IT’S OVER. I AM DONE!

I can’t believe I’ve been using my voice professionally for over forty years!

As a reminder, I’m a Dutch voice actor living and working in Vermont. Last year I created this beautiful recording studio, (the space I had always dreamt of), and I was planning to use it for many years to come. But things have changed.

I have changed.

Now, here’s the big news I’ve been wanting to share with you:

I AM DONE! I’ve had it. I am hanging up my voice acting hat.

This doesn’t mean I stop recording as of today… I’m going to let my career fizzle out naturally.

Practically speaking this means that I will no longer do auditions or go after jobs in other ways. But should someone send me a script, I’m still willing to consider it. Word of warning: I’m going to be super picky. I will only work on projects I can get excited about and that pay well, for clients that respect my time and my craft.

And those three conditions will give you a clue as to why I am gradually leaving the business. I have many more reasons which I will get into later, but these three reasons are important:

ONE: Most projects I’m being offered or I could audition for, don’t excite me anymore.

And when I say “most” in this series, I mean “more than half.”

TWO: Most pay is pathetic and rates are going down rather than up.

THREE: Clients stopped caring. As long as they can get more for less, anything goes, and many of my colleagues have conditioned them to think that way. We teach people how to treat us.

WHY LISTEN TO ME?

Before I go on to spill my guts, why would you want to listen to an old, sad voice over veteran like me? Let’s say you’ve always been interested in becoming a voice actor. Wouldn’t you rather want to hear from someone who’s optimistic and filled with confidence about the glorious future of voice over?

First off: I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, but consider this for just one moment:

I have nothing to gain and nothing to lose from being absolutely open and honest about my experience. Unlike so many people on social media, I am not selling anything. I have no online shop. There’s no downloadable course packed with “ultimate success strategies to dominate the voice over market in two weeks.” I’m not selling expensive demo packages “that will book you jobs, guaranteed.” No pipe dreams… NOTHING. Instead I am giving you FREE advice and a story or two. No strings attached.

I have no hidden agenda, other than the urge to vent, to explain, and to give you an unusual perspective that may be beneficial to you in some way.

And here’s the fun part: a lot of what I’m about to share applies to other freelancers as well! If you’re a content creator, a copywriter, a photographer, or you make music… we’re all self-employed, trying hard to make a good living making good money.

If that’s you, stay tuned for the next part which will feature one of the main reasons I’m done with doing voice overs. And this time we’re going to get even more personal!