Karen@KarenCommins.com
470.737.NAR8 (6278)

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

"A Vacation For Your Ears"

Breaking a Contract on ACX

If you’re following my #TuesdayTips on Twitter (also accessible through my Evernote notebook of them), you know that #44 on 24 March 2020 contained instructions for downloading your data from Facebook. After getting my data, I excavated the following post I made on 9/28/14 in a FB narrator’s group. I’m publishing it here — with some links, of course! — because its lessons remain timely. I’ll add some comments in purple.

 

Ripping a contract in half

[I want share] a recent experience about breaking an ACX contract in the hopes it helps someone else.

The 2 lessons to the story:

1) If you hear warning bells before you audition, either request the book or forget about auditioning.
2) Life’s too short to deal with bad text and a non-responsive rights holder!

The abridged version:

  • I broke a royalty share (RS) contract on ACX before recording the first 15 minutes. The manuscript was terrible, and the rights holder became unresponsive.
  • I sent her 2 messages through the ACX message system before requesting project termination.
  • You have to send the reasons for termination to INFO@acx.com. I first wrote to support@acx.com but was told I had to send the request to INFO@acx.com.
  • ACX dissolved the project and deleted it from my dashboard the next day.
  • If you ever need to dissolve a contract, feel free to copy any of the language from my messages.

The unabridged version, complete with my messages to the RH:

I saw a book titled “Keeping A Journal”. I’ve been keeping a journal for years and know the many benefits of this practice. It was a short royalty share book of an hour or less. Even though I couldn’t find anything about the author, I auditioned because I wanted to share the message about journaling. I’d say now that if you can’t find any info about the author, don’t even bother auditioning.

The audition script seemed a bit repetitive. The word choices seemed like someone who was trying to sound more educated than she is.

I heard the warning bells and almost didn’t audition. Whenever I hear warning bells now, I listen to them! I thought about asking for the complete book before the audition. However, since it was so short, I decided to go ahead with it. Anyone who has been burned by doing a short ACX book probably thought the same thing!

The rights holder (RH) selected me and sent the manuscript right away. She said she teaches journaling classes. “Great!”, I thought, “She obviously knows what people commonly ask when they start journaling and will get right to the heart of it.”

I thought the book would get better than the audition copy. I was wrong. It got worse….much, MUCH worse.

My first message to the RH explains some of the book’s problems:

Hi, [RH]! I hope you are enjoying a relaxing holiday weekend.

I had planned to record, edit, and submit the first 15 minutes of Keeping a Journal today. However, I wonder if I have the final version of the manuscript.

Before I continue, let me assure you that I view my narrations as a collaboration with the author. We want the same end result — happy listeners who leave great reviews/ratings and who want to refer their friends to the audiobook.

I was excited to see your book on ACX because I am a firm believer in the power of journaling. I auditioned and agreed to a royalty share contract only because I want to promote the value of journaling, not because I need the work.

After reading the entire book, I feel I must tell you the version of the manuscript that I have is not ready to be made into an audiobook. Here are a few issues that might be remedied with some strong editing:

1) Much of the content is overly repetitive and makes starting a journal seem more difficult than it actually is. The prolonged and redundant discussion about preparation alone is enough to dissuade anyone from keeping a journal. The actual ideas expressed in the book could be more simply stated in about 2 pages.

2) Some of the word choices are incorrect (“once you INHERIT these various tactics…”), and the overall language is formal and highfalutin rather than conversational.

3) The book doesn’t fulfill the promise of the title about self-discovery and finding joy. The book mentions benefits of journaling, but none are listed or explored. I think most people are concerned about what to write or how the journal will help them over time. Those topics also are not addressed. A listener who hears the journaling “rules” will be inclined to give up the practice before even starting.

When I auditioned, I thought that this book would offer concrete tips similar to Jim Rohn’s excellent advice in his program How to Keep A Journal.

I’m afraid that if I record the version of the manuscript that I have, listeners will rate the content as 1-star and automatically make my performance a 1-star rating as well. I further predict that any reviews would be very negative and highlight the points I have made in this message. With many other books available on this subject, 1 bad review would cause this one to fade to obscurity.

My intent is to help you produce the best product possible. I apologize if my candor angers or hurts you. I am direct, concise, and honest in my communications because no one ever solved a problem by beating around the bush.

Do you want to send me a revised manuscript? ACX doesn’t care if we change the due dates on the contract.

If not, I must ask you to terminate the contract.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to your response.

Cordially,
Karen Commins

Today, I’d simply ask the RH if I have the final version of the manuscript and then skip to end where I ask for a revised edition. I wouldn’t list any of the various problems I found in the text as it’s not my job to tell the author how to write. I also don’t enjoy spending my time trying to educate a RH who may not value my help.

She didn’t respond. Ten days and both deadlines passed. I wrote to her a second time:

Hi, [RH]! I hope your week is off to a good start.

