Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

Voice-Over

Power of “I AM” in Maintaining a Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is one thing that people always advise you to have when starting or pursuing a voice-over career. You probably even think you have one. I thought I did….until I realized just how pervasive our negative thoughts and words really are.

For instance, in one of the on-line voice-over forums, we were discussing an audio recording technique. Someone made a comment like “I could kick myself that I wasn’t smart enough to figure it out for myself.”

We think and say things like that all of the time without ever realizing the negative energy lurking in our words.

That particular example is a double negation of self. First, the “kick myself” part could cause you to feel actual pain in your body. Your ears are listening to every word that comes out of your mouth. Your brain is processing those words and may interpret them as commands.

Some very common phrases that people use without thinking can cause mental or physical pain, especially when repeated and said with emotion:

  • Someone is a pain in the neck or butt.
  • I’d give my right arm for that.
  • That thing is to die for.
  • I am blown away by that.
  • That person is driving me crazy.
  • That situation is on my last nerve.
  • I love that person to death.

The “I wasn’t smart enough” part of the forum comment is the part I really want to discuss today. Saying “I wasn’t smart enough” re-inforces a negative belief system. If the person thinks they weren’t smart enough for one thing, maybe they start thinking they aren’t smart enough for other things as well.

When I’m around people who put forth such comments, I offer them a different perspective. I urge them to think and speak kindly of themselves. Rather than saying “I wasn’t not smart enough”, the person in the example could instead think something like “I had a good workflow but am happy to learn an easier way to do it.”

Vigilance is necessary when monitoring your thoughts. We can’t help that first, unbidden, unwelcome thought. Two steps are necessary to maintain a positive attitude after having it:
  1. Don’t say it! Saying the thought gives it a life out in the Universe. What you put out in the world comes back to you, probably in ways you didn’t expect.
  2. Think a different, BETTER-feeling thought as your next thought. This is your life, and your thoughts and words are your script. As Joel Osteen advises, don’t use your words to describe the situation. Use your words to change the situation.

Lately, I started to question whether I have lost my ambition or motivation. This negative thought only came to me when I looked at this blog and realized that I have not written a post of substance in 3 months.

It was bad enough to think it, let alone say it. Saying it gives it creative power!

When I heard myself say these things about myself, I felt bad. I felt discouraged. That’s what these insidious negative thoughts do — they make us feel bad and may paralyze us from reaching our destiny!

The bad thoughts and feelings multiplied even though all other evidence about my ambition and motivation told me both were in overflowing abundance:

If I had repeatedly said “I am not motivated” or “I lack ambition”, those statements — like all words we speak — would have become a self-fulfilling prophecy!

I’ve been writing this blog for 6 years and previously had missed only 2 months (August 2009 and November 2011) when I didn’t have at least one new post. Those missed months followed major life changes for me. When I really thought about my motivation and ambition, I realized I have not lost either. Instead, I’ve gained new freedoms I previously had only imagined.

I’m still adjusting to being a full-time voice actor and audiobook narrator. My new role means that I can go to breakfast, shopping, or to a movie with Drew any day of the week. I can take a nap any time I want. With another big change in my life, it’s natural that other changes would occur, like writing less frequently on this blog.

This picture recently was shared on Facebook and nicely sums up this post:


The key is to keep reminding yourself of all the positive things you are. I have been writing a growing list of “I AM” statements, like I am talented, I am creative, and I am blessed. I pull out the list when I feel negativity creeping into my thoughts.

As you might have guessed, the last 2 statements that I added to my list are:

I am ambitious.

I am motivated.

If you’ll start keeping a list of “I AM” statements and repeating them to yourself, you’ll find that you’ll have more than a positive attitude. You’ll have a positive MINDSET!

 

Where does the time go?

As the excellent voice-over talent says in this Staples commercial, “in a small business, it’s all you.”

I laugh each time I see this ad because I relate a lot to Dave these days!

The past 2 months have been wonderfully busy. I’ve done full production on 3 audiobooks; the finished time of each ranged from 9.5 hours to almost 13 hours. I also worked with my web designer in creating a new audiobooks site to showcase my work in this area.

With all of these big projects, I haven’t had much time to write articles here on the blog.

I am developing several ideas and expect to post a new article in the next week or so.

