Taking action without first taking thought rarely works well. I imagine you don’t really need me to remind you of that truth, now do you? But even worse, I would suggest is to spend all of your time planning without ever taking action. I warmly commend a recent blog post by my daughter, Karen Souer, titled Deadly Life Inertia. It’s well worth a few minutes of your time. And will be worth even more if you begin to put into practice what Karen recommends.
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Interview with Jonathan Tilley
It’s been quite some time since I’ve published an interview, but Jonathan Tilley has recently published an eBook called Voice Over Garden which presented an opportunity to take part in a blog tour Jonathan is doing, which in turn brings us to this interview. Enjoy.
Q: How did you come up with the title “Voice Over Garden”?
Jonathan: The title of “Voice Over Garden” came to me while I was cooking dinner. I was brainstorming ideas of what to call the book while chopping veggies. The title needed to be something organic and natural, that was very clear to me right from the start. Just like how I naturally fell into voice acting work or how you need to feel relaxed and organic behind the mic. I wanted that naturalness of the creative process to be clear to the reader, making them feel a part of the action instead of reading about someone else’s journey and feeling excluded. So I guess I just looked down at the chopping board and it hit me. A garden! There’s nothing more organic and natural than a garden and how well that paralleled the creative process of getting into voice-over work and making a living behind the mic.
Q: Where did your inspiration for “Voice Over Garden” come from?
Jonathan: My students I was coaching at the time. I was sick and tired of repeating myself over and over with different students. So I decided to create learning modules jam packed with info and a bit of homework for them to work on between coaching sessions. They would come in to their next coaching session and be so much more productive. I was really impressed! Then at the end of the hour they would ask when the next chapter was coming out for them to sink their teeth into. I laughed and said, “They’re learning modules, not chapters.” And they would reply, “Yeah, but it reads like a book.” I looked back through the “learning modules” and lo and behold I was writing a book without even knowing it! So I just kept on going with it. And what you have now is the finished version of my perspective on voice-over in this day and age of online globalization and how to tap into it.
Q: How have people who have read “Voice Over Garden” reacted to it so far?
Jonathan: When the book first launched I sent it out to lots of well known people in the industry to get reviews and feedback. A daunting process to say the least. But the reaction back has been wonderful. The support from everyone has been truly spectacular and the reviews have been positive. I was especially nervous when Paul Strikwerda wrote me to say he reviewed the book in his blog nethervoice and that I could read it the next day when it would be posted on his blog, but not before. Paul tells it like it is, direct and from the hip. So I was a bit nervous for the rest of the day. But when it came out I clicked on the review and was pleasantly surprised when he wrote to say that Voice Over Garden “is quite brilliant.”
Q: What are your goals for 2013?
Jonathan: 2012 was a huge year for me. I wrote “Voice Over Garden”, I moved out of my home office and into a new studio space, I did a lot of growing up. 2013 is all about giving back. I want to give back more to the VO community and also in my private life. I want to continue growing as a voice actor of course and keep on working on a global scale but this year I want to go for longer walks with my dog Dexter, I want to cook for friends, I want to experience a bit more life which in turn I can integrate back into my voice-over career.
Q: Explain to our readers why they should read “Voice Over Garden”.
Jonathan: No matter if you are just starting out in VO or are already established in the scene, “Voice Over Garden” goes beyond the basics of demos and Pay2Play sites. It’s the behind the scenes look at how I run my business as a voice-over artist done in a fun and informative way. It’s my take on how to establish positive business relationships with clients, studios, and agents and how to manage your business while keeping things creative and upbeat. Something that is rarely talked about but is crucial to success in this industry.
Q: What is the one thing you want readers to get from your book?
Jonathan: In all honesty and without sounding tacky, that they can build a business around the voices in their heads.
Q: Do you have any advice to give to aspiring VO actors?
Jonathan: Every single new student I have is a little petrified and insecure about wanting to do VO. Yet they have this strong yearning to do it. Something in them is moving them forward in this direction. I always say listen to that calling. Everyone, even the A-listers, had their very first day of VO. Get over it. We all have to start somewhere so start now. Follow that calling. Follow your heart.
Q: If you had to choose what’s your favorite part of the book?
Jonathan: Definitely Part 4, Radical Revenue. It’s all about money management and how to find financial freedom as a self-employed creative being. It was the most fun to write actually. Sharing the tips and tricks on how to save money and invest in your business made me feel so good to put on paper. I only want the best for everyone and sharing this information on how to truly create abundance was a joy.
Q: If you could choose one learning nugget that you’d like someone to take away with them after reading, what would it be?
Jonathan: That they are truly individual and there is no voice out there that is like theirs. That you can do things with your voice like persuade, seduce, or cajole someone. And once you tap into the power of your voice the sky is the limit.
Q: So how do we find “Voice Over Garden”?
Jonathan: Go to www.VoiceOverGarden.com to download the ebook and along with it you get the free bonus of the Voice Over Garden Workbook and mp3s of breathing and speech exercises. You can download the book as a PDF to be read on your computer, as a MOBI to be read on Kindle, or EPUB to be read on all other eReaders.
Q: What would you want our readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
Jonathan: Ha ha! Ummm how about this… I wake up at 6am in the morning and am in bed by 9pm at night. My bio-rhythm is that of a 93 year old grandpa. Or that I’ve been on the look out for an underwater basket weaving course. People think I’m crazy but it’s true. How cool would it be do make a basket while scuba diving?!
Q: What is the best and worst advice you ever received?
