Last night’s live reading of UNCONVENTIONAL by J.J. hebert went swmiingly. People liked it so much, they asked for an encore! So J.J. decided to allow me to also read and record Chapter 4. If you missed the fun, you can view the videos below. Chapters 1-3 are first with chapter 4 below it:

with chapter 4 at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1741599

If you want to subscribe to the entire audiobook, you can get it free at http://podiobooks.com/title/unconventional

To celebrate the launch of J.J. Hebert’s UNCONVENTIONAL, I’ll be performing Episode 1 live via webcam. If you’re interested in hearing the rest of this fantastic book narrated by myself, you can get it FREE from the ever-awesome Podiobooks.com

Live Webcam reading of J.J. Hebert’s book, UNCONVENTIONAL
7PM PST/10PM EST
http://tinyurl.com/chpobt

Check out the 60 second promo for the UNCONVENTIONAL audiobook: http://tinyurl.com/qa34dx.

Here’s a link to another live reading I hosted for a different book, just to get an idea of what to expect: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1301536

For those who don’t know, Podiobooks is a mostly do-it-yourself venture. Writers narrating podcast versions of their own books. While I generally applaud the DIY mentality especially as it comes to things like mowing your own lawn or building a deck, I wonder how much better people’s books would be received if they had a professional quality narration.

I’ve done quite a few books for Podiobooks.com as a narrator. And at the risk of coming across as an arrogant bore, I think they’ve turned out better than the average home-brew podiobook. And in my humble opinion, here’s why you should consider hiring a professional narrator:

1. Savings

I can hear it now: “But Jeff, your services are EXPENSIVE!! How can paying you to read my book save me money??” Quite easily, actually. First of all, my podiobooks rate is very inexpensive at $.02 per word. The average 80,000 word books comes out to $1600. Now, for the unpublished writer with a day-job, this may seem horribly expensive. But what the naysayers are not factoring in is time. Let’s break it down.

80,000 words = 500 minutes = about an 8 hour book
Average time investment per finished hour = 4-5 hours on a  good day.
Total time to record and edit = 40 hours

That’s an 8-hour-a-day work week, folks. And if you do a few hours each night, it will take you weeks to finish. Suddenly $1600 for a week’s worth of work doesn’t seem like such a price to pay, does it? And what could you be doing with that time?

Marketing! PR! Networking! Marketing! Marketing!

Why in the world would you want to spend your time sitting behind a microphone when you could be out there drumming up business for the release? Isn’t your time better spent building the business aspect of your book and leaving the narration part to an expert?

But wait! There’s more! Since a Podiobook is serialized, you only pay as episodes are delivered. So depending on how often you want to release an episode, you may only be shelling out $80-$125 per week. Sure, at the end of the project you’ve spent the total amount, but you’ve spread it out into bite-size chunks.

2. Professional Quality

You’ve got a professional quality book. You’ve got professional quality business cards. You’ve got a professional quality website. You’ve got a professional quality cover design.

Then why wouldn’t you want the centerpiece of the release, the very product you’re putting out there to be professional as well? Grabbing a $50 podcasting mic and recording in your den is not professional. Why would you represent your work in such a mediocre way?

I don’t listen to Podiobooks. Why? Because I’m spoiled to the likes of Scott Brick and Grover Gardner, people who know how to narrate books. And with the proliferation of audio books, I can’t be the only one who gets turned off by a dull reader creating subpar recordings? Your book needs to have the same level of professional narration that you put into writing it.

3. Bringing your book to Life

If you’re one of those authors who’s so married to their debut novel that you figure you’re the only one who can truly capture the voice of Treenok the Terrible, then you’ve got a problem. Because if that is indeed true, your audience won’t be able to capture it in their minds either.

Thankfully, most writers who feel that way are incorrect. Most good voice talent are actors, plain and simple. It is their job to find the characters and bring them to life. If you think you’re as good as classically-trained Shakespearean actor Scott Brick, then, power to you. I’m certainly no Scott Brick, but I do have 20 years of theater experience. It’s my passion and job to have these characters possess my voice and make them alive. Narrating a book is not reading a book. Narrating a book is putting on a performance with a single actor playing all the roles. If you don’t honestly have those acting chops, outsource it to someone who does. Doesn’t your work deserve it?

