Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

Narrators

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.

 

Resonance between harp and voice-over

I had planned to write about an incident with karma, but that’s not the voice-over story that wants to be told today. In 1995, I fell in love while at the Stone Mountain Highland Games. Drew and I were walking through the clan and exhibits area when I heard a pleasant, tinkling sound in the breeze. I followed the sound and was delighted to discover a tent where harpists had gathered and were playing their instruments. I immediately knew that I had to get that sound in my life, so I did what anyone would do in the circumstances: I bought a small harp.

Playing the harp immediately became one of my passions. In 2000, I was thrilled to buy my first and only pedal harp, a magnificent 44-string Camac Clio.

HarpForBlog.jpg

My Camac Clio harp in my music room

When I started playing the harp, I was exercising my desire to do voice work by volunteering for the Georgia Radio Reading Service, which I did for 5 years. I still was a few years away from making the decision to become a voice artist and creating my first demo. Learning to play the harp taught me 5 things every aspiring voice talent should know.

1) If it were easy, everybody would do it.

If someone learns I play harp, the inevitable first question is: Isn’t it hard to play? I always answer that harp is like anything else. It takes continuous practice, and I think it probably takes a lifetime to master if you want to do it well. You always have room to evolve and improve.

If someone learns I am a voice-over talent, the inevitable first question is: People have always told me I have a nice voice. How can I get started in voice-over? Most people assume that voice-over work is as easy as speaking. My answer to the harp people would also work here. I always advise people to start with a book from my recommended reading list and practice reading everything aloud: newspapers, billboards, cereal boxes, shampoo bottles, etc. If a person doesn’t want to read, as evidenced in a common approach from newcomers described Rowell Gormon’s hilarious blog post, I truly can’t imagine how they would become successful in voice-over — a career that is based on reading!

2) You’ll go further and faster if you learn from an experienced teacher.

I knew how to read music, and I had taught myself to play oboe and flute when I was in high school. I naturally thought that learning the harp would be snap, or at least a graceful flick of the wrist. Once I discovered that I could only go far with the information in a book, I decided to take harp lessons.

I called a few universities to learn of harp teachers in the area and was referred to the fantastic Monica Hargrave. For about 3 years, I thoroughly enjoyed my weekly lessons with Monica. I learned proper technique and confidence-building measures. I learned how to take music apart in order to practice and master it. Without Monica’s steady encouragement and advice, I doubt I would have had the confidence and skills needed to play harp at my brother’s wedding.

While the books on voice-over give you a great overview of the industry and/or exposure to a particular skill set, an experienced voice-over coach shows you how to break apart a script in order to serve the client’s goal in communication. Your confidence grows as you learn techniques necessary to thrive in the business. You can create and market a demo secure in the knowledge that you can recreate any cut from it on cue.

We don’t hear ourselves as others hear us, and it can be easy to fall into bad habits. Like professional sports players, professional voice talent still need to practice and get feedback from a coach.

3) You don’t have to make money or become famous from everything you do.

The second inevitable question that people ask me about the harp is: Do you play in the symphony? Most people have only seen harps at a concert. They seem shocked when I tell them that I only play harp in my house, as if they don’t understand how I could play an expensive instrument simply for the love of it.

The second inevitable question that people ask me about my voice-over career is: Where have I heard you? Most people tend to associate voice actors only with the celebrities making big bucks working in cartoons and movies. They seem disappointed when I tell them that I primarily voice corporate training and marketing modules.

I do make money in voice-over, but I’m not famous – yet! 🙂 I don’t do voice work solely for the money, though. I do it because I have an inner calling to do it. You’ll never go to the theater and see the training video on insecticide application prepared for highway workers with the Georgia DOT, but I’m proud to be the one who narrated it.

4) Practice alone does not equate perfection.

Due to my busy schedule, I currently don’t take harp lessons or even make time to play my harp with regular frequency. Whether it’s harp or voice-over technique, repetitive practice will build muscle memory. However, performances based solely on muscle memory are dull and lifeless, not to mention subject to more mistakes. It’s the emotional connection to either the music or script that makes the performance memorable.

5) Listen and learn from others in your field without negatively comparing yourself.

No matter how good you are or how much you accomplish, you always can learn more and improve by listening to others. I have a 100 or more harp CDs, and I see harpists in concert when possible.