Thanks for your patience during my absence. I’d love to hear from you about your projects, so please leave a comment on the blog!
 

Recent audiobooks

The new year has started off with a burst of audiobook work! I’m excited to report that 2 books I narrated are now available for digital download on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.

It’s Never Too Late To Be What You Might Have Been

It's Never Too Late.jpg

This audiobook is actually the perfect title for this exciting, new phase in my life. IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN by the wonderful storyteller B.J. Gallagher is full of inspiring interviews with people aged 40 and higher who have made dramatic changes in their lives in order to make their dreams come true.

Not only are the stories interesting and inspirational, but each chapter ends with some specific tips for making similar changes in your own life.

Recording this particular book was a gift to me because I benefitted from reading the chapters on wealth and fitness. Chellie Campbell was profiled in the chapter on attaining wealth. Thanks to her list of 50 abundance affirmations, my new mantra is “People just love to give me money!” Since I’ve started saying it, it seems to be coming true! 🙂

It’s never too late to have the dream career, attain wealth, fall in love, be healthy, and more! This audiobook may be just the right thing to help you start living the life you were meant to lead!

Dixie Divas

Dixie Divas.jpgWhat could be more fun and intriguing than a murder mystery that starts with a pot of chicken and dumplings?

Award-winning and prolific novelist Virginia Brown has cooked up a delicious tale about a close-knit group of Southern women who call themselves the Dixie Divas. The Divas gather for chocolate, conversation, and carrying a dead body around town. If you want to know what else happens at a Divas meeting, you’ll just have to hear the book!

I loved the characters and vivid descriptions of their charming Mississippi town. My director and I had to stop recording several times because we cracked up over the dialogue! This audiobook is the perfect companion for your spring break or summer trips when you want to entertained while relaxing by the pool or ocean. At almost 13 hours, it’s a terrific audiobook to enjoy on long car trips or while doing housework or walking the dog.

After only 2 weeks for sale, this audiobook is currently the #1 bestseller on Audible in the Chick Lit category! I’m also thrilled and honored that the publisher has asked me to narrate the 2nd and 3rd books in the series. Those titles should be available in early summer.

Speaking of which, it’s time to head back into the studio — the Divas await!

What’s holding you back?

This post will be short, but it contains one of the powerful lessons I’ve learned. It has taken me a long time to realize that my 2 biggest obstacles were mental and of my own doing:

  1. frustration about what I thought I hadn’t achieved and my perceived lack of time to achieve it
  2. comparisons to others and jealousy about their success (frustration’s wicked twin sibling).

The day job wasn’t the obstacle

For years, I blamed my day job for holding me back from achieving the success I wanted in voice-over. Sure, it was difficult to work 2 jobs for 12 years:

  • It was physically demanding to work a full day and then come home and do marketing, recording, and editing on evenings and weekends to further my voiceover career.
  • The job itself was mentally draining because I worked for 25 years as an IT specialist who was responsible for the end user hardware and software, computer networks, and email systems. I had a problem-solving job that required constant communication with the customers. This job also occasionally caused me to work late or on weekends, disrupting any other plan.
  • I wrote on my blog about my feelings of being a secret agent in both the day job and voiceover camps. Note my comment on that post about:

A) how to manage voiceover clients while working full-time, and
B) not letting fear and a scarcity mentality cause you to make bad decisions.

You may be amused at a journal entry about frustration that I included in this blog post. What I didn’t say in that post was that I was frustrated because I had the full-time job and felt the time spent there could be better and more enjoyably spent on voiceover marketing and gigs.

Be aware of the Law of Paradoxical Intent

The frustration and comparisons/jealousy are self-defeating attitudes that cause you to feel desperate and set up the Law of Paradoxical Intent in your life. If you only read one of the links I’m providing here, make it this one. It explains how the more desperate you become about achieving your goal, the more you push it away.< I've written several times about the negative effects of comparing yourself to others and ways to stop the insanity:


It’s all too easy to make comparisons to other people and then measure your success only on the income you generated in voiceover or the biggest name client that you have. The comparisons only keep you focused on a perceived lack. As Eckhart Tolle beautifully explains in the passage I excerpted in this post, since what you think about expands, focusing on what you think you lack will only ensure that MORE lack will come into your life!