4. Stamina

Narrating an audio book is hard work. Seriously. If you think sitting in front of a mic for several days reading a book is easy, I urge you to give it a try. There’s a reason why the folks at Podiobooks request 5 episodes up front. Not only is it to hook the reader, but to assure that you or your narrator have the stamina to pull off the whole thing. Because you’ll realize a few chapters in after you’ve spent the good part of a day just to record one single hour, that vocal stamina plays a huge role in this.

After recording 8 (?) audio books, I’ve built up stamina and patience for the process. I’ve also learned how to pace myself to get the most bang for my vocal buck.

5. Avoiding the “read by the author” Stigma

Go to Audible.com right now. Do it. Note how many novel writers narrate their own books?Very few. And they usually suck for a myriad of reasons, the primary one being that they are authors, not narrators.

Longtime audio book listeners often avoid listening to books read by the author. I learned my lesson with Harlan Coben. His book, Promise Me, gets absolutely slaughtered in the listener comments simply due to his narration. It’s bad. But honestly, I’ve heard worse. John Nance insists on reading his own books, and he has a pronounced lisp, for goodness sake.

Now, you may not have a speech impediment, but think about how it looks to a potential listener that you took the time to seek out someone else to narrate your book. You love your work so much, that you wanted to make sure it was in the right hands. You avoided the stigma of “read by the author” that turns off so many listeners. Plus, unlike most podiobooks, there’s a certain coolness to working with a pro. It’s a step above the rest of the pile.

6. Tax write-off

First of all, I have to say that I’m not an accountant or lawyer and this shouldn’t be taken as actual legal tax advice. However, if your book-writing is a business, you should be able to write off this expense on your taxes as a legitimate marketing expense. Consult your accountant about this, as tax laws vary from state to state.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

# # #

About Jeffrey Kafer Voice Overs: Jeffrey Kafer (http://jeffreykafer.com) is a voiceover artist, actor, and audio producer based in the Seattle suburb of Monroe, WA. He has been heard on numerous TV and radio commercials, and also performs voiceovers for animation, corporate narration, documentaries, audio books, podcasts and messaging on-hold (MOH).

Companies like Noggin Labs, AnswersTV.com and Bright House Networks have chosen Jeffrey Kafer Voice overs to be the voice of their projects.

You never know where you’ll be when a client calls you and needs a quote. Do not be pithy and quote from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: “I worte it down so I don’t have to remember!”

I was in the grocery store the other day when a potential client called. I knew my rates including session fees, length of run, etc. I had the info in my mental Rolodex and gave him the quote right away, no delays. There was no “Let me call you back when I’m done trying to decide between Count Chocula and Cocoa Puffs”. Count Chocula every time, BTW.

Professional and always ready to give the client what they need, right away.

This went out to my newsletter subscribers today. The formatting is a little wonky copying into the blog, but you get the idea. Wanna get this in your mailbox (and you know you do), then head over to http://JeffreyKafer.com and sign up!

