Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

Voice-Over

Do You Feel Like Giving Up?

This Date In My History  is an ongoing series of blog posts taken directly from my private journal entries written at least 10 years ago.

TDIMH — Friday 16 April 2004 1:20pm

Sometimes I just feel like giving up.

No, I don’t mean on my life — just on this whole voice-over dream. I allow myself to feel confidence and think that I am talented and a capable engineer until things happen that make me think I am deluding myself.

This week, I’ve had 2 incidents — one minor, one major — that have really made me question myself and make me wonder whether I should quit. Yes, I know that:

  • These stresses are  temporary, a reaction, and something that will pass.
  • I don’t want to get to my later life and think “what if I had kept going with voice-over” or “I wish I had followed my dream”.
  • [I was reminded of] the story about the gold miner who sold his rights after years of fruitless search and frustration, only to discover the next day that the new owner found gold just 3 feet away from where he stopped. You never know how close you are to the gold.
  • And remember Mel Fisher and the Atocha — 17 years before he found it.

However, I also know that my life would be sooo much simpler if I just went to work, came home and watched TV like everyone else.

The minor thing that happened was that [Client A] at [Company A] had some unflattering comments about one of my reads for the commercials. He said it had an accent and asked “where ARE you from?” Since I’m in the speech class to improve, I could laugh at this exchange, especially when he told me that he knew it wasn’t a Southern accent. [My teacher] listened to the read and told me that any time someone hears something different that they label it as an accent.

The major thing that had me questioning this career choice occurred today. The girl at [Company B] called today and said that my files contained way too much sibilance. She said it was distracting to listen to for an hour, and she couldn’t use it the way it is. Great. I had only spent 7+ hours in creating it, and now it has a problem. I told her I’d try to experiment with software to reduce the sibilance.

I was somewhat relieved that she called back a short while later to say that someone has told her it was fine the way it was. On the first call, she said another person said they could hear the sibilance but didn’t find it troubling. She’s working with a contractor who had previous experience with TV, and apparently, the contractor is the one who said it was sibilance and caused by microphone placement.

Of course, these conversations made me feel extremely stressed. Not only am I being told about 2 problems — my incorrect placement when making S sounds and an hour-long presentation that is full of them — but I’m hearing about it while on my day job where I can do absolutely nothing about it.

I had already planned to take 3 hours of leave today so I could [run a bunch of errands] and then find some way to spend an enjoyable few hours….  I did NOT intend to rush home and start working on fixing this sibilance problem.

All the way home, I felt upset thinking about the situation  and wondering if I should just forget my whole dream. I’m tired of struggling all the time. I know that it all should be a learning experience, but I’m tired of learning. When will I be considered the master? I love the voice-over part and wish I could leave the audio engineering to someone else. When will that happen?

I downloaded a de-esser plug-in for Cool Edit and experimented for over 2 hours with it. I forgot to say that when I turned on my computer, I got an email message that seemed to be a direct answer to my thoughts, today’s motivational quote of the day:

You are where you are today
because you’ve chosen to be there.

True, but I didn’t choose to have all these problems.

I sent her a couple of MP3s with the sibilance reduced. I’ve decided that I will send a CD of everything on Monday with the sibilance reduced, with another CD with the files in their original state since I have to record some slides over due to script changes.

I talked to Drew when he got home. Of course, I’m not going to give up. I truly believe that I am destined to be a star. I’m stressed, exhausted, frustrated, needing a vacation desperately, and depressed about Daddy [who had passed away 6 months before this entry], but I’m not willing to give up on my dream.

I think — no, I KNOW — that all of these other factors have made me feel so overwhelmed and cause me to react so negatively to a problem. I need to keep in mind that a problem is just an opportunity to learn something (even if I don’t want to).

Today’s Take-Aways

1.  BREATHE. When you feel overwhelmed or stressed, take a moment to take some good, deep breaths. Chances are that your problem is not as big as it first seems.

2.  At the time, I didn’t understand how much my grief over the loss of my much-beloved dad infiltrated every part of my life. I looked like I normally did. I acted like everything was normal. Inside, though, everything was NOT normal. If you’re grieving, go easy on yourself and postpone any life-changing decisions until you feel stronger.

3.  You also don’t want to make life-changing decisions based on one bad day. Problems are inherent in any job. You have to take the bad with the good, and problems can steer you off course. However, with determination, you can make course corrections and get back on the path of your dream!

4.  You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t occasionally have doubts. It helps to talk to someone you trust and/or write in a journal to remind yourself of all your good qualities and capabilities that will lift you up when you feel like giving up.

5. The real take-away here is that I was much too critical of myself. I could’ve let the OPINION OF ONE PERSON keep me from my dream and my destiny! Don’t give away your power to another person. When it comes to your dream, yours is the only opinion that matters!