Someone recently left a comment on my blog about their own frustration. My comment back to them is sort of the blueprint I’ve learned and followed to overcome the frustration and accept my life.

ACCEPTANCE is the key

Acceptance of your life is the key to being in the flow and receiving the good that is yours!

It was only after I accepted my life as it was — complete with the day job — in the last several years that things really started to move quickly for me. Part of that acceptance meant that I made conscious and continuous effort to be grateful for all of the many blessings that I received as a result of my day job.

I got a clear sign from the Universe about making the leap to full-time voiceover. I didn’t have to force anything to happen. I’ve found that if I’m forcing the solution, the outcome is not the best that I could have. You have to know that the Universe is always orchestrating the right action in your life.

I can’t say that I’m always perfect in maintaining the right attitude. However, my lapses to the dark side are more infrequent and last a much shorter amount of time when they do occur.

What’s holding you back? I’d love to get your comments about these thoughts!
 

Are you looking for a mentor in voiceover?

Just about every week, I receive email from someone who is interested in starting a career in voiceover. Lately, I’ve noticed that more and more people are writing to me and asking for a mentor to help them get started.

While it’s certainly a flattering request, whenever the word mentor is mentioned in an introductory email, I am flooded with a torrent of not-so-kind thoughts:

  • It’s all about their wants and not at all about me.
  • They haven’t read a single one of my blog articles (2 good places to start would be So you want to get into voiceovers? and Thinking about starting a voiceover career?).
  • I’m not sure why they think I am the right person to help them.
  • I don’t know why they think I should want to help them.
  • The person has no clue about what is involved in working as a voice talent.
  • They want me to tell them everything I know about working in voiceover as quickly as possible.
  • They expect me to invest my time in furthering their career, with my only form of compensation being my joy in helping them succeed.
  • They want me to introduce or refer them to my contacts and launch their successful career, similar to how a debutante is presented to society.
  • They want validation that they are doing the right thing, and all their dreams really will come true.

In short, the word mentor is so loaded with connotations that it makes me want to run in the opposite direction!

Of course, everybody needs help sometimes. It feels good to be able to help someone along the way and make a difference in their lives. I also know first-hand how fantastic it feels to receive key advice from someone whom you admire and respect. However, people are approaching the mentor question way too soon and in the wrong way.

After doing some research, here are 3 things to know about finding a mentor:

1)  You first must assess the kind of help that you need.

In his excellent article for the Huffington Post, Steve Blank points out this important distinction between teachers, coaches, and mentors:

    • If you want to learn a specific subject, find a teacher. 
    • If you want to hone specific skills or reach an exact goal, hire a coach. 
    • If you want to get smarter and better over your career, find someone who cares about you enough to be a mentor [my emphasis].

    When newcomers write to me saying they are looking for a mentor, they really should be looking for a teacher.

    My friend Bob Souer is one person in the voiceover world who is universally admired and respected. He is an exceptional voice talent who is unfailingly kind and generous to each person he meets. Since I knew he occasionally has chosen to mentor some people, I asked him how and why he decided to become a mentor. He quickly responded and graciously gave me permission to quote him here. His comments illustrate Blank’s 3rd point:

    The people I’ve chosen to mentor have each had their own story. 

    Some have been people with whom I had an established friendship, then (when I saw them struggling and thought I might be able to help) I’ve offered that help. For a few others, they’ve approached me with a specific question and after answering that question and after some further conversation, I’ve chosen to continue the relationship in a mentoring capacity for a season.

    Maybe the best way to describe the process for me is that right about the time someone reaches the point that they don’t need my help as much, someone else will come along who does. I have no formally established pattern and don’t plan to make one.

    In the 25+ years that I’ve been doing voiceovers professionally, I’ve been offered help more times than I can count. I feel a strong sense of obligation to provide help to others I encounter along the way, who need it.

    However, it does very little good to approach me and ask me to be a mentor because I turn down most of the people who ask. 

    Blank states that “a mentor relationship is a two-way street. To make it work, you have to bring something to the party… [be] “prepared to give as good as you get.”

    2)  You must identify your weaknesses and then research potential mentors in order to determine the person who is best able to provide the help you seek. 

