The world of voiceovers is one of curiosity for many. Think about it. We hear voiceovers everywhere from radio commercials to movie trailers to telephone phone prompts but there is little info out there about the actual business.

Which means we get lots of calls from people asking lots of questions.

"What's it like to work in voiceovers?" How do I get started in the business?" "How much money can I make?"

Today I will tackle the question: What's it like to work in voicovers with "The Six Truths About Voiceovers". There are literally dozens more but I narrowed it down to these top six. The rest will be discussed in my voiceover book, to be published in 2010.

The Six Truths About Voiceovers:

1. The voiceover you record "in your head" always sounds better than the one you actually recorded.

2. The bigger the voiceover project and the bigger the paycheck, the better your chances are that you'll come down with a horrific head cold on the day you're to record.

3. There is no crying in voiceovers, however some directors (not naming names!) will give you plenty of reasons to shed some.

4. When a client requests a voiceover ASAP what they are really saying is they need it RFN.

5. The Federal Government is not offering bailout money to the voiceover industry

6. Voiceover artists don't need a BAILOUT because the voiceover business is going and growing strong in 2009!

Interested in learning more? Sign up for our Introductory classes held monthly at our midtown Sacramento studio. With more than 30 years of fulltime experience in the voiceover industry, we are able to teach you the practical, real-life voiceover skills needed to to be successful in the voiceover business.

One of my favorite stories is about the time I went to a pizza restaurant and a 50-ish lady in line in front of me was ordering a mushroom and meat pizza. The 16-year-old behind the counter asked her what kind of meat did she want on her pizza? The lady got a puzzled look on her face and said that she couldn't remember what they were called but said that they were round and spicy.

You mean pepperoni?, the suddenly sarcastic teenager quipped.

The lady, now red-faced, said "yes, that's it.....I want a mushroom and pepperoni pizza!"

I must admit that I silently chuckled to myself and then went back to the office and shared the story about Pepperoni Lady with everyone there, as well. Who on earth forgets what pepperoni is?

Of course, that was before I knew anything about fluctating hormone levels and the major changes a woman goes through in the midlife of her life. Since turning 50 this past November I now know that I have much more in common with the pepperoni lady than I ever imagined.

I know what's going on. My hormone levels, which have kept me on an even keel all my life, are now fluctuating madly like today's stock market. And we all now how ugly that is.

In the past few weeks I have lost 1 slipper, 1 important tax form, and a new black suede jacket with fur cuffs and collar. Poof! Gone. Absolutely NO idea where any of this stuff could be. On the other hand, I have found a box of Cheerios in the fridge and a half gallon of 1% milk.....in the freezer.

Yes, I know, it's funny. Really, I try to have a good sense of humor about these things. What other option do I have?

I know that my hormone levels are low and then too high and then non-existent....sometimes all 3 on the same day. And, it's driving me crazy!

Oprah has the answers to female hormonal problems, of course, because she knows The Secret, for goodness sake, and perky Suzanne Somers has the answers because she invented the thigh master and you know once you invent something like that you become an expert on everything. Dr Phil's wife, Robin, has the answers because she's married to Dr. Phil who is famous because he knows Oprah and everyone is living la vida loca with their cures for the menopausal woman.

Except me. Does anyone else besides me find it crazy getting health advice from celebrities?

Meanwhile, I will continue to embrace these changes in life with a sense of humor, the support of my friends and the love from my long-suffering husband.

Stay tuned, hang on and brace yourselves.....this could get interesting!

As we walked into the tempanyki restaurant I promised my husband Jeff that I would not mention to a soul that it was his birthday. At this particular restaurant the staff likes to come over to your table and sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY (with drums, nonetheless) when they catch wind of these type of celebrations. Which my reserved husband does not enjoy at all.

Food is prepared benihana-style, which means you're seated at large tables with other diners. Strangers. Sometimes they become friends by the end of the meal. Other times they remain strangers.

This evening we quickly knew that our fellow diners were friends. Drinks were ordered, soup was slurped and soon we were watching our talented chef juggle knives while building onion volcanoes and stir-frying calamari cubes.

Conversation was lively, spiked with laughter and lubricated with cocktails when our waitress asked the all-important question:

Is anyone celebrating a birthday tonight?