Bonus Round of Comments for Voice Talent

I was writing about a problem with sibilance. I actually went back and listened to that 10-year-old file. While I did hear some sibilance on a few words, I’ve heard much worse sibilance issues in new audiobooks from experienced talent! And when you consider the script was as overrun with S sounds as trees in Georgia are choking in kudzu, I’m amazed that I didn’t end up sounding like Sylvester the cat! 🙂

I added a sample here for your reading pleasure; you really need to read it aloud to get the full joy from it. Note that the full script had dozens and dozens of occurrences of Sarbanes-Oxley!

Sarbanes-Oxley aims to increase investor confidence by introducing a whole new level of accountability for senior corporate executives by holding them personally responsible for their company’s financial statements….The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is comprised of 11 distinct areas or titles. Each title contains additional sections which clearly outline responsibilities, requirements, and penalties.


 

Hogan’s Prescription for Success

This Date in My History is a series of blog posts taken from my private journal entries from at least 10 years ago.

TDIMH — Tuesday 20 January 2004 11:18pm on my sofa

When I leave my day job on the day before holidays, vacation, or wonderful Wednesday, I have the lightness of step and giddy heart of a child out of school for the summer. Knowing that I don’t have to get up early tomorrow and go there gives me such joy! It doesn’t even matter that I feel little stress or pressure on the job. I just love my freedom away from it!

I didn’t even mind going to the doctor for a physical this afternoon. It meant I left even earlier and could start wonderful Wednesday even sooner. It also meant I got home earlier than normal.

While I was in the waiting room, I continued to read Harlan Hogan’s book VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-over Actor. Reading his many anecdotes, which, of course, mentioned his clients and credit list along the way, made me feel a bit depressed and discouraged. Sometimes, I feel like I’m a dreamer (on a rough road, to quote the song Swing Street by Barry). I wonder when I’ll get my big break.

However, I was heartened when I read p. 208-210 in his book. He states that we have been taught to ask the big, breakthrough kinds of questions. [He wrote:]

These questions are self-defeating and downright depressing. They are ends, not means.

He talked about Kaizen, which is an ancient Zen philosophy that teaches small, constant improvements by taking tiny steps and asking easy questions to achieve large goals. You should look closely at small, seemingly insignificant details to learn big lessons. [He continued:]

Ask yourself what tiny thing can I do to further my voice-over career today? Keep acquiring and improving the four Ts of voice over — training, talent, tools, and technique — by asking the small questions, taking the small steps, learning each lesson and enjoying the long journey — one session at a time.

I always feel better when I record my activities on my Goals calendar. I get stars for voice-over, and I earn a star almost every day. Some of my activities are pretty small, indeed, but I guess they are better than nothing.

Today’s Take-aways

1.  Do one thing, no matter how small, each day toward your goals. I actually wrote a post on this same topic 5 years ago, which featured a lovely story from Joe Cipriano explaining why it’s important to do something everyday.

2.  You may find it fun and inspirational to track your progress on a calendar. You may even want to give yourself stickers as a small reward for each accomplishment. I got the idea for rewarding myself with stickers on my goals calendar from this post on the Barbara Sher board.  I described how I decorated and used my book in this post. Unfortunately, the links in that post to the pictures no longer work, and I don’t seem to have copies of them to re-upload to my site.

I kept the sticker format for years! I have a binder full of calendars going back to 2003. I stopped keeping a paper calendar in the last couple of years only because I wanted to take less stuff with me on trips. However, I still track my progress every day in an iPad app called Daily Notes. It allows you to create as many tabs as you like so you can track different parts of your life. You also can draw and add pictures, as well as tag and search posts.

3.  I notice in this journal entry that I was once again making comparisons between myself and another voiceover actor. For peace of mind and happiness every day, it’s vital to STOP THE COMPARISONS! Just remember: Comparison is a cancer of the soul.
 

Fall 2013 Audiobook Releases

Kitty Kitty Bang Bang. the third audiobook in Sparkle Abbey’s Pampered Pets series, is now available!

If you like fun, cozy mysteries and/or light-hearted stories about pets, you will really enjoy this book!

Caro Lamont is a pet therapist in Laguna Beach, CA. Her next-door neighbor Kitty Bardot is the publicist to the stars and owner of 2 Bengal cats who paint. Yes, you read it right!

When Kitty Bardot is killed on the way home from the cats’ art exhibition, Caro is left to follow the clues. Meanwhile, one of Carol’s clients is also found dead, and Caro is trying to figure out the cause of both murders.

This was a fun book to read, and I’m looking forward to recording book 4, Yip/Tuck.


 
I also want to announce an audiobook I directed: Plague by Buzz Bernard, narrated by Drew Commins.