I wrote to you on 30 August about problems in the manuscript for Keeping a Journal but haven’t heard from you.

Are you revising the manuscript? Both deadlines for this book have already passed. I need to know if you plan to send an updated manuscript or terminate the contract.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Cordially,
Karen Commins

Six days later, I sent my third and final message to her:

Hi, [RH]. I hope you are well.

I’ve written 2 messages to you about the manuscript for Keeping a Journal (30 Aug. and 10 Sept.) but have not received a response. I’m assuming that you don’t want to go forward with creating an audiobook of Keeping a Journal at this time.

Therefore, I’m going to ask ACX to terminate the contract and remove it from my project list.

Perhaps we can work together in the future. Best wishes for your success!

Cordially,
Karen Commins

I then wrote to ACX to request project termination. I gave my reasons and outlined my dates of communication.

 

As a reminder, the ACX message system is the official documentation. While you may communicate with RHs outside of the system, all messages affecting production dates should be sent through the ACX system. Furthermore, contract dissolution is more easily accomplished when it occurs before the first 15 minute checkpoint file is recorded or uploaded.

 

Photo: Andriano.cz/Shutterstock

 

Avoid Copyright Infringement During The Pandemic (and Always)

Last updated 30 March 2020

 

I first saw someone on Facebook propose a concept. A day or so later, I read a tweet from another person writing about the same thing. Suddenly, it seemed that this idea started spreading exponentially. I began to worry about narrator friends who were unnecessarily exposing themselves to risk.

You see, due to the closures and social distancing measures prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, many audiobook narrators, teachers, and parents have announced plans to record books on YouTube to educate and entertain children or even the public at large. They don’t realize they could be liable for copyright infringement.

Before I finished grad school with my Master of Science in computer information systems, I considered switching to law school to specialize in intellectual property law. I therefore was beyond excited to be accepted in the 2020 CopyrightX course offered by Harvard Law School.

I’ve learned so much in this course and look forward to my successful conclusion of it in early May.

While I’m not a copyright expert, I want to share some information to help these well-intentioned people better understand the laws so that they can avoid the possibility of copyright infringement during the pandemic and thereafter.

 

[Read more…]

20 Things Learned in Last 20 Years

 

Happy 20th anniversary to me!

I launched my voiceover business 20 years ago.

Since my last post was about using my journal, it’s only appropriate that this one goes back to where it all began, my first entry in my first book.

 

Saturday 8/28/1999 9:25pm

I’m spending my evening copying the CD of my first voice-over demo with the plan to mail a few to agents on Monday. How I got to this point and where I go from here will be the subject of this journal.

Friday 9/3/99 10:15pm

On Wednesday, September 1, 1999, I mailed 3 CDs to [3 Atlanta VO agents]. It was such a huge step, and I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment and excitement to have pushed the dream out to people who could do something about it!

The past 20 years have been a remarkable evolutionary journey, to say the least! As I was reflecting on all that I’ve seen, read, written, voiced, and otherwise done in that time, I decided a blog post of 20 things I’ve learned would be a great way to celebrate this milestone!

So here’s the list, in no particular order. By the way, you’ll find more private journal entries sprinkled throughout these articles!

[Read more…]

ACX U – Acting With Intention

Most of this blog’s readers know about the audiobook production site ACX.com. Each year, ACX produces educational programming called ACX University. I had the great pleasure of being a guest speaker on the topic of Acting With Intention in one of the 2018 ACX University sessions.

 

 

During and after the video broadcast, I chatted with viewers. As usual for the Queen of Links, I shared a number of resources in that chat session. I also answered a number of questions.

While the chat is embedded with the video, I wanted to post all of the ancillary material and discussion here on my blog to make it easier to reference. That way, you can watch the video and not worry about missing anything.

[Read more…]

3 Ways to Increase Your Computing Power

An interviewer once asked me what I learned while working in information technology that helped me in my profession as an audiobook narrator. A 25-year career in a variety of IT positions including programmer, network and email administrator, and technical specialist certainly gave me an ease and confidence about utilizing a wide variety of software on my computer. I want to share 3 things that will help make you a computer super user.

 

man with Superman cape leaps over steno chair with his laptop open in his hands

 

1. Learn as much as you can about each software package that you use, especially its shortcut keys.

This tip is not only the #1 tip on this list, but it’s my #1 tip about how to improve your work flow.

Moving your mouse to select menu options takes longer than pressing a couple of keys to accomplish the same thing. Those extra few seconds may not seem like much on a single action, but they really add up over time. I saw one study that said office workers could save 8 days in the course of the year by learning shortcuts.

Software operations are transferrable skills. If you will spend a little time to learn the shortcut keys to copy and paste in one application, you’ll use the same keystrokes in all of them. Also, if you decide to move from a PC to a Mac or vice versa, the same basic keystrokes will perform the same functions.

