Humble Beginnings

(Please note: This post was written at the onset of my journey. My “sound lab” has evolved and improved significantly since this description was offered).

The fantasy is, of course, that I would start this voice acting career and be suddenly “discovered” … similar to the days of early Hollywood when starlets were approached in malt shops and told to come to a movie studio for a screen test and then get signed.

Reality? This is 2023. I’m one of the thousands of voices eager to hurl auditions through cyberspace, hoping against hope that —once in a blue moon— someone will notice. But little adventures happen in my life and I never fail to acknowledge them.

Upon the completion of my commercial and audiobook sample reels, my coach sent them off to one of her clients — a branding company that produces audiobooks for independent authors. Within a day, I was asked to join his team of narrators, as he runs the branding company’s audiobook division. Color me thrilled.

Soon thereafter I started sharing my demo samples on social media. It was heartwarming so many of my friends and family had such lovely reactions. Then again, it would have been strange if they had responded differently. Those close to you are complimentary whether they think you’re good or not. But I also shared my samples with the 30-something editor to whom I submit my articles each weekday — just for fun. He marveled at a talent he never knew I had and suddenly sent me a chapter of a book to have fun narrating. It was from a deep fantasy tale of demons and post-apocalyptic alternate realities.

I found out halfway through this little vignette that HE was the author, however, and it was already for sale on Amazon. I took the copy, read it thoroughly, and narrated it to the walls of my home office — first in my normal accent and then in a dark British accent. There is something much more arrogant and sinister sounding in accents from across the pond, so I asked if that interested him. Dark fantasy was not in my wheelhouse, but I had to learn not to judge a book by its genre if I was going to make a living off my voice. It turns out I had a ball narrating his character, he was delighted by the idea of the accent (said it suited the arrogance of the character in the passage to be read), and he asked that I record part of it on my iPhone for him. He was sold.

How did this evolve into something? Like many barter deals I’ve had with writing clients, it became the result of mutual back-scratching. This young man wanted to learn to use the Audacity program and he also wanted a YouTube-worthy book trailer narration for marketing purposes. Because the amount of tech-savvy that resides within me is microscopic, I needed a production editor as well. So we decided on a trade of sorts. My voice for his tech talent. Oh. And he is good at helping me add shit to this website, too. Such a deal.

A few weeks later (to my delight) the agency in LA sent me three auditions to consider. Two included character voices I was not confident I’d be great at. The third was one written by a woman of my generation describing the many relationships and “peccadilloes” in her life. Some mild sex talk? Oh well. I figured my voice would make it believable.

Now, I had to set up a makeshift sound studio.

My home office, located on the street and by the front door, has tall ceilings and hardwood floors. All these traits make it a bad choice for whisper-quiet recordings. So I began considering claiming our upstairs guest room. Now it was time to begin looking for a recording desk. I was determined not to rob my guest room of too much space with all this. I sometimes stand while narrating, which doesn’t take up much space anyway. I added a telescoping laptop stand, a mic boom, and a well-reviewed but modest pop-filtered mic at mouth level (to be upgraded after I get some books under my belt), while my laptop was angled over my head so I could read any script off my screen without the mic getting in the way. I was on my way. Or was I?

Damn.

Crap.

The laptop had to be replaced.

This was an expense I hadn’t expected. Older MacBook Airs do not permit downloads of the programs I need for voice work. The costs were adding up while I was still paying off my voice coach for all her work on my demo reels. Is this all really going to fly? I was betting on what I thought was a unique voice and delivery of scripts that would knock any potential employer’s socks off but had no clue if I was all that unique.

Fast-forward (early 2023) I have recorded a book trailer (now on YouTube with MY NAME as the narrator!) and hurled four auditions into the void in various accents. And I’m getting keen interest in them.

Like the Italian that throws spaghetti against a wall to see if it’s done, something’s eventually gotta stick.