    Steven K. Scott includes a terrific chapter about recruiting mentors in his book Simple Steps to Impossible Dreams: The 15 Power Secrets of the World’s Most Successful People. He gives a detailed, 10-step strategy for identifying and recruiting mentors. The strategy requires that you thoroughly research the potential mentors and be able to pinpoint qualities that you admire. When you approach the person, you will want to be able to explain how you would like to make their admired qualities a part of your life.

    Yes, finding a good mentor in the traditional sense can be a very time-consuming proposition. However, you can be mentored by many people in a more passive sense. Often, a voiceover teacher or coach may provide informal and occasional mentoring by listening to a demo or answering questions.

    3)  You don’t have to meet or have a conversation with your mentor(s) in order to learn from them.

    This thought may surprise you at first. Scott illustrated this point in a story about a woman who wanted to improve her marriage. She identified family counselor and best-selling author Gary Smalley at the top of her list of perfect mentors:

    She recruited him by reading his books and viewing his tapes…Reading Gary’s books and viewing his tapes was in some ways even better than meeting with him because she could do them at her own pace, taking as much time as she wanted.

    We live in the Information Age. No matter what your interest, at least one on-line forum exists to discuss it. Voice talent can join a plethora of on-line communities dedicated to voice-over, segments of voice work like audiobook narration or character acting, audio engineering, etc. These forums are populated with people having all levels of experience and are great places to sit at the virtual feet of masters.

    If sitting at their virtual feet is good, listening to them is even better. Whatever category of voiceover work (audiobooks, video games, cartoons, telephony, documentary, etc.) mosts interests you, you need to be a listener of that category.

    In her excellent article The Company You Keep, Barbara Winter points out that you should “study those who have done what you want to do” in order to meet with the greatest success. I had an epiphany when reading her wise words and wrote in my journal:

    With that in mind, I realize I need and want to be an active audiobook listener. I think the last one I heard was in Hawaii last year. [I immediately downloaded a book from the library and] will be listening to the phrasing and pauses as much or more than the accent. 

    I will listen to an audiobook every day…It’s another good way to prepare for the audiobook success and constant work that is coming to me. 

    Since that day in May 2011, I have listened to audiobooks while I walk my dog or swim.  I have heard 14 audiobooks and substantial parts of several more. Not only have I been studying and learning from the technical aspects of each narrator and production, but the avid reader in me is thrilled to be even more immersed in books!

    Whether you’re new to voiceover or have been in the industry for years, I hope these 3 tips will help you find the people who can help you move toward your destiny! I’d love to get your thoughts about the mentors you have had, so please leave a comment on the blog.

    Photo:  iStockPhoto/Shane O’Brien
     

To voice Royalty-Share Audiobooks… or not. That is the question.

Many new audiobook publishers are only offering a royalty-share model of payment. In this model, the narrator is not paid anything up front and is instead paid a percentage of royalties based on the sales of the audiobook.

Is a 50-50 split on royalties right for you?

 
Some people would get irate at the very idea of doing any work without guaranteed payment. They would rant and rave that taking a royalty-share deal makes one a low-baller, someone who is selfishly going to destroy the whole voiceover industry by not charging the appropriate rate.

I’ve seen these kinds of arguments in on-line voiceover forums so many times, and I’m not looking to start one here! It’s my intention to present reasons on both sides of the table to help you make an informed decision.

Many voice talent are understandably reluctant to undertake this kind of work due to the tremendous amount of time required to produce a quality audiobook.

I can think of 4 other big reasons not to accept a royalty-share agreement:

1) The material doesn’t interest me.

I am very selective about the scripts I perform, especially when it comes to an audiobook. Since you aren’t guaranteed to make any money, the book can truly be considered a labor of love. Still, I want my audiobooks to emphasize the LOVE part and not the LABOR!

Although I didn’t know it when I accepted the projects, the first 2 audiobooks I performed were thinly veiled religious sermons. They also contained about 80% dialogue with a lot of “walk-on” characters whose sole purpose was to advance the plot. I truly struggled in my motivation to finish the books.

After those experiences, I know to use the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon to see how the book flows. If the book looks unappealing, it’s not worth it to me to spend my time on it, regardless of whether I’m paid per finished hour or on a royalty-share basis.

