Happy Monday, y’all! Except, now that we’re moving from a weekly format to a monthly one… Happy last Monday in April, y’all! It’s said that April showers bring May flowers, and if that’s the case, I’d better get some...
Happy Monday, y’all! Except, now that we’re moving from a weekly format to a monthly one…
Happy last Monday in April, y’all!
It’s said that April showers bring May flowers, and if that’s the case, I’d better get some vases ready, because this April has been a torrential downpour!!
But before I get to all the news, I want to take a second to say something that weighs heavily on my mind whenever I consider whether or not to share my good fortune with others.
This journey we’re all on has its fair share of pitfalls and heartbreaks and droughts and frustrations and professional jealousy. I know this, because I have experienced all of it on a nearly daily basis–certainly for the past two years as I’ve started down this VO/narration path, and pretty much throughout the last 30 years of freelancing in the Arts. Being your own driving force is HARD, and despite everything you do to keep yourself afloat, it is HARD to watch your colleagues soar when you feel stuck in the mud.
In this era of social media, it is equally hard to celebrate once things start to take off a little, knowing you might unwittingly be kicking someone when they feel down, having been there so many times yourself.
I personally debate with myself all the time whether to celebrate publicly or to just keep my flap trap shut. There’s beauty in humility, to be sure. There’s also a crap-ton of work that goes into every earned accomplishment – big or small – and no one should be ashamed of that work. Like, at all.
So I want to first encourage anyone reading this who might be feeling in the pits, to KEEP GOING. If you’re feeling stuck, or stagnant, or plateauing, or that things just aren’t moving at the speed you want them to, don’t quit! Do one thing each week to move the needle forward, whether it ends up in a paying job or not.
Every day, before I start recording, I recite this quote from Ira Glass:
It’s a fantastic reminder that I’m still a work in progress, and the only way forward is THROUGH. There’s no over or under in this business. It’s kind of like a romance novel: To get to the end, there’s a whole lotta doin’ it first. (COPYRIGHT!)
Here are some ideas for keeping busy that you can do without spending a dime.
Read aloud! Pick a book off your shelf and read to yourself for at least an hour each day without judgement or stopping. Something fun. Or something you need work on. Or a new genre you’re curious about. If you’re really feeling bold and WANT to get judgey, record it and listen back and see if you can hear where you are killing it, or where you might need a little work, and then if it’s not perfect, record it again to hear how you just improved that one sentence/accent/voice/whathaveyou.Explore a new accent! Maybe that means watching Fargo and echoing Frances McDormand for two hours, or, I dunno, all five seasons of Outlander, you know, FOR THE ACCENT WORK, OBVIOUSLY.Do your bookkeeping! I know this sounds boringAF, but how much do you loathe doing your annual taxes? Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just HAVE all those expenses ready so you can breeze though TurboTax (or hand everything to your CPA in five seconds) next year?Record a public domain book! I know it doesn’t generate income until the royalties kick in, but think about all the new books and authors that are going to start to free up in the next five years. Start researching what’s coming down the pike and get your recording for the future done early!Research and write to producers and casting folks who you really want to work with, and then, here’s the kicker : KEEP WRITING THEM! Don’t go overboard, and don’t spam them, but if you’re not sending out updates every 4-6 weeks, I’m sorry, but they will forget you. They are human. It’s impossible to remember everyone’s schedules and accomplishments. You only have a handful of names to remember, they have THOUSANDS! Keep it short and sweet, but above all, steady! Be brave! They are not judging you NEARLY as hard as you are judging yourself. I promise!Now that I’ve COMPLETELY buried the lede (ha!), after a WHOLE lotta “doin’ it” for the past year (through an awful lot of droughts), here are a few seeds that have started to sprout: (How’s that for a poorly-mixed metaphor?)
I am a “Big Five” narrator!
That sounds pretty darn fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it is! 
Earlier in April, I recorded a small portion of a nonfiction title for Simon & Schuster, and early next month, I’ll be narrating a [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] book for Penguin Random House!! That one, the redacted one, is OMG SO UNBELIEVABLY FRICKIN’ EXCITING I CAN’T STAND IT (but neither can I tell you about it until it’s released – sorry!)
I’m genuinely flabbergasted at having been asked to be a part of this kickass multicast book, and while I am nervousAF (because I really want to nail this), after having read it this past weekend, I’m also like: Yep. That’s me. Straight up typecasting. Bitchin’.
I am now directing audiobooks too!
I have longed to bring my opera and film directing experience to audiobooks, and I am currently working with Macmillan on several fiction and nonfiction titles! This is such an exciting extension of my audiobooks journey, I couldn’t be more thrilled! (And because the hustle never stops, I’m now going to work on parlaying that into directing titles for other publishers too.)
There are more indie-authored audiobooks coming!!
Post-production is nearly complete on the audiobook of The Duke is Wicked, a SUPER-steamy historical romance (with elements of the occult to boot!) by Tracy Sumner. This is the third book in the League of Lords series (and my SIXTH with Tracy!) Anticipated release date: early summer.
I’ve also just agreed to narrate Linda Smolkin’s Among the Branded, whose premise is: A letter from France, discovered 70 years later, connects a Holocaust survivor and an art director with a conscience. Stories about and around Holocaust survivors have been close to my heart for years and years and years, and I am so excited to dive in and begin prep on that today (as soon as I hit “publish” on this post!)
So, that’s my exciting news for April! It’s been a CRAZY month, to be sure. Truly, I’m overwhelmed. My lil’ heart is just overflowing with rainbows and gratitude right now.
Let me know what you’ve been up to in the comments and let’s celebrate all that YOU’VE accomplished!
xo
