portion by allowing myself to totally be on vacation while on a cruise.

Whenever we travel for pleasure, I notify agents and clients that I will be unavailable for recording within a range of dates. I have thought many times about taking a portable voice-over studio when I travel. In reality, though, my desires to travel lightly and enjoy fun, uninterrupted time with Drew coupled with the airlines’ increasingly smaller allowances for checked luggage have deterred me from including a portable studio with my baggage.

As a business owner, I always have a laptop on these trips. I check my voice mail and e-mail throughout my vacation so that I can quickly respond to potential clients. Since I’m usually paying high per-minute charges for phone and computer access, it’s easy to limit the time spent in those activities while on vacation.

I must also feed my soul in small ways during my regular working days, so I choose to limit time for all on-line activities, especially for social networking. I have read messages from many voice talent who seem to feel that they must have a presence on every social networking site. Perhaps my thoughts on these sites will be helpful to others.

The whole purpose of networking — whether face-to-face or in a virtual community — is to build relationships.

The number of voice-over blogs and social networking sites is dizzying. If you feel overwhelmed by choices, consider your goal and time available for each site before signing up for it. Do you only want name recognition, or do you want to develop in-depth relationships? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Who do you want to reach, and where might those people hang out? Answering these questions will help you decide your approach to social networking.

Rather than merely having a presence on a site like MySpace, Facebook or any other site, I strive to be an active participant. I have discovered that once you join and connect to people on one site, they invariably want to connect with you on every other site for which they are a member.

I don’t see the value to connecting with the same people on every site. I also am not a person to collect “friends” or “contacts” simply for the sake of having a large number of names. Names on a screen lack meaningfulness to me unless I can get to know the person behind the name. Otherwise, it’s like collecting sea shells to pass the time while you’re on the beach and never looking at them again when you return home.

I was blessed with a fascinating and in-depth response to that entry from Evan Wright in which he compared voice-over work to the number of thriving Chinese restaurants in New York City. Evan pointed out a seemingly hidden benefit to subscribing to one or more of the casting sites:

“Your clientele will be attracted to you due to the “choices” on YOUR menu, in the sense that you have multiple methods in marketing your name and talent out there in the world.”

In other words, we shouldn’t dictate to our potential clients the manner in which they must find and communicate with us! By having multiple listings, we tap into the CLIENTS’ PREFERRED METHOD of communication and therefore stand a greater chance of conducting business with them.

From that standpoint, Dave and my friend Bob Souer really get it. They have linked with dozens of voice talents and created memberships on multitudes of sites so that potential clients can find them using the prospect’s preferred method of communication. In fact, I only know both of these gentlemen due to their Internet marketing. Their voice work is excellent, and they are very nice people. I have them on my short list for referrals should a client request a male voice talent.

I admire Dave and Bob for their time commitment in creating and maintaining all of those relationships. I suspect they may be extroverts, or people who are energized by other people.

I, on the other hand, am most definitely an introvert. I’m not at all shy, especially when it comes to self-promotion of my voice-over business. Being an introvert means that I draw my energy from solitary pursuits. A fascinating article about introverts in Atlantic Monthly perfectly sums up the views of this 25% of the population:

For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping,
as nourishing as eating.

In addition, I am well aware that my words in cyberspace will live on into perpetuity, so I choose to add to conversations only when I can provide a thoughtful, substantive comment. I also don’t have hours each day available for professional reading. For these reasons, I limit my blog subscriptions and site memberships.

At the moment, you will find me only on a select few social networking sites: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Voiceover Universe. I decided to use Twitter as a microblog, and I invite you to follow me. If you have looked at the Twitter site, it may seem like a lot of inane chatter of self-absorbed people who document their every stomach growl. Andrew Hedges wrote an insightful blog entry about Twitter stemming from a lively discussion on LinkedIn which may persuade you of Twitter’s merits.