In voice-over, I actively listen to radio and TV commercials. I avidly listen to audiobooks. I still listen to voice talent demos on Voicebank. I consciously listen to narrations for shows on the Discovery, History, and Travel TV channels. While audiobooks and TV programs are entertaining, I like to hear the pacing, characterization, and pronunciation of the voice talent booked in areas where I am focusing my career.

I have different levels of expertise in harp and voice-over. Listening to others doesn’t make me feel discouraged about my level of achievement. Instead, I feel inspired. If something is possible for someone else, it’s possible for me.

In either case, I am reminded of a quote from Pat Conroy:

I was a baitfish struggling upstream with the leaping wild salmon,
but I was swimming in the same river and happy to be there.

 

SaveSave

For love…or money?

A while back, I wrote about offering unsolicited advice to anyone, especially potential or existing voice-over clients. Today, I have a story about solicited marketing advice that has made my day!

I have previously mentioned Henriette Klauser’s wonderful book Write It Down, Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It. The author provides a variety of writing method which can be emulated to reach your own success. I am a firm believer in the process and consequently find myself writing almost every day, most often in some sort of journal.

I have journals for my voice-over career, my harp practice, design of my dream house, books I’ve read, and, most importantly, my everyday life. Given that I like to write as much as I do, it should not surprise you to know that I enjoy writing with fine pens.

In the last couple of years, Drew and I have become passionate about fountain pens, and we have assembled a small collection. We were therefore were excited to go to our first pen show, which was held in Atlanta this past April.

My favorite color is purple, and I fell in love with this luscious fountain pen the moment I walked in the door.

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Taccia prototype fountain pen on display at Atlanta Pen Show

Part of my everyday journal entry for that day relates to this fountain pen and today’s marketing story:

Pen Show journal entry.jpg

Part of my journal entry from Saturday, 5 April 2008

As you can read, I found myself talking with the Taccia company president, who told me that the pen was a prototype for which a name had not been determined. She was asking for input on the names for the 4 pens in this new collection. On my way home, I thought of a name for the collection and for the individual pens, and I discussed them with her when I returned to the show the next day.

She was very appreciative of my ideas and insisted on giving me a Taccia leather pen case. Most people don’t value ideas unless they pay for them. She didn’t have to give me anything, so her gift of the pen case was generous and representative of good karma. (Stay tuned for an upcoming story about karma.)

I had forgotten this incident until I was reminded of that pen yesterday. When I looked at Taccia’s web site, I was thrilled to discover that most of my idea for these pens had been implemented!

The Taccia Nightlife Collection is available
in NYC Blue, Golden Gate Copper, Vegas Sage, and Paris Lilac.

The collection name is a little different, and the copper color changed to another city. Still, the concept and names of the other cities are true to the ideas I presented.

If you’ve read this far, you may be wondering how this marketing story helped my voice-over career. Actually, I never thought that it would. I’m telling it for 3 reasons:

1) I’m proud and happy that a company chose to use some of my marketing ideas.
2) Everything I do isn’t about me or my voice-over career. I like to help others as good citizen of the world.
3) I love and am good at marketing but don’t need or want to make it my career.

I want to write for a minute about this last point. I have been told countless times in my life that I am good at marketing. People tell me that I should work for an ad agency. While I love marketing, I don’t want to make it my career. Just because you love something or are good at it doesn’t mean that you have to make it a career, or even do it for money. Our society gives the message that the only things worth doing are those which make money. However, it really is okay to do things just because you love doing them!

I believe that if you do something just because someone else thinks that you can make some money from it, you may find yourself feeling miserable much of the time. Almost every day, I hear from someone who wants to become a voice-over talent because they have been told they have a nice voice. They want to use their nice voice to make money.

To my ear, most people have nice-sounding voices. It’s what you can DO with your voice in transparently interpreting the client’s copy that can possibly earn money for you. Since it takes time, money and energy for classes and demo production, I always recommend that newcomers start with a book from my recommended reading list.

If you want to become a professional voice-over artist, you will be someone who runs a business and constantly markets yourself and that business. If you aren’t prepared or don’t want to operate as a business person, you still can use your very nice voice to volunteer to read/record for the blind, tell stories to children at libraries and hospitals, announce sporting events in your community, be a political activist, etc. In other words, use your voice and time in ways that you love and not just because someone else made you think that you can make some easy money as a voice-over talent.

To finish with the pen story, I already own 2 Taccia fountain pens, and you can be sure that I soon will own a third — the Paris Lilac that I named! 🙂