Jeff shot me "the look", which was caught by the friendly lady sitting next to Jeff and before you could blink, the cat was out of the bag. Everyone at our table knew it was my quiet, attention-dodging husband's birthday!

Our new friends, who obviously felt like part of our family now, asked the question:

"How old are you today, Jeff?"

I actually like this question because the answer always astounds people. This simple question quickly can turn into a quiz show.

So I said "guess".

First guess: 45. Higher, I said. 50? Nope. One of our new friends shaked his head left to right and said he certainly couldn't be 55???? Nope, I quipped and stuck two thumbs up to indicate go even higher.

By now the whole table was looking at Jeff like he was some sort of circus exhibit. He really does look 45. And, I just told them that he was even older than their new guess of 60.

Jeff's real age? 63. But really, he looks at least 15 years younger.

Jeff always says that he looks younger because he married a younger woman. 13 years younger, to be exact.

I just hope that I look half as good at 63 as Jeff does today!

Yep, I've been writing this Blog for one year now. I originally started it out of curiosity. I wanted to know: What exactly IS a blog? Why does everyone have one? If everyone else has one....I've got to have one, too!

From what I had been reading on the web, a Blog is a good way of having a platform to voice one's own opinion. A Blog would be my own personal soapbox, so to speak. Who doesn't want that?

Over the last year I've used this soapbox/Blog to talk about things I love: doing voiceovers, my kids and grandkids, my husband Jeff, our cat Wilma, my hobbies. I've used it to complain and brag, share funny stories and then later in the year, I started sharing some of my favorite recipes. Ironically, the recipes get the most hits of everything I've posted! Food is indeed the common denominator.

The interest in recipes did surprise me. And, it almost makes me rethink my business model. Maybe I should open a voiceover bakery. Can't you see it....."I'd like to order 2 -60 second radio spots, light on the energy and could you throw in a dozen of your pumpkin whoopie pies, too?"

If you haven't tried my whoopie pies, I highly recommend whipping up a batch on a dreary winter day. Works better than pharmaceutical anti-depressants! Click "Recipes" under the tags to find these ooey gooey treats.

I will be posting more recipes in the weeks to come. At our voiceover workshops we always have a "treat of the month" and then I post the recipe. And, if you have a recipe that you'd like to share, by all means, let me know. The more recipes, the merrier, I say!

The Blog has also been a great forum for voiceover artists and aspiring voiceover artists everywhere. In the past year Jim and I have taught dozens of workshops with over 300 people in attendance. All thanks to the Blog!

In addition, in 2008 there were 4105 hits on this Blog, coming from all corners of the world including every state in the union and as far away as Ethiopia.

It's been quite a journey, to say the least. And I thank YOU for being a part of it. It's the people that make any journey a great one and this has been amazing!

Here's to a fabulous 2009!

It used to be, back in the old days (like 5 years ago), that all voiceover work was done in a professional recording studio. The client, producer, engineer and voice talent would all drive to a local recording studio and produce audio.

Nowadays a very high percentage of voiceover work is produced in home studios. In my case a good 80% of all the voice work I do is done in my home studio. Clients love voiceover talents that have home studios as it as it saves them money and time. And with today's advanced audio editting software a professional sound is easy to achieve. Not only that, but it creates opportunities for you as a voiceover talent to do work for not only local clients, but for clients spanning the globe.

While putting together a home recording studio sounds like an expensive proposition, in reality it is surprisingly affordable. In most cases, a quality-sounding studio can be put together for less than $300.00. Really!

This is a "must-take" workshop for anyone serious about building a career in voiceovers! Our next session of building your Home Recording Studio will be will be scheduled in May. This is also a great opportunity to "try it before you buy it"including a variety of microphones, mixing boards, etc.

Make your reservation by calling our office at 916-446-2004. Cost of the workshop is $75.00 and includes all materials.

Lately we've been getting calls at the office from aspiring voiceover artists asking us:

"Am I ready to get my voice demo produced?"

And though we know many of you very well and have been working with you in workshops and individual coaching for a while now, we cannot tell you when you are ready to take the big step of getting your first professional voice demo produced. Sorry.

What we do know is that you do need to feel ready. The confidence in yourself must be there. You'll know when you are ready. And you won't need someone to tell you.