2) The material is not suited for audio.

Point number 3 in this article will give you an idea of the kinds of books that wouldn’t make good audiobooks.

3) The audio publisher has limited distribution methods.

I have accepted royalty-share agreements on ACX.com because Audible.com is the undisputed leader of audiobook distribution. I know my audiobooks will be distributed on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. I also can have faith in Audible’s accounting and payment processes.

I have passed on royalty-share agreements offered by new publishers with no track record.

4) You have responsibility for all of the roles: narrator, audio engineer, producer, director, pronunciation researcher, quality control listener, and marketer. If you can’t outsource some of the functions, do you have the time and are you comfortable in performing all of them? 

On the other hand, I can also think of 5 good reasons to accept a royalty-share narration:

1) You can create something of permanence that will be enjoyed for years to come. 

Not only are the listeners able to enjoy your audiobook, but you may find that you enjoy a recurring, passive income stream from its sales.

2) It’s a great way to improve your workflow and become a specialist.

You also can explore new genres to see how well you like the material.

3) Productivity equals success. 

According to Lee Tobin McClain in her article The Key to Success: Write More!: Artistic and scientific achievers from Picasso to Da Vinci didn’t succeed more, percentage-wise, than other now-unknown creators of their eras; they simply produced more, and thus had more successes. 

She goes on to offer 8 ways to increase your productivity. While her tips are aimed at writers, voice talent can extrapolate from them and apply the ideas to our businesses.

For instance, you can build an expectant audience (i.e., a fan base) with a royalty-share book. I actually did this with a book I performed for LibriVox. I’ve seen reviews of the book and even received fan mail!

4) What you put out in the world comes back to you.

I gave that LibriVox audiobook to the world after reading the advice of Eckhart Tolle. I’ve decided that I would rather get a commercial credit on a royalty-share audiobook than produce another book for the public domain. I have seen my LibriVox audiobook for sale on eBay, but that point doesn’t trouble me.

The commercial credits are important so that I can become an Audible Approved Producer and meet membership requirements for The Recording Academy. Nobody cares how or when I was paid for my commercial credits.

5) You’re planting seeds for a future harvest. You never know where the decision will lead.

In his wonderful autobiography Up Till Now, William Shatner wasn’t talking about audiobooks when he wrote these compelling words, yet his wisdom about taking risks certainly applies to this situation:

In 1968 Decca Records asked me if I was interested in doing an album. I hesitated, I wasn’t a singer — but then it was pointed out to me that the first note in the musical scale is do… 

What I decided to was find a selection of beautiful writing and use that as a lead-in to a song that complemented it…Apparently it was a bit obtuse…for most people…. 

I’d taken a creative risk. I’d tried to do something unique, something very different. And I’d learned very early in my acting career that you can’t improve without taking risks… 

Decades later, my debut album “The Transformed Man” would lead directly to one of the most successful commercial ventures of my career — and another album!… 

It turned out that the copywriter on the [Priceline] account, Ernest Lupinacci, was a big fan of my 1968 album “The Transformed Man”. 

I am absolutely fascinated as I look over my shoulder at my past at how the simplest decisions I’ve made have had the most complex reactions. A career is a series of connected events. So when I turned down an offer, I wasn’t simply rejecting a job and paycheck, I was completely eliminating the possibility that it might lead to something else. When you turn down an opportunity to work, you’re also turning down an experience, maybe even an adventure, and a universe of possibilities.

Two footnotes on Shatner’s story:

  • I recommend that you listen to his audiobook rather than read the book. Hearing him tell his story in his often-imitated but imcomparable style is a true pleasure!
  • That fabulous gig as Priceline’s spokesperson is about to end, but it lasted for 14 YEARS! Think how much money he made just from that one enterprise! And he never would have had it if he hadn’t taken a risk.

I’m not saying that people shouldn’t expect payment up-front for an audiobook. I am simply encouraging you to explore the possibility of narrating a book on a royalty-share agreement. Only you can decide how best to build your business. You may find that doing one or more royalty-share audiobooks is a better building block than you had imagined!

Have you done any audiobooks on royalty-share agreements? I’d love to get your comments on the blog!

Photo:  iStockPhoto/LockieCurrie