Jonathan: I had a tough acting teacher in college. While in the midst of a scene I was not really paying attention. I was just dazed out I guess. So he reached into his pocket, pulled out a dime, threw it at me and yelled in front of the whole acting class “Go call your mother and tell her you’ll never be an actor”. And for my whole freshmen year I was named “Dime Boy”.
I guess it was simultaneously the best and worst advice I ever got. Worst because you couldn’t possibly be more humiliated in front of your class mates. And best advice because he was the best damn acting teacher I ever had. He whipped me into what I am today. Whenever I go back to visit we always have a laugh about it and I’m so grateful that he woke me up and taught me how to stay present in the moment.
Thank you, Jonathan. I very much enjoyed this interview.
The new year and fear
There’s an expression I’ve heard a number of times, may you have too: “We always fear the unknown.” Pretty much rings true, doesn’t it? Whether you’re an optimist or a pessimest (or maybe you prefer the term “realist?”), every one of us has something we worry about over which we have little or no control.
Would you like some concrete ideas for how to shed the fear and get moving into this new year with a fresh resolve and a clear head? Then take a few minutes to read what my friend Jeffrey Tobin has written in his blog post called 2013: New Year’s Fears. I believe you’ll find it well worth a couple minutes of your time.
The old, the new and looking forward
In most parts of the world, it’s all ready 2013. Where I live, it will be in just moments. All the past week I’ve been thinking about the good, bad and otherwise of the past year. It’s been all of those things; but mostly it’s been good.
There has been the joy of working with my friends, my family and some truly amazing and wonderful clients. There have been some wonderful additions. A few departures. Just like every year.
Highlights include Faffcon 4 in Ventura, California and Faffcon 5 in Charlotte, NC. Working with Montana PBS, Wyoming PBS and the World Champion San Francisco Giants. From eLearning to audiobooks, to commercials and documentaries, I have truly enjoyed my work this year.
I look forward to a very good new year. I hope the same can be said for you and yours.
When Doug speaks …
People listen. If you’re old enough to remember the old E. F. Hutton commercials, you’re recognize my rip-off and re-use of their copy. And the point of why I’m harking back to and old television commercial campaign for a long-gone stock brockerage? Because the other day I thought about writing a post here based on the very cogent words of Seth Godin. I’m glad I didn’t though, because Doug Turkel has written what I would have, only much better.
If you’re a professionaly at voiceover: Read. Think. Act.
You’ll be better for it.
And while we’re thinking about a Happy Christmas
Here is a wonderfully inventive Christmas greeting from my friend Rowell Gormon.
Happy Christmas to all!
My friend Philip Banks is quite a creative and talented fellow. Here’s his take on a Christmas classic.
A you ready to make a leap into your future?
If you are ready to make a significant move, a transition from what you’ve been doing to what you know you should be doing, there’s no one better to help you make that transition that my friend Kristine Oller. So, if that’s you … someone ready to make a leap forward. Click Kristine’s name. A year from now, I’m confident you’ll be glad you did.
A new "bridges" is available
Seth Godin’s advice
According to Seth Godin, we should all ignore most of the advice we’re given. Which in my view, is mighty good advice.
Axe Cop Episode 1
Along with my friend Dave DeAndrea who plays Axe Cop himself, (I’m the narrator) here is the first of the new edition of the Axe Cop motion comics.
Calendars for a good cause
Erik Sheppard is inventive, motivating and full of … well … let’s call it good ideas for today, OK? His latest is the 2013 VO Calendars. Full details when you click that link to Erik’s site.
Just a little bit more about me
I’ve always tried to be sure this blog is a good balance between my thoughts and the excellent work and insights of others. After all, while I do have a point of view about many things voiceover, mine isn’t the only perspective worth your time.
However, Trib Total Media has added a video to the interview I posted a couple of days ago so if you haven’t had a chance to see this, here you go.
What is Nancy Wolfson all about?
Nancy Wolfson has just released a video that answers that question in less than 2 minutes.
My first newspaper interview
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has published an inteview with me today, for which I’m very grateful; which is certainly appropriate on this Thanksgiving holiday here in the USA.
Remarkable or not
As you may know, one of the things Seth Godin encourages each of us to be is remarkable. He wrote a book about this idea called Purple Cow. (The link takes you to a blog post talking about the marketing of Purple Cow.)
It’s my goal to provide remarkable service to every one of my clients in the way I deliver voiceover work to them and for them. But, truth is, it’s not always possible to be remarkable. However, as Seth notes in a recent blog post, even when we can’t be remarkable, we can be good and even better we can be personal in the way we provide our service.
Delivering good (that is excellent) work is obvious. What’s not always so obvious is delivering that excellent work in a way that is personal. How you do that is going to be unique to you. For me, it starts with seeing everyone who hires me to do voiceover work for them as a client, not just a customer.
What do I mean by those terms, customer and client?
A customer is someone who buys something from you.
A client is someone you care for. And when you care for someone, the service and attention you provide is personal.
Axe Cop – some background
I’ve had a lot of fun doing the narrations for the Axe Cop motion web comics, joining a very talented crew of folks like Dave DeAndrea, Lee Gordon and Rowell Gormon among many others. Now, thanks to this video, we can learn a bit more about the origins of Axe Cop.
A wonderful article featuring some of my friends
Voxy Ladies is a highly talented group of professional voiceover ladies. Many members of the collective are friends, so I’m thrilled to see an article published in Verve Magazine spotlighting 4 of the groups members. Voxy Ladies indeed!
Quote of the week
From the Simple Dollar blog of Trent Hamm:
“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” – William Shedd
So, do you want to be successful or safe?
The 2012 NYC Mixer
This is always a great time with the voiceover family.