Keep in mind that you must be ready to compete with other voiceover artists who have been doing this type of work for a long time. But, don't let that discourage you....fresh new, skilled talent is always in demand.

With that in mind, our new advanced skills workshop, "Tightening the Nuts and Bolts in Your Delivery I and II" prepares you to compete in the real working world of voiceovers and is an excellent way to fine tune your voiceover skills in:

energy

phrasing

pitch

dynamics

articulation

breath control

storytelling skills opposed to reading

your ability to understand and relate to various target audiences

developing your discernable ear and

your developing your critical technical ear!

Yes, a LOT goes into a GOOD VOICEOVER and the pros make it look EASY!

Our job is to teach you how to go from being someone with a good voice that can read well to being a great storyteller...no matter what the script may be. When you can do that you will be a voiceover artist.

 Nuts and Bolts I & II will be offered in the last half of April in April.

2009 is the year to go from being a good voiceover talent to a great voiceover artist!

Call our office at 916 446-2004 to reserve your seat today. $75.00, includes all materials. Bring a pencil with an ERASER! A couple seats are still available!

All workshops are held in the beautiful Sacramento Art Complex, of course!

2110 K Street, Suite 17 in Midtown.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their busy holiday schedules to stop by our studio last Saturday for our Holiday Open House. We had an impressive turnout of more than 80 people! We even had a couple people drive up from Oakland to join in the festivities. It was a fun group!

Jim and I were happy to take the time to spend a few hours of the holiday season with all the great people we've met and worked with this past year including students, clients and fellow voiceover artists.

We also gave away prizes including 3 workshops in a drawing and the lucky winners are:

Mike McDade

Monika Lopez

Sandy Klagge

Congratulations to our winners!

The food was a big hit and a big thank you goes out to
Dana B.'s Delectables of Livermore for providing a lavish spread of unbelievably delicious food. It was a huge hit! One of the favorites was a savory cheesecake that you cut in wedges and spread on crackers. Dana has graciously shared the recipe:

Artichoke Cheesecake________________________________________

Ingredients

2 ½ cups chopped bagels (about 2 bagels)

2 Tbls. olive oil

3 tsp. dried or fresh chives

2-8 oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1-15 oz tub ricotta cheese

1 can condensed broccoli cheese soup

2 eggs

1 Tbls. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. garlic salt

1-8.5 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1-15 oz jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped

1 cup fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine bagels, oil and 1 tsp. chives in a medium sized mixing bowl and mix well. Spray 9 X 2 ½ inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Press bagel mixture firmly into bottom of pan and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool.

With an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, ricotta, soup, eggs, herbs, garlic salt and remaining 2 tsp. chives. Mix until well blended. Spread half of the cheese mixture over the bagel crust. Top with artichokes, ½ of the red peppers and ½ of the basil. Top with remaining cheese filling and smooth flat. Place remaining red peppers evenly over top layer. Bake for 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes; until completely set. Cool completely, then refrigerate 6 hours to overnight. Run knife around edge of torte and release from spring form pan. (It is easiest to serve with pan bottom in place.) Top torte with remaining half of fresh basil just prior to serving. Serve with crackers.

Enjoy and Have a Wonderful Holiday Season!

The year was 1991 and I had just started dating a very nice guy about six weeks before Christmas. I knew that this relationship had real potential but neither one of us had articulated that fact OUTLOUD just yet.

I had been married for seven years prior and was a bit gun shy about getting into another relationship. Dating after my divorce wasn't much fun. One man who asked me out had been married six times. Another man admitted that he had a foot fetish and consequently requested that I wear open-toe sandles to dinner......in January.

It was easy to turn down these dates and I quickly decided that I was going to stay single forever. That lasted for 3 years and then I met Jeff. I knew from day one that he was "the one".

On our first Christmas Eve Jeff came over with two live lobsters, a bottle of champagne and a beautifully wrapped rake. Yes, a rake. A rake that rakes leaves.

I was even more suprised at my response......I LOVED it!

That rake told me so much about who Jeff really was. It said he was comfortable in his own skin and didn't feel that he had to impress me with lavish gifts. It told me that he listened to me when I'd complain about all my yard work. And, then he took my new rake and actually did all the work for me.

Shortly after what I like to call " The Rake Christmas" we broke down and confessed our feelings and like they say "the rest is history".

