Today I’m excited to have Claudine Wolk on my blog today. She’s a perfect person to share these insights, because she just released her audiobook version of IT GETS EASIER!…AND OTHER LIES WE TELL NEW MOTHERS. In fact, she recorded it herself! So, I’m excited to share her insights with you. Take it away Claudine!
In 2008, I was invited to KYW 1060 news radio offices in Philadelphia to record an interview promoting my first book, It Gets Easier and Other Lies We Tell New Mothers. That was it for me. I was hooked on broadcasting. About four years ago, I became the host of a talk radio show in NJ, WDVR’s Let’s Talk, and started a podcast – Stories and Strategies for Women. After year one working on both platforms, I started to hear that I had a nice voice. I truly had never thought about my voice or it being nice, but it got me thinking that perhaps a career in voice acting could be fun.
Last spring, an email came to me for an online workshop with Voice Coaches, an organization that teaches voice coaching. The workshop session was an introduction to voice acting but with a special added feature. The voice coach’s “coach” would record your voice and evaluate it based on several voice criteria. They promised that if your voice was truly NOT meant for radio, they would be honest and report it. For $30, I decided to give it a shot.
Of course, they said my voice was fabulous and when can I start… lol, not quite. They encouraged me to continue and suggested I take their course, which I did. The course was NOT $40 but it included a produced demo at the end of it that I could use to audition for voice acting jobs. I knew enough at this point – with the radio job and my podcast – to understand the cost of producing at a studio on my own, so I decided to take the class.
To get jobs as a voice actor, I learned, you have to market yourself. As a voice actor you would most likely be working for yourself – be in business for yourself. Some voice actors search for an agent but most look for jobs on their own, offering their business cards to local businesses after explaining what they do.
One job venue that you could try and that may be a good way to get your feet wet is with ACX. You know how Amazon sells audiobooks; well, they also own the platform that produces them. Authors of written books who want their book to be an audiobook, use ACX to hire voice actors, like you, to narrate their books. The trick is that as the voice actor, you also have to produce the audiobook, which means you must record it, edit it, and upload it to the ACX site according to their specifications. It is a lot of work, but it may help to build up your experience as a voice actor. Whichever way you decide to try voice acting, on your own or after taking a course, be sure to do your research and be professional. Networking, as with any career building is a plus.
After taking the Voice Coaches course, I contacted my book publisher and pitched narrating my book for free if they would consider creating an audiobook. They accepted and It Gets Easier and Other Lies We Tell New Mothers audiobook was released in Nov 2022. I now have an audiobook credited to my name and on my voice-acting resume. Next stop, ACX.
Voice Coaches offer that introductory workshop session I mentioned above for $30 at the time of this post. You will enjoy 50% off their introductory fee if you pop my name in the promo code – WOLK.” For the price, it may be worth it.
Thank you Claudine!
About It Gets Easier!…And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers
Every new mom learns pretty quickly how difficult new motherhood is but also that nobody tells the truth about it. Author and narrator Claudine Wolk learned the same lesson after her son was born but decided to speak the truth about motherhood with humorous insight and reality-based suggestions. A few crucial tips can make motherhood a bit more controllable and a lot more enjoyable.
Purchase a copy of the audiobook on Libro.fm, Audible or Audiobooks.com. You can also add the book to your reading list on GoodReads.com.
About the Author, Claudine Wolk
Claudine Wolk is a writer, radio talk show host, podcast host, and book marketing consultant. Her first book, It Gets Easier and Other Lies We Tell New Mothers has affectionately become “the perfect baby shower gift.” Claudine is working on her second non-fiction book aimed at helping writers who want to publish and market a book in the same fun, practical way as her first book. Claudine lives with her husband, Joe, in Bucks County, PA and has three grown children and a baby grandson. More at www.ClaudineWolk.com
Other places you can find the author online:
Substack: https://ClaudineWolk.Substack.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claudinewolk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claudinewolk/
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/help4newmoms
Stories and Strategies for Woman Podcast: https://storiesandstrategiesforwomen.buzzsprout.com