• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Erggo

Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

  • Home
  • Demos
  • Titles
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Shop

Voice-Over Secrets from Adam, Bob and Bob

17 November 2006

I ran across a fantastic entry on fellow voice-over actor Adam Creighton’s blog titled Acting is a lot of work. It’s the sort of thing I wish I had written.

I don’t know Adam and haven’t previously read his blog. However, he strikes me as an extremely talented, goal-oriented guy who can inspire all of us with his tremendous work ethic and fierce determination to live the life of his dreams. I particularly liked the paragraph where he said that if you don’t have work, you make your own. I also have used comic books for character voice creation and practice, but Adam takes that method one step further by creating simple animation by taking pictures with his digital camera.

Some of the most stellar ideas for business expansion have come from people making their own work. Hollywood stars often have their own production companies; why shouldn’t a voice actor do the same thing? In his most excellent course You Must Act!, actor/writer/director Bob Fraser advises would-be actors to cast yourself in roles that you want. Whether you are acting on stage or in a voice-over booth, his advice is still sound (pardon the pun).

I was fortunate to have a personal consultation with Bob in which we discussed that point. Casting oneself means that you know your strong suit, and you also know the things that you enjoy doing. You therefore actively seek out those opportunities or possibly create them for yourself. Adam knows this secret.

As much as I enjoyed seeing all of the positive and creative things that appeared on Adam’s list, I also must mention the striking absence of something from his list that seems to fill countless hours for many people. At no point did Adam say he spent his precious time comparing himself to or worrying about his competition.

Of course, I’m sure a smart man like Adam is keenly aware of the competition in the voice-over industry and his other performing arts fields. However, from reading his detailed list of activities, I am delighted to see that he is much too busy with the improvement of his own career to be concerned about the careers of other people. (By the way, I hope that the industrious Adam is way too busy to be spending his valuable time absorbed in gossip and idle chit chat on his cell phone or consumed with the results of a reality TV show.)

Comparing yourself to other people is a guaranteed formula for feeling BAD! Without too much effort, you can always find someone who apparently:

  • has more credits and/or more impressive credits
  • has booked more jobs recently
  • makes more money
  • has better equipment
  • has more agents and/or more aggressive agents and/or agents in more markets
  • has higher search engine rankings
  • has a better demo
  • has more training
  • has better marketing promotions
  • has more audition opportunities

You get the idea. By comparing yourself and your achievements to anyone or anything, you more than likely will find fault with your own situation. This negativity can cause feelings ranging from discouragement to despair and not only jeopardize your career but damage relationships as well. We are all unique, and we all have different gifts to offer the world. You cannot use the career of another person as a yardstick with which to measure your progress because every circumstance is different.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t review the demos, web sites and other marketing materials from others in the voice-over industry. I believe that we all can learn from others’ approaches and successes. Read the biographies of voice actors, business people or anyone else whom you admire. Success leaves clues. If someone else has done something that you want to do, you can emulate their steps. Your journey won’t be the same, but at least you will be on the right path.

From Adam’s comments about suggesting the toy and comic book licensing deal, I wondered if, in fact, he even views other voice actors as competition. I prefer to have a cooperative attitude instead of a competitive one. I know that my voice is not right for every project, and I have turned down projects that I didn’t want to voice because I didn’t like the words that would be coming out of my mouth.

We are all voice talents with something special to offer. Bob Souer, a successful voice actor who is as gifted when writing on the page as he is when bringing words to life behind the mic, wrote an eloquent post on his blog addressing the competition aspect of auditions . In Bob’s mind – and in mine, too – an audition isn’t a competition. When you read his captivating words comparing an audition to a Michelangelo sculpture, you won’t enter an audition situation with a competitive attitude again.

The next time that you think your voice-over career or any other part of your life is unsatisfactory, I would offer this challenge. Ask yourself if you’re really using every bit of available time constructively in pursuit of your dreams like Adam. Are you like veteran voice actor Bob Souer, who views every audition opportunity with the excitement that a sculptor views that new chunk of marble? Have you implemented the advice of the very wise Bob Fraser to cast yourself?

Look at the name of his course again. YOU MUST ACT. Even if you don’t cast yourself for parts that you want, you must take action if you expect anything to happen in your voice-over career. If you remember your high school physics, you’ll know that Isaac Newton stated:

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

All of your actions won’t necessarily lead to the reactions that you want. However, the Universe responds in kind to the energy that you expend. Once you start devoting yourself to the full-time pursuit of making your dream life a reality, I promise that you will be as happy, creative and fulfilled as Adam seems to be.