Below are 10 common keyboard shortcuts dealing with text that work across applications. I use them all of the time! First, you highlight the text on which to perform the operation, then press the shortcut keys.

On a PC, you press the CTRL key in combination with another; on a Mac, you press the CMD key. Since I use a Mac, I’ll list the keyboard shortcuts for it.

  • Copy     CMD-C
  • Paste     CMD-V
  • Cut        CMD-X
  • Bold      CMD-B
  • Italic     CMD-I
  • Underline    CMD-U
  • Undo     CMD-Z
  • Add hyperlink    CMD-K
  • Select all    CMD-A (no initial highlighting needed)
  • Find      CMD-F

In addition to common tasks, each software program has shortcut keys for functions specific to it. For instance, when I was editing my audiobooks in Pro Tools, I decided to learn a few specific shortcut combos in it. Once I incorporated these 6 time-saving alternates, I felt my productivity improved by a quantum leap rather than a baby step.

  • Insert Silence     Shift-CMD-E
  • Paste Special/Repeat to Fill Selection     Option-CMD-V  (I use these first 2 shortcuts back-to-back to insert room tone in my recording.)
  • Batch Fades     CMD-F  (often used after pressing CMD-A to select all clips rather than simply fading between 2 clips at a time)
  • Consolidate Clips     Option-Shift-3 (again after pressing CMD-A to select all clips)
  • Export Clip as File    Shift-CMD-K
  • Memory Locations Window     CMD-5 on number pad

Don’t feel like you have to learn all the shortcuts available in your software! To start, pick 3-5 of the things you frequently do in a single program. As you mouse through the menus to find your selection, notice if the option lists some keystrokes on the line. Write down those keys and use them the next time you need to do the same task.

Of course, an even speedier method of finding the shortcut keys for any program is to search for them online. Even Google’s Gmail has keyboard shortcuts.

With a little practice, the shortcut keys will be absorbed into your kinesthetic memory. You’ll do them without even thinking and get faster every day!

 

2. Choose your operating system and software upgrade dates very carefully.

Don’t upgrade your operating system the moment Apple or Microsoft releases a new update. Also, don’t upgrade in the middle of a book if you can avoid it. The cutting edge of technology is often the bleeding edge of technology!

New operating systems often cause existing programs to fail because other developers may not have modified their application. If you’re using Pro Tools, you’ll want to check the Pro Tools Operating System Compatibility Chart before you make any updates.

If your system is stable and satisfactorily performing all of your tasks, assess whether you truly need an update. I’m still running Mac OS 10.10.5, also known as Yosemite. Apple has released 3 new systems since the time of my last OS update.

I initially didn’t upgrade because Pro Tools, which is my most important software, wouldn’t run on the new operating system. I am also still running Pro Tools version 11.3.1, which is not the latest for that program. However, I didn’t see any features in the latest version that I had to have, so I haven’t spent the money to upgrade.

If I upgrade my OS now, I’ll also probably have to upgrade Pro Tools. According to the chart linked above, my version of Pro Tools isn’t guaranteed to run on a newer OS.

People worry that Apple or Microsoft won’t support their OS if they fail to keep up with upgrades. At some point, that statement becomes true. I’m simply saying that you need to be in control of the decision to upgrade your system, not the manufacturer. You should be okay as long as you have a safe copy on DVD or USB drive of the installation software in the event you need to re-install the OS after a system failure.

 

3. Keep calm, and compute on.

Errors sometimes occur on even the most stable system. When troubleshooting, always retrace your steps to the last time the system was operating correctly. What changed in the meantime?

Use your favorite search engine and enter the exact error message of any software to learn how to troubleshoot it. You most probably aren’t the first person to experience an error. In fact, your search results usually will include numerous sites. Sometimes you’ll have to extrapolate from others’ situations in order to solve your problem.

Once I find solutions to any computer problem, I save them in an Evernote notebook. That way, if the issue re-occurs, I’m not reinventing the wheel to find the answer.

We had this saying in IT: “the only day you need to do a backup is the day before your system crashes.” You never know when a system will malfunction, but Murphy’s Law increases the probability that it will happen when you can least afford the time — and possibly money — to deal with it.

In addition to doing regular backups on another drive, I highly recommend that you include some measure of off-site storage in your data safety and recovery plan. I learned the hard way that having only one copy of critical data is asking for trouble. In the early 2000s, I was editing one of my first audiobooks when the drive crashed. I had to pay to get the data recovered.

Now, at the end of each day’s recording session, I copy my book files to Dropbox. If my computer fails or, worse, something happens to my house, my audiobook files are safely stored in the cloud.

 

In case you don’t know, I love my computer and computing devices! By following these 3 tips, I hope you will feel more empowered when you are in front of your computer.