Since it’s Thanksgiving, I’ll go with the flow and write about being thankful. And grateful. Many sites, including Oprah’s, talk about the importance of keeping a gratitude journal as a way to relieve stress and maintain a positive attitude. Some sites go so far as to say you’ll attract abundance or your life will change for the better if you do this for a few months. There is, of course, even an app for that.

Some things I’m grateful and thankful for:
–so many supportive and helpful friends and family. Those that are part of everyday life and those I don’t see as often but when I do, the connection and understanding are still there.
–great acting jobs I’ve had this year, from a national TV commercial shot in New Orleans to a live industrial for ComedySportz in Las Vegas to all the challenging eLearning courses that come my way.
–self-discipline and motivation that keep me in my chair working and help me resist eating every piece of chocolate I see.
–things to look forward to, such as singing one of my favorite pieces (Carmina Burana) at Symphony Center next summer.
–opportunities to make people laugh (with me, not at me) via improv and other performances.
–hope. Sometimes this is a challenge to maintain, for example, when things don’t quite go your way. When the phone doesn’t ring or I don’t have any auditions or upcoming gigs. But that’s the point of hope: to believe in a positive outcome. As the song says, “Don’t Stop Believin’“.

What are 5 things you’re grateful for?

For more information, see:

http://www.simpleabundance.com/gratitude_journal.html

http://stress.about.com/od/positiveattitude/a/gratitude.htm

http://www.thehappyguy.com/articles/gratitude-journal.html

Authors spend countless hours hunched over their keyboards crafting and completing manuscripts. With the proliferation of self-publishing, what’s done can be done. You can publish your first draft, if you like. What’s your goal: to have your words available via Kindle/Nook, etc.? Or do you want readers to find your book amidst the multitudes and click “buy” so you can make money?

How do you know your book is ready to publish? Some authors have a critique group or partner(s) and/or freelance editors vet their manuscripts. You have to trust your gut to tell you if they’re making your work better, or, though well-intentioned, leading you astray. In the end, even the best critiquers/freelancers can’t make an agent love your project enough to take you on or motivate a publisher to buy.

So even in this digital age, many still need an editor employed by a publisher, or an agent and an editor…they have the ability and power to market or buy your work. But they must approve of and love a project before they’ll put their reputation and time behind it. One or both may send a revision letter with changes that need to be made before going to market. I know successful authors who’ve ripped certain manuscripts apart and rewritten them (sometimes more than once) before selling. Others refuse to change a word or agree to make some changes but not others.

What if you’re asked or advised to add an element you hadn’t intended to include or remove one you wanted to keep? If you say no, are you being stubborn/difficult to work with or believing in your product?

Examples:
“One paranormal element is hard to sell.” Removing the paranormal element would’ve required coming up with a new backstory, motivation and conflict for the hero and reworking parts of the plot influenced by it.
“This isn’t hot enough at the beginning.” Some characters jump into bed at the drop of a hat, others would seem out of character if they did. Changing motivation is a challenge.
“You have too many POV characters, eliminate Jane.” To do this without having too many scenes in a row in the same POV, I made a slip of paper for each scene listing POV (with each character in a different color) and what happened and arranged them on my desk. I spent hours wrestling with what could stay and what had to go.
“France is a hard sell. Move it to Scotland.” Or “Regency set historicals are selling better than medievals.” Imagine the research required to make this change. Plot changes to, to incorporate historical events in your new location or time period and take out those you had.
“I sold by making my historical into an inspirational, they’re buying a lot of those.” Or “Steampunk is so hot now.” You have to learn the requirements for a new market and determine if you have the skills/interest to write them. Many advise against writing to trends, because by the time you finish and sell the ms, there’ll be a new trend.

Sometimes changes make a work more marketable and/or stronger. Other times, you’re stuffing a square peg into a round hole. It’s hard to know if your time is best spent revising or writing a new project. What do you think?

Whether we want to admit it or not, freelancers are salespeople. Our product is ourselves…our appearance, personality, professionalism, talent (whether in the form of performances, articles, books, consulting services, etc.) as perceived by others who have the power to hire us. Can you convince them you’re the one to meet their needs and deliver quality work on time?

If they can get them, actors and writers can rely on agents and returning clients to provide work. For most of us that won’t be enough. Often freelancing/owning your own business means having to search for a new job every week. Many actors and authors I meet are reluctant to promote/market themselves, either because they don’t know how, don’t want to make the effort, are shy, fear rejection, or feel that doing so somehow cheapens them. Unlike many performers/writers, I have 16 years of corporate America sales, marketing and training experience to bring to the table.

First, we need access to potential clients…via a personal connection, referral, agent, cold call. This requires networking, research, appropriate follow up and often a bit of being in the right place at the right time. I’ve met many aspiring acotrs/authors who haven’t even submitted to agents or clients. What are they waiting for?

Once we get in the door, we need to know how to close the deal. Acting abilities (and writing) in particular are very subjective products…and can even come down to hair color or height. I remember my gainfully employed days, when results weren’t guaranteed but at least more information was handed to me. I had a) some hard facts to prove my product’s benefits b) less competition…in my two positions there were only a handful of viable competitors. Now there are dozens, hundreds or thousands. And c) a list of clients who 1) already had my product(s) so the challenge was to get them to buy/use more 2) were prospects. Actors/writers/freelancers need to figure all this out on their own. At least the Internet has made the process easier.

Examples:
1) A friend referred me to a potential client; I submitted my information. Months later the friend’s contact left, and another was suggested. I followed up in a timely manner, but didn’t get work. Almost a year later, out of the blue a third person called to say he had my headshot/resume, had me interview, booked me on the spot and for other work since. Sometimes, even if your contact wants to hire you, someone higher up the ladder may not.
2) I researched and contacted some potential clients. One happened to need a female VO and has sent me a lot of work for several of her clients. Yet there are many times when even your best efforts don’t yield a sale/work.

So far for me, the key seems to be continue to put irons in the fire, hoping/believing a steady stream of work will follow, and that that will lead to additional work. To find the discipline and persistence to continue, not put all of my eggs in one basket, or rest on my laurels and wait for work to come to me.

When I tell people I do voiceovers or write novels, their reply is often something like, “Oh, yeah, I’ve been meaning to get into voiceovers,” or “I’m going to write a book.”

But they don’t. What are they, or you, waiting for? Perhaps they/you:

1)Don’t know how to start. That was a better excuse in the days before the Internet, when information wasn’t instantly accessible. Nowadays, a quick online search returns a wealth of “how to” info.

2)Don’t have the time. If there is something you really want to do, you can make the time. How much time do you fritter away each day, for example, on Facebook? I know plenty of very busy people who get up early/stay up late…whatever it takes to move forward.

3)Are intimidated by barriers to entry. For VO, these include having a fabulous demo produced. Most aspirants probably need to take a good VO class first to learn more about the process and the business. You need to know what a great demo sounds like, research demo producers and compare offerings and costs.

Some may get by with only a commercial demo, but many will also need a narration demo. You’ll probably need to invest in a basic home recording setup so you can record, edit and submit your own auditions and some projects, which means you also need a few audio engineering skills.

Most VO talents will not be able to just sit back and have work flowing in. You’ll send your demo(s) to agents. You’ll need to research each agent’s submission policy, then create a professional-looking submission with well-written cover letter.

Even if you get an agent(s), chances are you’ll also need to find other sources of VO work, which in turn require you to set rates and have an invoicing system to keep track of payments. You may need a great (not obviously a template) Web site for potential clients to listen to your demos and sample projects.

This all assumes you have the ability to:
— reproduce sounds in your demo. Being coached by a demo producer to sound a certain way after many takes is one thing. You need to be able to do it on your own.
— effectively interpret various types of copy and convey the client’s message.
— take direction. On an audition or a job, if the client asks for adjustments (such as “more friendly” or “more real” or even “more lyrical,” you need to deliver.

VO work is a lot more than just having a nice voice and sitting in front of a mic and reading.

Barriers to being a published author include having completed at least one book. If you can write one page a day, you’ll have a novel in a year.

Writing just one takes discipline and time, and very often a good deal of re-writing on your own or upon request from an agent/editor. Then you need to write a fabulous query letter and research agents and/or editors to submit to and have the patience to sit back and wait for responses (though some agents/editor say that they’ll only reply if interested). If you do sell, your editor will soon ask, “what’s your next project and when can I have it,” so you’ll need to be able to write on a deadline.

Today there are also numerous self-publishing options. What is your goal? Do you just want to hold a book you wrote in your hands or have it available for family and friends to download? If you self-publish, a) how do you know your book is saleable and b) how will potential buyers find your book among the thousands already out there? Do you want to spend the majority of your time promoting that book or writing the next one? Do you want to make money? So far, very few authors I know (and I know quite a few) have made more than a few bucks from e-publishing new books (unless they write erotica) or self-publishing.

Many have leaped over these barriers to acheive their goals. If you want to write a book, get into VO, or do anything you’ve been saying you want to do some day, the key is to take action. Get started, because someday is now. Don’t let yourself down. Do just one thing a day or spend 15 minutes working toward your goal.

How many times a day do you get asked to make changes–either in work you’ve submitted, in your schedule, or in yourself–or ask someone to change for you?

Sometimes complying is a no-brainer. Sure, Friend X, I can meet you at 7 instead of 6:30. Yes, Editor Y, I’m happy to go from dual first person point of view to third since you’ve said you’ll take another look if I do (though of course I wouldn’t have written it that way if I didn’t like it). Ok, Agent Z, I can make it to an audition two hours from now.

Other times, you may not be sure if you want to make the change. I’ve heard of aspiring authors who simply ignore revision letters. They’re insulted that anyone wants them to change a single word. They don’t want to realize that industry professionals don’t take the time to request revisions if they aren’t really interested. But how far are you willing to go? If you refuse a particular adjustment, can you come up with a good, well-motivated reason why?

And other times, you may not know how to change/be different. I once took a bite and smile class, where you’re taught how to eat food and react in a timely and pleasant manner for commercial auditions. A classmate said he had to eat a potato chip, which he did. Then the director asked to see something else, and the actor was stymied by what do to. We learned to come up with 10 different ways to eat something. (I’ve booked one b&s commercial…for the audition we had to eat a Nilla wafer after putting down our fake fishing poles and taking off hats they gave us. Very challenging to quickly bite into without looking like you’re chomping or merely nibbling, and not easy to keep crumbs off your lipgloss, here.)

What if the requested or suggested change is something personal, about the way you dress or behave? Maybe you get another opinion or two before you agree. Maybe it’s something you’re willing to try once, like wearing more or less makeup. You might feel the suggestor is trying to control/manipulate you or turn you into someone you don’t want to be. Or you might not realize you do need to change and are just being stubborn or worried you’ll make a mistake. You might want to make changes in, say, your career or relationship, but are afraid to take the first steps…the devil you know…

If you’re thinking of making a change, here are some interesting thoughts:

Managing Change, About.com

Resistance to Change, Schuler Solutions

Change Quotes, Quote Garden

This week I had jury duty. When I mentioned this to friends, there’ve been two responses. Either they’re eager to be on a jury, or they say they’d try to get out of it.

If you or someone close to you was the person in that plaintiff or defendant chair, wouldn’t you want the most capable jury possible?

Yes, jury duty takes you from your everyday life. I had to devote what turned out to be two whole days-9 to 5 one day and 10-7:25 the other. Yes, I had to drive to the burbs, which took over an hour in the morning and around a half hour to return. We got paid a whopping $17.20 per day, and spent a good portion of the second day locked in a cramped room…without our cell phones.

But the jury is a fundamental part of our country’s legal system. It’s part of what makes America America.

Day 1: Arrive at the court. Wait in metal detector line. Go to spacious jury assembly room, hand in your summons, choose a panel number. Watch the You, The Juror video (in which I happen to be the plaintiff’s attorney, filmed in 1997).

My panel was one of the first to get called. A sheriff led around 30 of us up to a courtroom. We sat on the hard wood benches. The judge gave an overview of what would happen and thanked us for our service. Fourteen of us were called to sit in the softer jury box chairs. Each was questioned (voir dire) about a variety of things including education, occupation, and, in this case, whether we’d been in a car crash. After that, the parties/lawyers/judge left the room. Only a few of us were retained, the rest returned to the assembly room to await another panel.

After a long lunch break, my new panel number was called. Off to another courtroom for more voir dire. This to me was the most tedious part…all of us had to sit and wait while the first group of 14 were questioned, then while the parties deliberated on whom to keep, then while the next group of 14 were questioned. Finally around 5pm the jury was complete. I was among those selected.

Day 2: The 12 of us…ranging from 20s to 71, assorted occupations, educational backgrounds and ethnicities, waited for at least an hour locked in our jury room. Finally we were called to hear the case: a dual robbery. There were four witnesses: the two victims and two police officers. The goal of the defense is to raise doubt(s)…because, if you didn’t know, in a criminal case the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The actual trial was quite different from those seen on TV. How the judge and attorneys handled objections and re-worded questions showed how much I still remember from law school about hearsay rules.

Time to deliberate….12 strangers unanimously deciding a man’s fate on the evidence we’d seen and heard. Who and what did we believe?

I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly and how professionally we worked together (some bosses could learn from that), how committed everyone was to doing the right thing and allowing each of us to have our say. We returned a guilty verdict. Justice was served.

Then the judge and one of the attorneys came to ask if we had any questions. We learned that the defendant had had prior run-ins with the law. This was his ELEVENTH conviction. Wow.

I’m usually very organized, and have enjoyed bringing order to other people’s chaotic closets and/or papers. There’s a certain satisfaction derived from neatly arranged drawer contents, shoes lined up in rows, piles consolidated, clutter contained. I can’t control when agents/editors/casting people will call or when or which jobs I’ll book, but I can control how neat my stuff and place are.

Though my clothes hang by color and type and even my junk drawer isn’t messy, keeping track of computer files still proves a challenge. Especially when I’m multitasking to meet impending deadlines and so working 12 hour days (completing 4 VO e-learning courses, a non-fiction manuscript with a co-author, Web site for said manuscript, workshop proposal, auditions, etc.), orderliness devolves into disarray.

1. I think I’ll remember the name of a file and where I saved it. But then when I need it, where did the darn thing go?
2. drafts: my co-author and I are trying to use a ‘book to date’ method. But if she sends snippets to insert or a draft of a single chapter…I get confused by what goes where and end up comparing versions to make sure I’ve gotten all of the updates and answered all questions.
3. flash drives: I have a bunch…and since they’re so small it’s hard to label what’s on them like you could floppy disks.
4. E-mails: going through chains of e-mails to find important bits can be tedious, especially if the subject doesn’t describe the contents.
5. Passwords: I know they’re supposed to be strong (mix of caps, numbers, symbols), etc. And you’re supposed to change them frequently. These days it seems more and more sites want you to register…so the list expands.
6. I have Excel spreadsheets for auditions, jobs, writing submissions, expenses. They can get unwieldy if there’s too much info. On the other hand, sometimes I want more than I’ve entered. Or if don’t update them regularly, going back through correspondence or notes can take a while.

I need to invest some time on to improve my system so I can save time and frustration in the future. Check out these suggestions:

9 Tips to Manage Files Faster

Organizing Computer Files

How to Organize your Computer

That’s the first line of George Carlin’s “Hair Poem”. It applies to every on camera actor, because a big part of casting is appearance. You don’t have to be beautiful, but your look must suit that role and the casting director’s and/or client’s vision.

My hair very curly and very thick. Wile I often get compliments about my hair, and women with thin or straight hair comment wistfully, there are times when straight hair is preferred for actors. Knowing when those times are is a challenge. On the one hand, you’re supposed to look like your headshots. On the other, you want to suit the character specs as much as possible so auditioners don’t have to stretch to see you in that role.

For example, a national TV commercial sought 3 nuns of varying ages and asked that auditionees look the part. A few were in actual nun’s habits, but most, like me, wore something conservative in black or black and white. Many had short hair. I’d decided on a low ponytail. At the last minute, I took out my contacts and put on glasses. And booked the job. At the shoot, they had me wear the youngest nun’s glasses instead. View the end result here.

A scan of TV channels, whether local or national, shows that no news reporter or anchor has curly hair. (Very few women in commercials do, either…and if they do, chances are they’re young.) So I know that if I’m a reporter in a movie to straighten my hair, which is a time consuming task. It takes around 45 minutes to blow dry straight, then another chunk of time to flatiron it. Even when I do, for a couple of the Batman movies and just this month for Episode 6 of the upcoming Fox TV series Ride Along, the hair stylists either turn my ponytail into a smooth bun and hide my bangs, or they re-flatiron my hair.