The rake lived for 12 years until one day the handle snapped in two. I wanted to put what remained in a shadow box and hang it in my office but Jeff thought that was a silly idea.

In the years since I have receieved lots of practical gifts from Jeff (last year I got a battery-operated lint remover) and also some very lavish ones (you should see my new diamond ring!) but the best gift ever will always be that rake.

Thank you, Jeff, for being who you are....the best husband ever.

With the holiday shopping season upon us I must admit that I am powerless over a sale. Send me a sales catalog and I'll find all kinds of things to buy that I didn't even know that I had to have....until I saw how low the prices were.

I was raised with practical, midwestern parents. They grew up during the depression and we were regularly reminded of that fact. Because they grew up during lean times we had criteria to follow before we purchased anything. The question we had to answer was: Do I need this?

Most of the time the answer to that question was no, I didn't need it, but I wanted it.

We quickly learned that our family did not buy wants. For goodness sake, do you think we were made out of money?, was regularly asked us by both my mom and dad. And, if we needed something we had to explain to these people who weren't made out of money why we needed whatever it was that we seemingly could not live without.

For example, a typical conversation would go like this. ...

Me: "Dad, I need a new pair of jeans because everyone is wearing this cool new style"

Dad: "That sounds like a want to me".

Me: "No, I really need new jeans because my old ones have a hole in the seat".

Dad: "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?" Go ahead and get those jeans. We don't need for everyone to see your rear end!"

Once I figured out how to work the system I got everything I needed....and wanted. Still, old habits die hard and even today around the first of December I get calls from my family asking: "what do I need for Christmas?" Heaven forbid we buy something that someone wants but doesn't need!

Which brings me to the long check-out line at Macy's in downtown Sacramento the other day. There I was, loaded down with my needs (sheets and 2 bed pillows) and one want: a panini press at 50% off.

I've never eaten a panini before but at 50% off, surely it is worth buying one, right? A grilled panini sandwich sounds exotic and really, how can I go wrong at 50% off?

The lady in line behind me asked me how much the panini press was. When I told her it was 50% off she confirmed that it was a good price. We struck up a conversation and I admitted that I didn't even really know what a panini was.

She told me that a panini is a grilled cheese sandwich.

Then it hit me. I was going to spend $45.00 on a gadget that made something that I already can make with a frying pan that I already own. And to add insult to injury I would have to find a place to store my new high-priced, new fangled grilled cheese maker. I didn't need it and I certainly didn't want it anymore. Heck, we rarely eat grilled cheese as it is.

I bought my sheets and pillows and left the panini in Macys, where it belongs.

My dad would be proud!

A year ago last July I went to Honolulu with my college friend Sheri. This was a special trip for us as we were celebrating the 30th anniversary of first meeting as college freshman at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

The years have really zoomed by since then and this was an opportunity for us to reminisce about the past and plan for our futures. Of course, any good trip involves shopping.

One day, as a lark, I said that we should go in the Louis Vuitton store. I see people carrying expensive Louis Vuitton purses all the time and I was just curious to see how expensive they were.

I was surprised at the prices. How on earth do people afford such expensive purses????

One thing led to another and before I knew what was happening I fell in love with a Louis Vuitton bag named Beverly. Quicker than I could say "let's get the heck out of here" the clerk was packing it up and handing me a chic Louis Vuitton shopping bag containing my newly purchased purse.

At first I felt a little giddy and excited. By day 3 I was sweating bullets. What on earth was I thinking? This new purse named Beverly cost more than our sofa in the family room!

When I returned home I showed it to my husband Jeff. He asked me how much it cost and I wisely told him "too much" . I think he knew better than to prod for more details.

I must admit it has been difficult to enjoy this purse as I've been plagued with guilt over spending so much money. That is, until I walked into the new Louis Vuitton store near our home. I was curious to see if they were still offering Beverly.

Sure enough....there she was in all her Louis Vuitton glory. And, it was priced $230.00 higher than what I paid just one year ago.

Wow, the guilt over owning the purse is now gone. This wasn't a frivilous purchase after all! My Louis Vuitton purse is a financial investment.

In one year's time my purse has appreciated 23%. That's an impressive return by anyone's standards and makes me think that instead of putting my money in the bank maybe, just possibly, I should be buying more purses.........