Ep. 307 - Quitting in Year One, and How Not To

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Most people who start voice over are gone within a year, and usually it isn't because they can't do it. In this episode I go through the four things that make talented people quit and what the ones who stay do differently. Then there's one thing to set up today that will carry you to the end of the year.

(02:02) The silence. You send auditions and hear nothing back. That's normal, and it isn't a verdict on you. The person casting is often the producer or the rights holder too, and they can't send notes to 200 people. I went through a stretch of complete crickets myself, and what changed it was changing my style and sending out a lot more auditions.

(05:16) The gear spiral. New mics and interfaces, and a studio that's never quite right. Early on you're training your ears for the first time, so every click and mouth noise sounds huge. Nine times out of ten the fix is treating your space, not buying more gear, and then auditioning more.

(08:38) Going it alone. We spend hours by ourselves in a closet. With nobody to give you feedback, you repeat the same mistakes a hundred times. The people I see last are part of a community where they can read for others and get notes back.

(10:58) The wrong yardstick. Comparing your first year to someone's tenth, or your audio to someone on a $5,000 microphone. You get better at speaking into a mic the more you do it, and that takes time.

(14:19) What the people who stay do. They set a weekly audition target and get regular feedback somewhere. Most of all, they track what they do rather than what they book. Bookings and money are the result. The auditions are what you control.

(18:43) Do this today. Set a weekly audition number you can keep for the next 12 weeks, through the last quarter of the year, and track it every day.

Post a read in the free Facebook group and I'll give you a note. https://www.facebook.com/groups/avosjourney

There are over 900 free voice over scripts to practise with at https://www.avosjourney.com/scripts/?src=podcast and you can audition for audiobooks at https://academyvoices.com

Our live classes are open to anyone during Free Class Week, 12 to 15 October. https://www.avosjourney.com/free-class?src=podcast

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