Is there a better feeling than submitting a proposal and receiving a 'Yes' within a few hours? That's the sensation I had this morning when an audition I submitted was accepted. Let's be clear. That was my first audition on Amazon's ACX platform and my first commission.
In my day job I'm usually the one who receives pitches and proposals from colleagues and outside providers, and I often spend hours and even days making these key decisions. I'll be honest I hate saying 'No thanks' or 'Never.' I often say 'Yes... but' and then set about reshaping the content idea or concept before commissioning a project.
So it was an unusual sensation waiting for a response after my audition, which I recorded carefully in my new home based studio. I'm still experimenting with where best to angle the acoustic panels or what EQ to give my voice, even though it has been a part of my living for over 30 years. The delight I felt at the commission - more details to come soon I hope - reminded me of those early days when I started in broadcasting.
It was 1990 when I first went on air as a 20-year-old. The old route of campus radio, followed by a professional break at my local independent radio station in Cambridge UK. But I had been spotted before that. I started working on a microphone as a tour guide on an open-top bus around the city. One of my clients was a BBC reporter who suggested I had a good voice for broadcasting. That was Jeremy Vine.
Each step in my early career was a thrill. A journey into the unknown. Now, I feel that same sense of trepidation and excitement as I embark on a side to my career - in audio book narration. The voice technique is now seasoned, and the voice deeper than my 20-year-old self. But nothing beats the sense of the unknown that I'm feeling again, and nothing beats the power of the word 'yes.'
