Beginning Third Audiobook!

       Great news - I found out today that I was selected to narrated one of the audiobooks I auditioned for!  It will be another science book - this one is about the speed of light.  Interesting that science books are becoming a niche for me.  I've auditioned for other genres, but keep getting selected for science books.  I'm grateful to have the opportunity to narrate, so I'm definitely not complaining.

     I also recently completed the second draft of an e-book that will be available on Kindle in the near future.  Now, my editor Jason is in the process of taking a look at it and making any changes.  I'll be sure to let you know when it's available for purchase. It's a book about my journey into the world of voice acting and some of the things I've learned as a result.  My hope is that it will help aspiring voice actors in their journey as well.  I promise it will be very reasonably priced!

     

    

Second Audiobook Completed!!

     I recently completed narrating my second audiobook last month.  It went on sale on December 2nd on amazon, audible, and itunes.  My publisher told me that the she expected this book to sell pretty well, and she was right!  It surpassed the sales of my first book within a week and has been steadily climbing ever since.  I was a little worried that after the holiday rush, the sales would slip, but they haven't, which is really good news.

If you want to check it out here's the link to it on audible.com.

First Life Audiobook

     I've been auditioning for several other books recently, and am in the running for an animation project that will require over 100 separate voice-over narrations.  That should be lots of fun!  I'll keep you posted on how that goes.  In the meantime, my editor and I have a development in the works that I'll be sure to fill everyone in on when we're ready to launch.

Also, since I'm talking about my audiobook narrations, here's a link to my first one -Green Intelligence - also on audible.com

Green Intelligence: Creating Environments That Protect human Health

Enjoy!

Mike

mikelenzvoice.com

Getting Paid To Narrate Audiobooks

Getting paid to talk in general is a pretty amazing - in my opinion.  I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to find work in a variety of voice over roles.  The area that I've always had an interest in since I first thought about voice acting, however, has been audiobook narration. 

I really struggled with trying to figure how to break into this competitive field.  After years of banging my head against the wall, I came across a great site called acx.com.

This site is a great resource for aspiring narrators.  You simply create a profile (for free!) and start auditioning.  It's really that simple.  Publishers listen to your auditions and decide if they want to hire you. 

Now, the one caveat is that you are responsible for fully producing a finished audiobook, so if you aren't adept at recording AND editing, be careful not to commit to something you can't complete.  Editing is not my strong suit, but I'm fortunate to have a good friend and business partner, Jason Noxon who is not only a gifted voice actor, but also a terrific audio engineer.  I couldn't have completed the two audiobooks we've recorded so far without his expertise.

If you need help producing the book, there are great resources on the site to link you up with studio professionals who can help you.  Just be aware that there's more...much more... to the process than just auditioning.

So go check out the site and start auditioning.  Let me know how you make out!

UPDATE:  My second audiobook is now available on amazon.com, audible.com and itunes!!  Here's the link to the audible.com site.  Please check it out!

http://www.amazon.com/First-Life-Discovering-Connections-between/dp/B00AHAY8Y2/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1358379781&sr=8-1
Keep Talking!

Mike 

mikelenzvoice.com

Never Stop Learning and Sharing

     I'm always amazed how "subcultures" emerge revolving around such varied interests.  My sister is an avid knitter, and she recently showed me a podcast and blog that she follows regularly.  The woman who hosts is a living legend in the knitting subculture.

     She has thousands of followers, and knitters worldwide anxiously await her next post or podcast.  I've never heard of her because knitting isn't one of my interests, but I'm certain that in the knitting community, there are many blogs, forums, pod-casts, blog radio shows, and more, that are shared with knitters everywhere.

     If you are a voice actor, it is just as important to find and develop your own online community network, and always be on the lookout for great suggestions.  Being part of the voice over "subculture" not only involves gathering information, but also being willing to share as well.  The reason I started this blog is to do just that.  My recent post on the benefits of potato chips for improving vocal quality was the direct result of reading that suggestion on a voice over forum that I participate in.

      In keeping with this theme, I recently came upon a great post on Voice Over Audition Tips from the Voice Over Club. 

http://www.voiceoverclub.com/voice-acting-training/voice-over-audition-tips/

     Their blog and forum both have tons of great advice for aspiring and veteran voice over artists.  This is just one example of sites you can find to help you along in your career, no matter where you are in your journey.

     Always be on the lookout for resources, and be sure to get involved and participate in sharing information.  Remember, the more you give, the more you get.

UPDATE:  My first audiobook narration is now available on Amazon.com, Audible.com, and itunes!  Here's the link to the audible.com site.  The book is available this week for only $5.95 so please check it out.

http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B008CPJHEK&qid=1346118547&sr=1-1

Keep Talking!