Since I am an introvert, I am proceeding cautiously in following others on Twitter. If I see that a person posts their every movement and thought or tweets (writes) more than a few messages in one day, I will stop following them. With so many thoughts constantly streaming from a single person, I am likely to miss something of great interest from someone less prolific.

As an aside, I truly believe that a lot of people who are excessively using Twitter and other social networking sites are or soon will be suffering from a case of Internet addiction. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same group of people has or will experience cubital tunnel problems from cell phone addiction.

By consciously removing myself from the busy distractions of the cyber world, I nourish my soul with the quiet, reflective time of a mental vacation. With daily mental vacations and occasional physical ones, I am rejuvenated and more creative. Even more importantly, I have the quiet time to perceive the guidance I need to reach my destiny.

 

It’s better to give than receive

Buddhist teachings refer to karma, which is the universal law of cause and effect when related to a person’s actions. Kara Edwards recently wrote about karma in her voice-over career, which is a perfect lead-in to my story today.

From childhood, I’ve always heard that it’s better to give than receive. I didn’t understand until the last few years that you actually receive by giving. Whenever I have unselfishly given my time, money and/or energy to another person or charity, I have been rewarded in surprising and unexpected ways. Kara’s story wonderfully illustrates this principle.

About the same time that Kara wrote her entry, I was contacted by a newcomer seeking advice about the voice-over industry. Each week brings similar inquiries, and I admit that I have become somewhat jaded by them. I am perpetually asked what I can do to help the person who called or wrote to me for advice. People seem to want the shortcuts to voice-over success and glory.

This time was different.

This time, the newcomer asked me what she could do to help me.

By asking that one question, she totally changed the direction of the call. That one question made me WANT to help her. My energy in talking to her changed, and my outlook toward helping newcomers was revitalized.

She also sent me a gracious thank-you note in e-mail following our conversation. With her permission, I am quoting her message and my response.

Dear Karen Commins:

Thank you for taking time this morning to answer questions about the voice over industry. I appreciate the advice you have given me and the great ideas you’ve shared.

Once again, please feel free (for free) to take advantage of the extra time I have available right now to be of benefit to you and your business. I have a BA degree in professional sales and marketing and over twenty years of successful sales experience. In addition, I am extremely familiar with following scripts through acting and telemarketing as well as proper diction through extensive vocal performance training in college. I would be willing to give you eight to sixteen hours per week of my time.

Rest assured, I am an honest, trustworthy individual whose only guilty pleasure would be a soap opera or two.

I believe one has to give in order to receive; it is the universal law of sowing and reaping. So, please consider this offer as a way in which I can plant seeds into your business in order that I may reap a harvest sometime later in my career.

All the best,

–Racquel Green, ASR

I responded as follows, with emphasis added in blue to underscore the point of this blog entry:

Racquel, you are a true delight, and you have made my day! Thank YOU for your many kind words and amazing offer of assistance. If you keep offering, somebody will take you up on it! Just don’t let anyone take advantage of you or your time; you need to get something from any business relationship.

I also believe in the universal law of sowing and reaping and can readily see that you will go far. I receive sooo many calls and e-mails from people wanting to get started in voice-over, but they haven’t learned what you already know: You have to give to get. Whatever a person feels is lacking in their world is the very thing they need to give away. You also expressed gratitude, which, again, most people fail to do.

You already have a terrific positive mindset and tremendous marketing expertise. With some training in voice-over techniques, I have every confidence that you will sow a beautiful garden of success!

In giving my permission to quote her, Racquel added:

I understand you are respectfully declining my offer, however, please know it still stands. Also, if you know of any other respected voice over talent in the area who would like to consider my offer would you please let me know?<

If any of you Atlanta voice talent can mentor a bright, upcoming talent as an unpaid intern in your studio, contact me for Racquel’s phone number! Like I said, her genuine and unique approach based on the law of giving and receiving makes me want to help her.

One last word on giving and receiving — You can’t give with the expectation of receiving. Kara and Racquel show us that the karma allows us to receive only when the purest motivations are involved.