A VO's Journey: Voiceover and more voice over

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How do you voice a woman if you're a man, or a man if you're a woman? Gabby Nistico and I answer that and a few audiobook questions in this Open Forum Friday episode.
My answer is to leave your pitch alone. A big pitch change almost always sounds silly unless the piece is meant to be over the top. Gabby says to do a little less and let the character's attitude carry it. Then I show how moving your voice forward toward your nose, or back toward your throat, changes the sound without forcing the pitch. A yawn opens your throat and brings your voice down. Tightening it back there gives you a raspy smoker's voice.
We also talk about checking a fix to a published audiobook without buying it again, and why you should always follow up on your own releases. Then a big one for ACX narrators. What do you do when the script a rights holder posts doesn't match the book? Academy Voices has also passed 900 audiobooks, and yes, we take nonfiction.
What you'll learn:
Why changing your pitch is the wrong place to start
How tempo and breath set a character apart
Where to place your voice to sound younger or deeper
What to do when an ACX script doesn't match the book
Why it pays to check your own releases after they go live
Narrate audiobooks with Academy Voices, the alternative to ACX: https://www.academyvoices.com/
New to voice acting? Start with VO Journey Academy: https://www.avosjourney.com/start?src=podcast-325
Free Class Week, 9-12 November: https://www.avosjourney.com/free-class?src=podcast-325
Support the show
Social Links:   
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anthony_pica_vo/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AVOsJOURNEY
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/avosjourney/ 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypicavo/

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Academy Voices has something new called Story Series, and in this episode Gabby Nistico and I talk about what it is and why we built it.
A Story Series is a story told in episodes, with a new one out every week. Listeners can buy one episode at a time or a season pass. Kindle Vella closed in 2025, and very few places give serial writers an audio version of their work. That's the gap we wanted to fill. Serials aren't new, either. Charles Dickens put his novels out in monthly parts. We also get into why a series means ongoing work for narrators. Gabby shares what she's seeing in commercials as the holiday ads pick up.
What you'll learn:
What a Story Series is and how listeners buy it
Why serial writers need a place for audio now
How Dickens and O. Henry made serials popular long ago
How narrators get paid on a series
What's happening in commercial voice over this time of year
Find out more about Story Series at https://academyvoices.com/story-series
Academy Voices is the alternative to ACX. Find it at https://www.academyvoices.com/
New to voice acting? Start with VO Journey Academy at https://www.avosjourney.com/start?src=podcast-324
Free Class Week runs 9-12 November. Sign up at https://www.avosjourney.com/free-class?src=podcast-324
Support the show
Social Links:   
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anthony_pica_vo/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AVOsJOURNEY
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/avosjourney/ 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypicavo/

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If you were starting voice over today with no clients and no network, what would you do first? Someone asked me that on this Open Forum Friday at VO Journey Academy, so this episode is how I'd build a voice over business from zero.
Training comes first, then a studio set up properly and a community around you. After that I'd make 30 to 50 demos and put them everywhere under the same name. Next is a website with real pages and a listing on Google Business and Bing. Then social media on every platform and emails every day. I'd keep auditioning, and I'd start a podcast that interviews local business owners. I also get into whether Fiverr is still worth it and why ads help.
What you'll learn:
Why training comes before anything else
How many demos to make and where to put them
Why a one-page website does nothing for you
How a Google Business and Bing listing helps buyers find you
Who your social posts should be aimed at
Which payment types to accept so you don't lose work
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to Open Forum Friday
00:16 The new VO Journey Academy website: beta in November
00:32 A CRM, a tracker and a demo player for your site
01:04 Discord built into the new site
01:57 November: get your holiday characters out there
03:05 Show buyers you're current
04:19 If I started voice over from zero today
05:33 Why training comes first
06:07 Get your studio set up right
07:53 Join a community
08:19 Make lots of demos and put them everywhere
08:56 Build a website people can find
09:38 Get listed on Google Business and Bing
10:24 Build your social media everywhere
10:51 Rinse and repeat: email people every day
11:23 Don't skip auditions
12:31 Start a podcast in your own community
14:04 Could you do all this in 90 days?
14:23 Linking your website to Academy Voices
15:17 Is Fiverr still worth it?
15:41 Why Bing matters too
16:11 Should you run ads?
17:39 How much do you want to do yourself?
18:21 Sticking with it when nothing happens
18:49 Who are your social posts really for?
19:45 Which payment types to accept
20:27 Paying over time on Fiverr and Academy Voices
22:01 How Academy Voices pays narrators
23:02 Would I hire people?
24:29 How we work on this inside VO Journey Academy
24:52 Thanks, and Free Class Week 9-12 November
New to voice acting? Start with VO Journey Academy: https://www.avosjourney.com/start?src=podcast-323
Free Class Week, 9-12 November: https://www.avosjourney.com/free-class?src=podcast-323
Academy Voices, the alternative to ACX: https://www.academyvoices.com/
Support the show
Social Links:   
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anthony_pica_vo/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AVOsJOURNEY
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/avosjourney/ 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypicavo/