Mike

mikelenzvoice.com

Potato Chips Required - Who Would Have Thought!

I came upon a great recommendation for keeping your vocal chords soothed and lubricated during recording sessions - potato chips!  I'm always on the lookout for suggestions on how to improve vocal quality.  Since I've started recording audio books, I'm talking for really long stretches of time and it's tough to keep my voice sounding good. 

While scouring some voice-over forums, I came upon an unusual suggestion.  A fellow voice actor had eaten some potato chips before a recording session because he was hungry and had nothing else to eat.  He was amazed how good his voice felt and sounded.  As it turns out, this "secret" is used by musicians and opera singers all the time.

I decided to give it a try and - amazingly - it really works.  The oils from the chips coat your vocal chords and the salt helps to remove excess moisture from your mouth.  The result is a beautiful read!  I now keep a bag of potato chips in my recording studio and eat a few whenever I need to soothe my throat.  

The best part is I get to eat potato chips as a requirement for my job - how cool is that!

Any other suggestions for vocal health, please let me know.

UPDATE:  My second audiobook narration is now available on Amazon.com, Audible.com, and itunes!  Here's the link to the audible.com site. 

http://www.amazon.com/First-Life-Discovering-Connections-between/dp/B00AHAY8Y2/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1358379781&sr=8-1

Keep talking!

Mike

Audiobook Recording - Preparation Makes A Difference

Having been through the audiobook recording process now for the first time, I want to share some of the insights I've gained along the way.  In particular, I want to talk about the importance of preparing for the actual recording.

Woody Allen once said about screenwriting, that the writing was the easy part.  He felt that all the hard work was done in the preparation - developing your characters, understanding the arc of your story, creating the back stories that bring depth to the heroes and villains.  After he had all that stuff worked out, putting the story on paper was a piece of cake.

Voice acting isn't screenwriting, but I know now from first-hand experience that the more you've worked over the copy - marking it up where you need to add inflection and where you need to take a breath, making sure you have all of the pronunciations correct, developing the proper character voices - the better your read will be.  If you've done your homework, the actual recording will go so much more smoothly and efficiently.

So get your pencil and eraser out and get to work.  The better you understand the story and the style of the author, the better you'll be able to convey that meaning to the listener.

Here is the link to the audiobook I just completed:

Green Intelligence Audiobook


It's a great listen for anyone interested in how to protect yourself and your loved ones from environmental dangers.  I really enjoyed narrating it, and I hope you enjoy listening!


Keep talking.


Mike  http://mlenzvoice.tripod.com/

It Looks So Easy...But It's Not

I'd like to digress from voice-overs for one minute if I could, and talk about what it takes to make it look easy.

I was sitting at an amazing concert a few nights ago, enjoying a late spring night out with my wife to see the Zac Brown Band perform.  I will admit that I'm a recently converted country music fan, and Zac Brown is the reason.  A friend of mine hosts CMT Top 20 Countdown, and a few years ago when he first got the job, he told me to watch.  Up to that point I was not a country fan at all.  But being a good friend, I tuned in.  Well, the first video I saw was Zac Brown - - and I was hooked!

Flash forward to this past Friday night, when I was thrilled to be able to cross off "see Zac Brown perform live" from my list of things I want to do before I die.  Actually, I didn't cross it off, because I hope to see them again!

While I was watching and listening to the incredible vocals, the amazing guitar and drum performances, and the way that the members of the band seamlessly blended together to create such amazing music, it dawned on me how much practice, time, and effort it must have taken to get to this point.

Let's face it, the members of this band didn't wake up one day and suddenly find that they were able to perform at such a high level.  Each of them had to practice for years to hone their individual skills, and then practice even more together to make their music and live performances sound and look so amazing.

When we decide to undertake anything in life, even if we're passionate about what we're doing, success will require hard work, dedication, and the realization that we will have to continually hone our skills if we want to get better.

If you're just starting out in the voice-over business, realize that this is a profession that will require life-long practice.  Our job is to make the read seem effortless, to convince the listener that what we're saying is real - not just words on a piece of paper.  Those at the top of our profession make it look (or sound) so easy, but they know - and you know - that it's not.

Watching that concert not only made me appreciate great artistry, it reinforced my belief that you should never stop trying to improve, always seek to learn, and practice every day.  If you do, the producer on your next voice-over gig will say "...you made that look easy..." even though it's not!

Keep up the hard work, and keep talking!

Mike
 http://mlenzvoice.tripod.com/