I’m one of the only curly-haired women I see at on camera narrator auditions. Would I book more if I went straight? Several years ago one of my talent agents wouldn’t even submit me with curly hair. So I had separate straight hair headshots for her.

Perhaps curly hair looks too wild or messy onscreen, or comes across as unprofessional or too youthful. Yet sometimes they’re looking for “something different.” So for each audition, I have to think about which way to go.

I’m always on the lookout for products that work best to enhance curly hair and help straighten it. Many sites (naturallycurly.com) and books (http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Lorraine-Massey/dp/0761123008) offer advice for making the most of curly hair.

Freelancers usually work on our own, so we lack the camaraderie of an office environment and the opportunity to bounce ideas off or share tasks with co-workers. We get out and about to meet with clients, but often there’s a sense of being a guest rather than belonging.

We also have the freedom of not having to show up every day from 9 to 5. On the other hand, that freedom can lead some of us to distraction and/or lack of discipline and motivation. So sometimes freelancers and those who aspire to produce projects outside of their day jobs pair up to keep each other on track instead of spending hours trolling the Internet.

The challenge is to find someone whose style and approach meshes with yours, yet with whom there’s synergy. For example, I’m a morning person and so don’t feel as productive working at night. I like keeping to a schedule. I tend to work quickly and on one thing at a time.

I’m writing a non-fiction book with a friend. Neither of us could have done this particular project alone. I need her knowledge and training; she needs my writing, editing and life experience. But until recently, this was a side project for both of us. Since we didn’t have a corporate deadline, it’s been a long time in the making. We’d work in fits and spurts, then set it aside for a variety of reasons.

We work very well together, are great at figuring out who does what when and then (usually) meeting our goals. We’re good at expressing our thoughts on next steps, what stays in and what needs to go. There’s no boss who has the authority to give all the orders or underling obligated to do what she’s told. The only frustration has been keeping track of the various drafts, which on occasion has resulted in me spending extra time re-editing and comparing documents to make sure I’ve caught all of the updates and changes.

Lately we’ve stepped up our efforts individually and as a team. Now we’re 75% done and can see the finish line. Others are involved and have spent their time and effort to help us, and we do have a deadline for completion. So the pressure is on…this “side project” is now (and finally) real.

Stay tuned…

Whether you’ve applied for a job, sent a requested writing submission, had an audition, entered a writing contest, or completed a job and want to know about feedback/revisions, you have to wait for a response. You’ve done all you can do. Now it’s up to the employer, editor/agent/casting person/judges, etc.

I find that waiting can be difficult and stressful. Why? Mabye because I have no control over what the response will be, or even when I’ll get one. There’s no work left for that particular task, no obligation or pressure on my part, yet sometimes I have to make an effort to stop wondering when or if I’ll find out. I need to let any thoughts of that thing go so I can focus on current projects. So I can live in the present moment, and not think about all the possible “what if” futures. Many advise that life is about the journey, not the outcome. Hmmm.

I may never have closure on some irons I put in the fire; some agents/editors, for example, say they won’t respond unless they’re interested. And I don’t know when they’ll even get to my submission to make that determination. Usually the only ways I find out I didn’t book an acting gig is if I happen to hear through the grapevine that a friend got it or when the shoot date passes.

When there’s a promised time frame for a reply, letting go of waiting can be even harder. Because the closer the deadline gets without a response, the more you know one is on its way. I’m currently waiting to hear about something pretty big. Every time my phone makes the incoming email sound, I wonder if it’s the news. Yet I check with a bit of trepidation, wanting the answer to be in my inbox, yet at the same time not wanting to know…to keep the dream alive, the door open? Hope is definitely better than rejection. And it can be easier than good news, which in this case will require a lot of work and a lot of change–fun, exciting and scary at the same time.

Lo and behold, last night during a rehearsal break I saw an email from the person I’ve been waiting on bated breath to hear from. I steeled myself to read it…and found not an answer but a question. Whew. The waiting begins…again.

As they say, a watched pot never boils…good things come to those who wait…
Waiting is not mere empty hoping. It has the inner certainty of reaching the goal.
– I Ching