This gripping thriller is about a lone-wolf terrorist who plans to unleash the Ebola virus in Atlanta. The horrific descriptions of how the virus ravages its victims are definitely NOT what you want to hear at bedtime!

CDC virologist Dr. Dwight Butler finds instances of the virus at local hospitals and begins a frantic search to find the source before a terrible pandemic can occur.

Meanwhile, Richard Wainwright, interim CEO of BioDawn, learns that the plane crash that killed all of the company’s executives may be tied to the threat. He is stalked by a hit woman and becomes the main suspect in the murder of his assistant.

Buzz Bernard is a former weather forecaster who lives nearby, and we particularly enjoyed his unique and clever metaphors to weather terms throughout the story. Also, since we’re both Atlanta natives, we appreciated the accuracy of his references to the places around town.

While this is Drew’s first solo narration, he is no stranger to audiobooks! He has directed all of my audiobooks and voiced the male characters in our super fun Blue Suede Memphis cozy mysteries. Switching roles for this book gave us a great appreciation for the different skills required in our normal capacities!

This audiobook is 9 hours and 41 minutes and is sure to make you break out in a sweat (and start looking over your shoulder) on these cold days!


 
My latest release id Dirty Harriet by Miriam Auerbach, the first book in a funny chick lit series.

Former Boca Babe Harriet “Dirty Harriet” Horowitz is now a Biker Babe. Go ahead. Make her day.

“Dirty Harriet” had it all. Money. Plastic Surgery. Servants. Then her husband raised his fist one time too many, and she shot and killed him.

Now, she lives in the South Florida swamps, rides a Harley, and owns a private eye agency to investigate scams. When the Countess von Phul asks her to solve a murder, will Harriet escape with her life?

I had a great time narrating this book and was delighted to receive a lovely note from the author, quoted here with her permission:

Just recently had the chance to finish listening to your narration of my book and would like to give you a big THANK YOU!  I am so delighted with your voices!  I will say that Lana the alligator was my favorite voice.  Pitch-perfect, as they say.  You really captured that gator’s attitude!


 

TDIMH — Place Your Order With the Universe

My continuing series of my past journal entries — This Date in My History

 

Wednesday 20 Nov., 2002 9:35pm on my sofa in front of the fire

 

Today’s word is disappointment.

 

I was disappointed to wake up and realize it’s only Wednesday; the preceding 2 days seemed long enough to be a week. I was disappointed to learn we did not win the lottery last night, and I have to go to work. I’m disappointed that my headache came back today.

 

The biggest disappointment, though, were the calls from [a potential client] telling me that he wouldn’t use me for the commercial after all. The regular talent will be back in town tomorrow, so, of course, she gets the gig.

 

I did make 2 follow up calls, and I sent 5-6 follow up emails. I guess I’ll just have to make my own luck. I like the quote yesterday in my 28 Days marketing book:

 

When doing business with the Universe, remember you must place an order if you want to get a delivery.

 

I think I’ve placed my order many, many times, so I keep wondering when it will be filled. I have to trust that things will happen in their own good time and when I’m ready. (I think I’m ready now if that makes a difference!)

 

Today’s Take-aways

 

These aren’t so much take-aways from the entry I copied as things I’ve learned about the Laws of Attraction and Creation since I wrote it.

 

1. “You can’t achieve victory if you’re constantly talking defeat.”  — Joel Osteen

“What you think about expands” — Wayne Dyer

 

We all have disappointments in life. Dwelling on them will only ensure that the Universe serves up more disappointments to us. I wrote a blog entry titled Think/Write/Speak what you WANT into Being that goes into greater detail about changing your thoughts to a more positive pattern.

 

2. When we place our order to the Universe, we don’t know WHEN or HOW it will materialize. We waste valuable energy worrying about the WHEN or HOW. Instead of concerning ourselves with those two unknowable things, it’s important to continue taking steps and doing our best each day toward our dreams. When the Universe is free to deliver our order in the time and way that is best for us, the outcome will be better than we could have thought possible!

 

The Ole Miss Hotty Toddy Cheer

A friend’s daughter has recently started college. She’s living on campus, which is something I didn’t do. In fact, she traveled around to universities in several states to pick the right campus for her.

 

I only applied to one college and commuted here in Atlanta. While I got a great education and never regretted my choice, hearing about this girl’s experiences both in picking and living at college have made me think about things I may have missed in my college years.

 

One thing I missed was going to football games. My college didn’t have a football team. I had played piccolo in high school marching band and would have enjoyed playing in the band on college football Saturdays.