Send us Fan Mail
Do you need a pen name to narrate spicy romance? Gabby Nistico and I get into it on this Monday live at VO Journey Academy, the day after our spicy romance workshop.
You don't need one, but it can help. We talk about when a pen name makes sense. Sometimes the work could cause real trouble at your job or at home. Other times you might just be a little embarrassed. A pen name also means a second set of accounts to run, and at some point people will want to see the person behind the voice.
Then we get into why there is so much romance work right now. Romance readers go through books fast, and some authors have 20 to 40 books in a single series. Academy Voices is seeing more and more of it from new authors every week. We also talk about why laughing in the middle of a scene is normal, and Gabby explains why she sends her favourite outtakes to authors who have a sense of humour.
What you'll learn:
When a pen name is worth it, and when it isn't
The hidden work of running a second identity
Why spicy romance is such a busy genre for narrators
Why romance readers want long series
What to do when you laugh in the middle of a scene
Why some narrators send outtakes to their authors
(00:00) Welcome back
(00:41) Do you need a pen name for spicy romance?
(02:36) The downsides of a pen name
(03:39) You can't stay hidden forever
(04:29) Why spicy romance sells so well
(06:39) Authors with 20 to 40 books in a series
(06:55) Big authors and ghostwriters
(07:40) Why readers love a series
(09:08) Books leave room for imagination
(09:52) More romance authors on Academy Voices
(10:20) Quick, fun reads
(12:07) Fifty Shades and Twilight
(15:10) What a romance hit can earn
(16:25) Authors are asking about TV rights
(16:46) Fifty Shades of Green
(17:39) What the workshop covered
(18:45) Laughing during a scene is normal
(19:41) Sending outtakes to your author
(20:20) Thanks for listening
Watch the full spicy romance workshop replay:
https://www.avosjourney.com/spicy-romance-workshop?src=podcast-ep322
Train with us live every week at VO Journey Academy:
https://www.avosjourney.com/start?src=podcast-ep322
Try a free class first:
https://www.avosjourney.com/free-class?src=podcast-ep322
Academy Voices, the alternative to ACX:
https://www.academyvoices.com/
Watch this episode on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/nEe8CgHNNF8
18+. General information from working narrators, not legal or tax advice.
Support the show
Social Links:   
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anthony_pica_vo/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AVOsJOURNEY
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/avosjourney/ 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypicavo/

Send us Fan Mail
Is your voice over website bringing you any work? Gabby Nistico and I answer your questions on this Open Forum Friday at VO Journey Academy, and most of them were about websites.
For years my own website brought in nothing. Gabby explains the difference between design and function: design is the pretty part, and function is how buyers move through your site. She also says there's no such thing as a beginner website. We talk about what buyers need from you, why most visitors aren't ready to hire you that day, whether a producer can download your samples, and why a one-page site is hard to find on Google.
What you'll learn:
Why design is the small part of a voice over website
Why there's no such thing as a beginner website or a beginner demo
What to do about visitors who aren't ready to hire you yet
Why buyers need to be able to download your samples
Why more pages help you get found on Google
Where a custom website lives, and why site builders can hold you back
How the e-books in the Academy Voices store open in Apple Books or Kindle
(00:00) Welcome to Open Forum Friday
(00:59) A new story series on Academy Voices
(02:02) Kindle Unlimited becomes Kindle+
(03:13) The first series and its founding authors
(03:55) Is Anthony's website built on WordPress?
(05:17) Where a custom website lives
(05:42) Will there be website tips for voice actors?
(06:20) Why site builders hold you back
(07:38) Design vs function on your website
(08:36) A demo player you can put on your own site
(09:17) There's no such thing as a beginner website
(10:17) Why my old website never brought in work
(12:11) Make your website the hub of your business
(12:35) Why most website help isn't built for voice actors
(13:23) What buyers want when they land on your site
(13:56) Most visitors aren't ready to buy today
(14:16) Can buyers download your samples?
(15:13) Where websites are stored
(16:15) Why Academy Voices has almost 2,000 pages
(18:09) Free templates and tools taped together
(18:53) Can authors publish through Academy Voices?
(20:11) E-books that open in Apple Books or Kindle
(21:33) The new VO Journey Academy website on 1 December
(23:24) One page or many? Websites and Google
(23:41) Why long scrolling pages lost on Google
(25:15) Thanks for listening
Train with us live every week at VO Journey Academy:
https://www.avosjourney.com/start?src=podcast-ep321
Try a free class first:
https://www.avosjourney.com/free-class?src=podcast-ep321
Academy Voices, the alternative to ACX:
https://www.academyvoices.com/
Watch this episode on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/0Ia2fZUC2Dc
Support the show
Social Links:   
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anthony_pica_vo/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AVOsJOURNEY
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/avosjourney/ 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypicavo/