When’s the right time to write?

Long time no read, dear reader!

I understand it has been a solid 5 months that I’ve not written and I want to say that there’s so much I must fill you in on. But the truth of the matter is…. that’s not entirely the case.

Certainly, there have been some “wins” in my life, both personal and professional. But nothing has really “stood out” to me that would justify a post here. As previously discussed, I am no longer committing myself to regular updates to this blog, so that leads me to the question that I posed in the title.

When is the right time to write?

The oxford language describes the noun “blog” as a “regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.” Huh. Good thing there’s a ‘casual’ lean to the idea but no definition of ‘regular’ would describe my writing-style….

I think though, in terms of my theme of a “personal journey to professional voice acting,” an update would be expected at any significant turning point, fork in the road, or milestone. So then I wonder – is a lack of a milestone significant in itself?

If I had to describe the overall experience of the first-half of 2023, I think it can be summed up in one phrase: High Expectations with Low Results. One word: Disappointment.

To be brutally honest, I feel as though my voice over career has taken a few steps backwards. Here are some verifiable actions of this, as one’s fears are often hyperbolic:

* My regularly returning client of over three years suddenly decided to change their contract to include an “AI clause” (as I’m term it), which left me no choice but to cancel our working relationship.

* My highest paying client changed representatives on me, causing me to lose multiple months of work with them due to non-communication (i.e. I got ghosted). While most back-payment has been caught up, they still are not paying for some work I have done because they themselves are not ready to utilize the audio (no, this is not how this works but unfortunately, my hands are tied).

* I went through a dry spell of not booking any auditions I submitted to. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I’ve BOOKED but either my agent rescinded the offer due to low budget or the client themselves cancelled/postponed the project. Either way, I’m left without a gig!

Having already been full of self-doubt and guilt for following my passion, I became quite despondent. However, I am nothing if not persistent and determined, so I instead partnered with a 3rd party lead generating firm…. which sadly, amounted to nothing.

I did form a great relationship with someone who led me to work with iHeart Radio and I’ve done a few digital-ads through them (largest client name being Colgate!) for streaming services. That is an amazing win and I need to remember to celebrate this.

Most recently, I got “in the ring” with Corey Dissin who has been an amazing mentor, business coach, and just overall support system. I readjusted how I approached networking (especially on LinkedIn) and I have genuinely made some wonderful connections. Nothing that has led directly to a gig, yet, but I have been added to a few rosters and have had some great discussions.

I think the most important realization I have come to, through all of this push to “make it”, is realizing that which I have been told numerous times but never truly understood: Being a full-time voice actor is extremely rare.

Seriously. Through many peer-to-peer (one-on-one) conversations with a LOT of creatives: Voice Talent, Producers & Content Creators, Video Editors etc. – they all supplement their passion with other financial avenues. Even more than half of the voice talent who claim to be ‘full-time’, actually have other sources of income.

And no, I am NOT making that up. I will not name-names but you know the term “Instagram Reality”? Where people only show off their best looks/time, and even that is edited? Yeah… that happens on a professional level, too.

And another thing I’ve learned is – there’s no shame in that. The Creative Industry is constantly changing and evolving and in order to keep up with it, one must be maliable. What I once thought was my inability or failure has now become a shared truth among my colleagues: gone are the days where you can be just one thing in the creative field.

Are there exceptions? Of course. But just like with ‘face acting’, the percentage of successful voice actors is very low and most have been in the game for decades. Any new up-and-comers are probably also working second jobs that they just don’t discuss.

And this is true in every avenue of the voice over industry. I’ve heard audiobook narrators bemoaning recent changes. Even Fiverr and Upwork talent have recently seen a rise in scam offers and haven’t been booking work like they used to. And the real niche types, like anime dubbing? Yeah, that’s basically a co-ed fraternity. I’m deciding if I want to make a tell-all about what I’ve learned on that end but for now, I’ll keep silent.

All this to say: I’m seeing the writing on the walls. I’m sure I’ll discuss this more later but upon a lot of introspection and reflection, I realized the best places I’ve worked have been somewhat attached to the creative sector while maintaining a stable work-style. (i.e. not contract or freelance work). I’ve got a game plan in place but cutting out the details, my goal is to become a Project Manager (also called Producer) within the Entertainment Industry (my focus is on animation or video game production studios currently). Voice acting will, sadly, always be a “side-hustle”, realistically speaking.

But doing something ‘part-time” doesn’t mean you aren’t successful. It’s just how the creative field is these days. And in some ways, I think this is the destination of my journey. Do some people make it farther than I? Certainly. But just because my 5K is shorter than someone else’s 10K doesn’t mean I didn’t finish the race; it’s just a different journey.

Going into this recent chapter – 2 years of full-time voice acting – I told myself that if I couldn’t make the career viable, I would retire and give it up completely. And while that is certainly always an option, I now understand that I’ve been looking at it the wrong way all this time. The projects I’m interested in don’t work like a 9-5, so I cannot judge my success based off that rubric. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m completely “okay” with this discovery, but at least now I’m starting to understand it.

So… what do you think. Is this realization worthy of a post? I wasn’t sure at first but now… I think so.

Oh also, I released a book. Which was really what I was going to write a blog post about but thought I needed this one first. I’ll release a real post about it once my audiobook portion is officially published. So, you’ll hear from me sooner rather than later. This time, I promise!