 

A big advantage to being an audiobook narrator is that I can vicariously live through other people, even when they are fictional characters. For instance, in the fun, cozy Dixie Diva mysteries,  Trinket Truevine, the first person narrator, and her cousin/best friend Bitty Hollandale went to Ole Miss. In fact, the latest book in the series Divas and Dead Rebels revolves around a dead professor on campus.

 

In one scene, the ladies attend a tailgating party at The Grove. I decided to make a video of that scene for an audiobook trailer and was thrilled to do the Hotty Toddy cheer for Ole Miss right along with some students!

 

 

“Dear Elected Official” Recorded for Going Public Project

Before transitioning to fulltime voiceover and audiobook narration at the beginning of last year, I worked an entire other career with the federal government.

 

As a federal employee for over 3 decades, I was used to hearing about the bickering and being subjected to the whims of Congress. The federal government runs on an October-September fiscal year. Every summer, we would wonder when the Agency budget would be passed so that we could make our budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. Even simple things like supply orders to get more printer paper could not be submitted without funding.

 

Government shutdowns were threatened many times over the course of my long career. The news people say a 3-week shutdown occurred in the ’90s, but my friends and I don’t remember being out of work for 3 weeks. We only remember being furloughed for a few days, so we think our Agency appropriations bill was finalized ahead of others.

 

If you’ll pardon a tangent, let me just say that everyone I knew worked extremely hard and undertook their tasks with seriousness and great efficiency. Those who say that government employees are lazy and inefficient have never worked there! Most of the government employees have college or even advanced degrees and are doing highly specialized work.

 

Furthermore, the American public does not understand that the term non-essential employee does NOT mean that the employee does not have an important, necessary, and valuable job to do. (As the Washington Post reported last week, the term has cut deep into the morale of the federal workforce, which has been repeatedly trampled on by Congress: over 3 years of frozen pay, limited hiring ability, and numerous furlough days this year due to the Sequester.) It is really an old term used to indicate exceptions in the event of a furlough due to financial reasons or those who must report during an emergency. I saw a comment from a manager at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission who is furloughed during the shutdown. He noted that your views of how essential his job is might depend on your proximity to a nuclear facility.

 

Anyway, while we eventually did get paid for the period we were unable to work during a shutdown, we had no guarantee of payment. We were always fearful that we wouldn’t be paid. We also wouldn’t know when we would be called back to work. It’s not like you would go on a vacation when a shutdown loomed. By the way, almost ONE MILLION people across the country are furloughed this week. The longer the shutdown lasts, the bigger the hit to the US economy from all those workers who are not getting paid and therefore not spending money.

 

In addition, even the threat of a shut down meant a tremendous loss of productivity, which is a complete waste of tax dollars. You can’t go about your day as normal if you think you have to shutter the operations for an undetermined period of time. I was in IT, and we had to take extra measures (which used more tax dollars) to do things like run back-up tapes early and ship them off-site before the regularly scheduled day. The fact that Congress invariably would pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) at 11:59pm on the deadline day would make you all too aware of your position as a pawn in their game.

 

To continue with our civics lesson, both branches of Congress have to enact a budget. However, they have not done so in recent years, instead passing successive CRs to keep the government operational.

 

Congress could pass a CR this time just like it has many, MANY times in the past, but certain factions in the House are insisting that the Affordable Care Act  (ACA) be defunded before agreeing to pass the CR. The ACA is a law, not a negotiation point in the budget process. If they want to change or repeal the law, they should follow established procedures like they have tried to do over 40 other times for this one law. The Supreme Court has even declared this law to be constitutional, yet some people are as obsessed over this one law as my dog is over chasing chipmunks.

 

Even before I left the government, I endured numerous rounds of these politically-created crises, though none seemed quite as contentious and divisive as this one. I didn’t voice my opinions to my Congress people for a few reasons:

 

1) I didn’t think I could make a difference.

2) I didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize my job.

3) Just thinking about Congress not doing THE MAIN THING it is supposed to do gives me a headache.

 

Since I am now a freelance voice talent, one of these reasons is no longer valid. I still may get headaches and not be able to make a difference, but I’ve decided I will be silent no longer!

 

As I was adding my comments to the Facebook page for Saxby Chambliss, one of my US Senators from Georgia, I found this letter from The American Taxpayer in a previous response and recorded it for the Going Public Project.

 

No matter how you voted or what you think about the current issue, we can all find common ground over the fact that taxpayers pay the salaries of those in Congress. Perhaps it’s time we taxpayers start looking for people who can work together to get the job done. If you agree, please share this message and recording with your networks.

 

I have always focused this blog on the topics of voiceover, audiobooks, and marketing. I promise to get back to those topics in my next article and truly appreciate your indulgence in reading my only political post in over 7 years of writing this blog.

 

Just remember:

“United we stand, divided we fall”

— Aesop