Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Diary of an Audiobook Narrator, Guest Blog by Daniela Acitelli

I am absolutely delighted to have as a guest blogger Daniela Acitelli, a wonderful audiobook narrator who just happens to live on the other side of the pond in England. Daniela and I met through our mutual producer, Steven Jay Cohen of Listen2aBook, but she and I also are linked through Bee Audio. I've been enjoying Daniela's books and her perfect delivery, and I thought it would be a nice break to invite Daniela to talk about her narration journey. If you are new to audiobook recording, Daniela's words will give you heart to keep on going (practice, practice, practice). If you are a seasoned narrator, you will see the path you once took on your way to success. Take it away, Daniela: 


Diary of an Audiobook Narrator

Daniela Acitelli's Profile Photo

I am an audiobook narrator. I wake up every day and remind myself of that now. It still feels exciting and wonderful. I began this journey about one and a half years ago building my home studio and regularly recording and producing audiobooks.

I did have experience. I had an acting background, worked as a voiceover artist and had recorded audiobooks for the Royal National Institute of Blind People but I always had a day job. A job that I hated with every fiber of my being but that nevertheless allowed me to pay my mortgage. There are no words to describe the excitement and terror of making the decision to become self-employed and never again working a traditional 9-5 job.

I was prepared for all the things they warn you about, for the lack of structure and routine, for the insecurity about income and even for the artist angst which is par for the course in any career that requires you to ‘put your soul on the line’. The one thing I wasn’t prepared for was the journey. I thought that my new career progression would follow a linear route. I thought that I’d wake up every day and work as hard as I could and read and study and learn and soon I would be climbing the notoriously steep ladder on the way to becoming a full time audio book narrator.

I hired a coach, I read blogs, I signed up for every training there was, I got one on one vocal training and advice on the best studio set up possible. I was shocked at how hard this career actually is. I couldn’t believe how much discipline it took to stand for 6 hours completely focused on every detail while still acting and imbuing a manuscript with the right amount of emotion. I was even less prepared for the production side of things which followed, the massive ‘time suck’ of editing and proofing. 

Then once you’re done and proud/terrified you present this product, this creation that you’ve loved and hated and laboured over and you wait. You log on to Audible more times than is healthy. You read your reviews, you want to hug the people that say really wonderful things about you, then you want to cry when you read the horrible reviews. When someone say’s, and I quote, ‘she should never be allowed to read a book again’, you feel as if you want to quit right then and there.

Every time some new struggle presented itself I would feel lost and insecure but I would keep going because this was it, this was plan A. and there wasn’t a plan B. There was the challenge of learning to edit and master properly. I had help from a wonderful editor and I signed up for the Bee Audio course but at the end of the day I was on my own in a studio completely lost. 

Now that I look back on it I can’t believe how easy it is. It was the same for reviews. Now I just deal with them as part of the business and they don’t affect me at all, the good or the bad, but at the time it felt like it was the end of the world. I wish I could bottle this feeling of confidence. I wish I could just study enough that I could avoid the lows and the misery that seems to come with every new learning curve. When I first signed up with my coach he tried to tell me to just practice, practice, practice. I listened to every word he said and tried to figure it out so I could be the best but in the end you can’t ‘figure it out’ it’s the practice. There’s nothing anyone can teach me that will get me where I want to go and there isn’t even an end destination this is it, the journey, the practice. This is the process of honing my craft.

The thing about honing your craft that no one ever tells you is this. If it’s comfortable you’re not learning much. When I look back on my lowest moments through this journey of becoming a narrator they each preceded a leap in my understanding and abilities. It’s like when you work out and for the next two days you are in pain. That soreness is your body rebuilding itself and becoming stronger. You know that to get that gain you have to feel the discomfort (okay the agony) to come out on the other side a little stronger, a little better. 

So now I’m strapped in and prepared for the journey. I shall weather the storms and try to remind myself the next time I feel like ‘I’ll never work again’ or ‘what was I thinking I can’t stand the sound of my own voice’ that I’m building a muscle and that I should welcome these times because they mean I’m getting better. 

The reward for this job isn’t in the reviews or booking the great projects. The reward for this job is in the practice. The reward for this job is being entrusted with interpreting an author’s words, with bringing their world to life. The reward for this job is the agony and the wonderful feeling when you look back and realise you’re a stronger and better narrator than you were. So practice, practice, practice.

Daniela Acitelli
www.danielaacitelli.co.uk

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