	Hello and welcome to my first newsletter! This newsletter will be mailed about once a quarter and will detail what’s been happening in my business to give you an idea of what I can do for yours. Thanks for joining me! If this is unwanted, please follow the directions at the bottom of the mail , with my apologies. With that out of the way, this has been a busy few months for me. I’ve narrated no less than 5 audiobooks in the past 3 months with more to come. Here’s a sample: Kronos By Jeremy Robinson, narrated by Jeffrey KaferTwo years after his wife’s death, oceanographer and former navy SEAL, Atticus Young, attempts to reconcile with his rebellious daughter, Giona, by taking her on the scuba dive of a lifetime-swimming with a pod of peaceful humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine. But the beauty of the sea belies a terror from the deep-a horrific creature as immense as it is ancient. There is no blood, no scream, no fight. Giona is swallowed whole by the massive jaws. Only Atticus remains to suffer the shame of the survivor and his inconsolable grief turns to an unquenchable thirst for revenge. Drawn by the spectacle, Trevor Manfred, a ruthless billionaire, approaches Atticus with a proposition: Trevor will make available all the advanced technology of his heavily armed mega-yacht, the Titan, to aid Atticus in his death-quest. In return, Trevor is to receive the beast’s corpse as the ultimate hunting trophy. But in the midst of the hunt, Atticus makes a terrifying discovery that changes the way he sees the ocean’s creatures and begs the question: what is Kronos? The answer sets him on a new and much more deadly course. Listen to Kronos FREE at Podiobooks.com UNCONVENTIONAL by J.J. Hebert, Narrated by Jeffrey KaferComing soon from Mind Stir Media, the story of Young James Frost chronicles his deep desire to abandon his gruelling day-job as a janitor and realize his dream of being a published author. However, the conventional others in his life seem all too willing to remind him that he’s wasting his time. Then he meets and falls in love with Leigh, the one bright spot in his endless misery of self-doubt. A quiet but resolutely religious girl, she has to fight off disapproval of her own from overly critical parents, whose insults are countered by James’s often-voiced admiration of her. Just when James appears hopelessly sapped by devastating events, one last door opens, and he’s rocked by an epiphany. This audiobook will be available in July as a free podcast from Podiobooks.com click here for more info The Cornerstone by Randall Platt, Narrated by Jeffrey KaferIn this coming-of-age novel set in 1944, Ian McKenzie is a bright fifteen-year-old street kid who’s been sent to a Washington State summer camp to be straightened out. Andy Ackerman, the counselor assigned to the camp’s charity cases, is a young man fresh from the war in the Pacific, tough, angry, but understanding. Through Ackerman’s tough love and the sharing of a strenuous task, Ian gains pride and a sense of honor. It is Ackerman’s tragedy that forms the cornerstone of McKenzie’s life and makes this novel something truly special and moving. This audiobook is coming soon from BooksinMotion.com! So as you can see, I’ve been busy with audiobooks these past few months. But I’ve also made time for e-learning projects, message-on-hold, video games and of course, commercials for the following fantastic new clients: Aera Mobile Marketing 3DJoe Destination Marketing HDhat.com Trinema Media Eng101 So give me a call at 425-737-4850 or shoot me an email and let me know how I can help your business! My job is to make your project faster, smoother, and even more professional! And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter! Until next time, –Jeff

About a month or so ago, I wrote about my negative experience with Jordan Moore of Jedi Web Design. I turns out that blog post is the top result on Google for anyone searching for Jedi Web Design.

hee hee, oops!

This, dear readers, is the new word of mouth. No longer is word of mouth one person talking to another person who then talks to another person. Word of mouth is one person talking to hundreds, thousands, millions of people. All at once. One opinion can have tremendous impact if it’s done the right way.

But this new style of word of mouth also allows you to weigh in. While before you couldn’t be a part of every conversation about you, now you can. 

Set up Google Alerts, follow blogs of customers, Google your name and business. Stay on top of what people are saying about you. If it’s a blog, weigh in at the comments. If it’s a forum post, join the forum and speak up. Thank clients for kudos and respectfully make your case for those who aren’t positive. You can’t stop people from talking about you, but you can weigh in on them, and hopefully shape the conversation. At the very least, you’ll be aware of it.

Jordan Moore of Jedi Web Design either chose not to do this or has no clue that it happened. Take this is a lesson to keep your ear to the ground and pay attention to what people are saying about you. Their voice can carry a lot further than it did before, but at least you’ll be able to hear it and join the conversation.

Image licensed under Creative commons courtesy of nettsu.

If you’re interested in the way audiobooks are recorded or just want to hear a chapter of a fantastic book read to you, then please join me online Thursday 3/26/09 at 1:00pm PST at http://tinyurl.com/chpobt for a live video chat reading of a chapter from Kronos by Jeremy Robinson.

Not only can you watch me record an actual chapter of the book that will be released as a part of the audio book, you can chat in real time with myself and the author, Jeremy Robinson. He’ll be there to field your calls about writing and publishing and I can answer any questions about voice over or audiobooks.

Why are we doing this? in celebration of his forthcoming novel, Pulse, Jeremy is going to be releasing the audiobook version of Kronos in serialized format at Podiobooks.com. That’s right, a free audiobook!

So if you’re a fan of Jeremy’s or audiobooks or just curious what it’s like to read a book in front of a mic, then join us for a live video chat Thursday 3/26/09 at 1:00pm PST at http://tinyurl.com/chpobt 

See you there!

One of the vestigial organs of my days working in the video game industry is my lingering subscription to Game Developer magazine. The signature feature of every issue is a section called Post-Mortem. Every month, a different game developer talks about the 5 things that went wrong and 5 things that went right. It’s very interesting reading.