 

SHARE VIA:
Send email Mail
Share on Facebook Share
Share on TwitterTweet
Share on LinkedIn Share
Share on Pinterest Share
Share on Digg Share
Print Print

Related posts:

  1. 3Cs? Make that *4Cs* of Branding Illustrated by Barry Manilow
  2. How to achieve success in voice-over
  3. My life as a secret agent
  4. Launch of “Success Leaves Tracks” Newsletter
Karen Commins on EmailKaren Commins on FacebookKaren Commins on LinkedinKaren Commins on PinterestKaren Commins on TwitterKaren Commins on Youtube
Karen Commins
Karen Commins
Karen Commins is an award-winning, professional audiobook narrator, producer, publisher, writer, and leading curator of information about the audiobook industry. She's also the chief cartographer of NarratorsRoadmap.com, THE destination for narrators of all levels.

Got a question for Karen to answer on the blog? Send her an email or enter a comment below. She prefers to answer publicly so that more than one person benefits from the answer. Due to the volume of requests that she receives, Karen may not respond personally to your message. Also, the info you seek may already be in her blog archives.

©1999-2023 by Karen Commins

Click here to subscribe to Karen's blog and/or newsletter.

Filed Under: Business, Narrators, Voice-Over Tagged With: Adam Creighton, Bob Fraser, Bob Souer, cast yourself, comparisons, Isaac Newton

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Freddie Molina says

    21 November 2006 at 6:47 pm

    Thank you for that great article.

    Freddie Molina
    Community Development Manager
    Voice123 – The voice over marketplace
    http://voice123.com

    Reply
  2. Donna Reed says

    28 November 2006 at 3:45 pm

    Karen:
    What a great article! Every voice and delivery style is unique…and everyone should appreciate their own individual style. Viva la difference!

    Donna
    Donna Reed VO
    http://www.donnareedvo.com

    Reply
  3. Ellen says

    18 June 2012 at 10:01 am

    Hi:

    Just started recording some snippets for my ‘coaching clients’ and am having trouble with ‘mouth noises’ (i.e. clicks, smacks, snaps, etc.)

    I’ve tried a number of things but have not been successful…I think I get nervous and my mouth gets dry…sipping on something alleviates the problem for about 10 seconds.

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks for your time,
    Ellen

    Reply
  4. Karen says

    1 August 2012 at 7:47 pm

    Greetings, Ellen! Thanks for the note. I apologize for the extreme delay in posting and replying to it as it was caught in a torrent of spam messages.

    The mouth clicks and pops are often caused by lack of hydration or nerves. However, some people find that certain foods or drinks before a session can exacerbate these issues.

    For a lot of different advice on the topic, check out this blog post:

    http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2006/09/oral_hygiene.html

    Also, I always brush my teeth before any session and apply chap stick as needed during the session. I try to drink water continuously everyday so that I will remain hydrated. I’m not always successful at that goal!

    If you have the occasional click in the otherwise perfect take, you can edit it out with your software. I demonstrate the technique in the video in this post:

    http://www.karencommins.com/2010/10/video—-removing-a-mouth-clic.html

    I hope these thoughts are helpful. Best wishes for your continued success!

    Karen

    Reply

Have a comment or question? Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Blog and Newsletter Subscriptions

Categories


Blog Archives

Most Popular Posts

  • How To Become an Audiobook Narrator
  • Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz
  • Public Domain Narration Headquarters
  • Finding Your Own Road to Tara
  • ACX U - Acting With Intention
  • 4 Keys to Becoming a Successful ACX Audiobook Producer
  • Links to Help Narrators Research Rights Holders to Books
  • Karen’s Primer on Narrating Royalty Share Audiobooks
  • How to Use My Twitter Lists

Links Section

  • NarratorsRoadmap.com
  • AudiobookMarketingTips.com
  • My Tuesday Tips on Twitter
  • Press Page
  • AudioForAuthors.com

More of My Articles

ACX Blog:
  • A Narrator’s Look At Audiobook Marketing Part 1
  • A Narrator’s Look At Audiobook Marketing Part 2
  • How to Act Like An Audiobook Narrator
LinkedIn:
  • Setting Boundaries in Your Voiceover Business
VoiceOverXtra:
  • For a Good First Impression With Audiobook Producers,
    Share Your Audible 'Customer Rating'

Erggo

Karen@KarenCommins.com

© 1999-2023 Karen Commins // Site design by Voice Actor Websites // Affiliate links to Amazon are used on this site.