No, don’t worry, I am not going to list all my stats from ACX and go on about them again. I am just going to list SOME of my stats from ACX and go on about THEM. But only two of them.

The first number isn’t an ACX number per se, but the milestone of 100 audiobooks for sale on Audible has been reached! I don’t know if that is significant in the grand scheme of things or not. Is that a lot or a little for the average producer? I did a random poking around on Audible, and the first three authors I looked had, respectively, 1200+, 135+, and 35 titles. That’s quite a range, and doing a sum of squared deviations on that sample would’ve provide much help. I think it is best to just accept that I have a decent size body of work, and still have a lot of room to grow. Because for sure my name is not a household term yet. Watch out, Don LaFontaine!

The other number is much bigger. Ten times bigger. My units sold for Royalty Share projects topped 1000 this week as well. I guess this is another non-ACX number, technically, but that’s okay too. And I am sure it is nothing compared to the numbers for established Voice over Workers, but it is nice to have it in the low four figures.

It is interesting (to me) that I have almost completely stopped auditioning on ACX due to my workload. Since the last post, I have added another 12 books, either from returning clients or cold contacts from Rights Holders that have contacted me after listening to my samples on ACX. And I will assure you that steady work without auditioning is much more easy on the mind!

To any struggling Voice over Worker out there reading this – treat your clients as good as you can and provide them with what they expect, and it will come back to you.

And with my dearth of auditions on ACX, I have continued to like the prospects of Upwork. So much so, that I have upgraded my membership. As it is an affordable $10 per month, it shouldn’t take too much to provide some ROI. The membership gives a few more Connects per month, the ability to carry over Connects from month to month, and the ability to see the bid price range on jobs. Not huge benefits, but probably enough to make it profitable.

On Upwork, I am concentrating on larger work projects, and always looking for those indicating the possibility of continuing work. I will say, though, that through auditions and more cold contacts, the concept of short, quick projects less than 10 minutes in length is becoming more attractive. I have done a few, and it is more enjoyable than I expected as I have always enjoyed long-form manuscripts.

Along those lines, I am continuing to explore Gravy for the Brain, and feeling more positive about the payback from the premium at that site. There is a lot to learn from their lessons, webinars, and forums. The more I move around the site and explore, the more impressed I am with what is available.

One of my recent discoveries is the studio setup forum. They provide a PDF with a set of instructions on doing a short recording in your home studio, which you can upload and get feedback regarding. Now, you may recall the Tech Studios advertised the same type of service, but this seems to be very well moderated by a very helpful and qualified staff. In the coming week, I will go through their process and see what comes of it.

Categories: Voice over Work