A VO's Journey: Voiceover and more voice over

Send us Fan Mail Your first audiobook offer will make you choose how you get paid. In this episode I go through the three ways narrators actually get paid, what a finished hour really takes, and when royalty share is worth it and when it isn't. (02:02) Per finished hour. You're paid a set rate for every hour a listener hears. A six-hour book at $150 per finished hour is $900, sometimes with a part paid up front and the rest when you finish. You're paid either way, but you have no stake in the...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail Most narrators lose hours in the booth fixing problems they could have caught before pressing record. In this episode I walk through the prep routine I use between signing the contract and recording the first line. There are five steps, and none of them need special software. I also share the time I narrated a Minnesota army sergeant with a Brooklyn accent. (00:00) Why prep matters. Pickups and re-records cost you the performance and the money. (03:18) My first audiobook, and...

Send us Fan Mail Does your voice over logo actually get you work? Gabby Nistico spent 25 years in advertising, casting and copywriting, and she tells us what casting really notices when they look you up. We get into the five-second check she runs on every demo, the minimum a voice over website needs, and why a proper email signature still matters in 2026. We finish with the things we see people wasting money on. (00:00) Does your logo actually get you work? Short answer from the casting side:...

Send us Fan Mail Duet, dual and multi-cast audiobooks get mixed up all the time. These are the highlights from our live workshop with narrators Rebecca Heddinger and Caesar Esturco. We get into what each one actually is and how two separate home studios end up sounding like one book. Then Rebecca and Caesar read a short duet scene live, retakes included. (00:00) Welcome, and meet Rebecca and Caesar. (02:27) Dual vs duet vs multi-cast. In a dual, narrators alternate chapters or points of view....