So, do you post-mortem your voice over projects?

I’m not talking about glossing over the project on your way to Dairy Queen. I’m talking about writing down 2-3 things that went wrong/right and applying some critical, honest analysis.

One of the interesting things about video game post mortems is how some things are the same from company to company and project to project. Work/life balance, project scope, crunch mode, etc. So by writing down post mortems and sharing them with fellow Voice actors, you very well might find some things in common. And they might have some suggestions for how to avoid those problems in the future.

So I’ll start: I had a phone patch voice over session for a 30 second commercial that resulted in me not giving the client what he wanted right away. It ended with the direction of “I’ll direct you like I direct my child actors. I’ll say it exactly how I want to hear it and you repeat it back to me. OK?” 

Ouch.

What went right

1. The client was happy with the end result.
   While the process to get there wasn’t too smooth, the session ended on a positive note. The client was joking and upbeat and the stuff I recorded was used.
2. No pick-ups required
   This is due in part to the phone patch. But even then, there is often the case where the client doesn’t like what they hear. But in this case, the client got exactly what he wanted during the first session.
3. Lots of flexibility for recording sessions
   This client had lots of things on his plate and I was able to offer several times for recording. Having this kind of flexibility can go a long way to making a client happy. 

What Went Wrong

1. I wasn’t able to deliver what the client wanted fast enough
   This led to the direction of “I’ll tell you how to say it and you repeat it back to me.” This was incredibly humiliating and 100% my fault. While the character was your average dad, I couldn’t get out of announcer mode. Finally I did, but not nearly as quickly as I should have.
2. I let the jovial-ness of previous conversations get in the way
   The client is one of those guys that everyone likes. Super friendly, cracking jokes, laughing. Great guy to talk with. But when the mic is on, he’s all business. That transition caught me off guard and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
3. I didn’t explain that my improvisation wasn’t for his benefit, but for mine.
   I tried to go all actor-y on him by improvising lines before and after. I didn’t properly explain that I was doing this to get into character and that he wasn’t expected to use it. He thought I was goofing around and he stopped me with “Don’t go off book, please. I need you to stay on script!” I should have explained to him ahead of time that I needed to do this to get the proper attitude and delivery of the lines.

So I don’t think this client will come calling any time soon, which is a shame. But I’ve learned some tough lessons and chalk it up to a learning experience. And by analyzing specific problem areas, I can make sure I don’t repeat them.

3/23/09 – UPDATE!! The client called me today asking for an audition for a series of spots. Guess he didn’t hate me as much as I thought. Still, it’s good to be self-critical.

I’m on the search for perfect restaurant salsa. There’s a nearby Mexican food joint that has darn near perfect salsa. Thin (but not watery), deep red, with some cilantro, a few pieces of onion and some spices. Delicious. No carrots, no fruit, no beans.

And I can’t find anything remotely close in the grocery store. I can’t even find a lesser-quality homogenized, pasteurized, factory-created replica of this style of salsa. Instead, I get bombarded with Thick n Chunky, peach, mango, pineapple, corn, or picante salsa. I don’t want giant pieces of food in my salsa.

I know exactly what I want, but all of these companies offer me what they think I want. Or even worse, what they want me to want.

This got me thinking. Are we doing the same thing with our clients? Are we delivering what our clients want? Do we know what our clients want? Do they? To answer that, we need to break down our clients into 3 different types:

1. Clients who know what they want, how they want it, and don’t want anything but that. This is me as it relates to salsa.
2. Clients who know what they want, but are open to other things.
3. Clients who don’t really know what they want and expect you to wow them.

There’s nothing wrong with any of these kinds of clients. But as a voice actor you need to be able to recognize the kind of client you’re dealing with. You can’t treat a #3 as a #1 or they’ll walk away wondering why they weren’t wowed. And if a client is a #1 and you give them something they don’t want, they’re going to walk.

And this is where the newbie lowballers on the P2P site du jour can’t compete. This is where your value add comes in as a seasoned pro. Let your experience be your guide. Understand your clients and figure out what they need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The client will be more than happy to give you an idea of what they want, if they know. Then you can deliver the results.

And if anyone has a good store-bought salse to recommend, knowing the kind I like, please post it in the comments.