What I learned from my next 50 books
(for narrators)
I recently passed the nominal threshold of 100 titles narrated, about 650 total hours of finished audio. The things I learned from my second 50 are quite different from what I learned from the first 50. Those were about the doing, these are about the being.
1. Be nice. The very best things that have happened to me, including getting more work, have been a result of connection to other narrators! Groups of knowledge sharing and support have been beyond meaningful to me. Good words, good will, and helpful tips go a looong way. Every narrator has books that they don’t do, and someone else gets to do those books. It can help everyone so much to say “hey, author, I know someone who CAN do that accent, take a listen to…”, or “hey narrator, did you notice that book posted for audition right now that’s in your wheelhouse?” You know who I won’t be directing any work towards? People who act like jerks. Don’t be a jerk.
2. Don’t be jealous. There is always evidence around that someone is doing better than you, and it stings when it seems like after all your investment and struggle, some newbie/whippersnapper pops out of the gate, sounds fantastic, and is zooming past you success-wise. Chance are very good that that person didn’t decide to plug in a usb mic yesterday and launch a career. Maybe they have decades of acting behind them, speak several languages, or made a massive financial and time investment before they hit the ground. Reach out and ask them. Arguably the best thing I did, which taught me a lesson, was acting on a fit of envy by messaging to congratulate the person on their success. I immediately heard back about the massive (unseen!) amount of work, effort, and investment they were making. They had earned every bit of that success, and I had things to learn from them.
3. Be generous and help people. There’s an invisible flowback. The person you help today may not get you work later, but somehow, in ways you don’t see, the love and goodwill is out there and at work in invisible ways. It’s like a pool we float on, the support we give others. It doesn’t cost anything to be nice and helpful, kind and encouraging. The people who have helped me, generously, I will always hold them in esteem and gratitude and should I ever get the chance to steer opportunity toward them, I will! Plus, it just feels amazing to help other people, by itself. Getting excited for others’ successes is easier when you’ve helped them succeed, and leaves you excited and energized. Happiness is good!
4. Don’t stop inviting feedback. It’s tiring, I know, to constantly be open to learning you suck, that there’s this “big thing” you lack or need to improve or learn. I know I’m often desperate for a respite and I’d love to stay for a while lounging in the belief that “I’m alright. I’m pretty good at this.” It’s not a destination that exists, though. That place is an illusion that’s nice to visit momentarily to comfort your performance-anxious nerves, but it’s not a place to live. The reality is that there’s definitely more to improve and make an effort on. The more I see people “arrive” at a target career threshold, the more I see them get rigid about accepting feedback. I don’t want to be that! (I hereby declare myself open to any suggestions, ever). I want to keep growing, even though the effort of it can feel exhausting. The opportunity to learn what you can improve is readily available for the asking. Stay open to hearing it!
5. Accept: there is always more to learn. I’m never going to be done. Get used to the idea, make peace with it, and then don’t wait until you’re perfect or you feel ready to get started, because that’s a target that will continually move away from you. Get back in the booth, as is, and keep working to improve.
6. There are many roads to a destination. Be ok with the one you’re on. At the end of the day, it’s the one you’ve got to work with. You can’t magic yourself onto a different , “more ideal” path by wishing that you had done everything differently up to this point. You are where you are, and your next step is still up to you.
(6b. - be compassionate to the road other people are on).
100 titles is not nothing, but it’s also barely a beginning. I look forward to looking back at this and rolling my eyes at what I didn’t know now :). *now at nearly 200, yep…there’s so much more!