Amy Taylor Fernandez

A blog? Isn’t that a little “90’s?”

December 12, 2021 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

“What’s new with you?” said an acquaintance at a holiday party.
“Well, I started a blog this fall.”
“A blog? Isn’t that a little 90’s?”

Um, ouch? I didn’t know how to talk to the guy after that.
Ok, so does that mean that no one should ever start a blog again, just because people were doing it 20 years ago? Creating a blog was something I’d wanted to do for some time. I simply got around to it in 2021. I think there’s enough room in the blogosphere for everyone.

Seriously, I brought up the blog because it was the safest answer…the kindest answer.
Would he rather I drop names and mention awards I was nominated for and clients I’ve acquired? It occurred to me that those would’ve been *his* answers had I asked him what was new with him. But Momma taught me not to brag. I mingled and found some like-minded people to talk to. I had a blast the rest of the night.

And I’m gonna keep on blogging. I write because I love it. In this space, I pen my musings about being a voice actor, about family and life in general. I write for anyone who wants a peak into my world.

Last weekend was spent with 14 super talented voice artists at an unofficial conference.
I got to hang out with some beloved colleagues that I hadn’t seen since pre-pandemic times. I also made some new friends. We rolled up our sleeves, strategized, and lifted each other up. They are precisely the type of people I want to surround myself with; fellow entrepreneurs with great attitudes, phenomenal brains and generous spirits. It was a magical weekend and my heart is full.

I came back to Connecticut energized and ready to spend quality time behind the mic.
In between loads of laundry and feeding the family, I did 84 auditions this week. 19 were for healthcare & hospitals. 16 of them were covid/vaccine related. 12 were for financial institutions. 9 were for the medical/pharmaceutical industry. 6 were insurance related. 4 were for tech companies. 2 for auto dealerships. 2 furniture stores and the rest were miscellaneous. So far, my efforts have netted 1 booking. I’d say it was a good week. I’m not sure what the half-life of a mini-conference is, but I plan to do as many auditions again this week. Bring it on.

Cancer, gratitude and paying it forward.

December 11, 2021 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

I’ve always been the type to mentally map out my day. On a particular Thursday in 2016 I was supposed to get a call that said, “Mrs. Fernandez, your biopsy was negative” and then I would go on with my day. While in my car, I got this call instead. “I’m sorry Mrs. Fernandez but your biopsy was positive. You have breast cancer.”

While still digesting those words, I scrambled to find a pen. I scribbled “invasive lobular carcinoma” on a grocery receipt. I lost half of what the radiologist was saying, still playing the initial words over and over in my mind. It’s a phone call no one ever wants to receive followed by phone calls I never wanted to make. Telling my husband, my father, my kids was excruciatingly difficult. My schedule for the coming weeks was peppered with appointments with doctors and surgeons. I’d spend hours scouring the internet for studies and statistics. I consumed a lot of information in a short period of time, but nothing was more helpful to me than talking to women who had been through it.

Two amazing women come to mind, Peppy and Patricia. They were both beacons of light in a dark hour. They patiently answered many of my questions, gave me advice and a candid glance into life with/after breast cancer. I will be eternally grateful to them as well as to my friend Ursula, a cancer survivor of 10+ years, for their wisdom. My friend Tori brought me to appointments and took notes (that was huge) and countless others visited me and brought meals. They truly got me through it.

I saw a dear friend last weekend that is now a 1 year cancer survivor. She told me that I helped her so much when she was first diagnosed. I am glad that I could help if only in a small way. Another friend shared her diagnosis with me (and her husband) but chose not to tell her kids or her extended family. Yet another acquaintance blogs about her cancer. These decisions are personal. I respect all of their choices. Everyone needs to forge their own path however they see fit.

This past month, 3 women that I know and love were diagnosed with breast cancer. I am always deeply saddened to hear people’s voices when they tell me the news. I know their desperation, the unknown, the difficult decisions that they’ll be making in the coming weeks and months. I try to listen attentively, give my opinion if they ask for it and try not to insert my own story into theirs. I’ve done that before. It never works out because everyone’s cancer is different and therefore so is their journey.

The best I can do for them is to be present. I’m not a doctor. I only know about the situation that befell me, my treatment choices and how I feel about the decisions I made. It’s been 5+ years and I’m grateful to be here. Grateful that I get to be the person they call on for a shoulder to cry on, to ask questions and sometimes to simply be an empathetic ear.

I’m grateful for the forgiveness I was able to muster for others and especially for myself after my diagnosis. It’s amazing how in a split second you can decide what’s important in this life and what’s not. A cancer diagnosis is one of those times. It was a life-defining moment for me and I’m sure it is for many. Friendships were rekindled. Grudges were dropped. Work/life balance shifted. I saw kindness in people. Now, in the moments when I’m frazzled by the chaos of daily life, I need to pause and remember how I felt in that moment. Grateful to be here.

COVID and Career Change

December 6, 2021 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

“This letter is to inform you that I’m leaving the company.”

In the past month, I’ve received these dreaded emails from 3 of my contacts. It always hits me like a brick. I try to develop hearty relationships with my clients over the years. It’s sad to think the relationship has come to an end.

I always respond by expressing how much I’ve enjoyed working with them, tell them how much I’ll miss being part of their projects (I truly will) and wish them the best in their new endeavors. It’s a scary email for a freelance voice actor to receive. I can’t be sure if that means the end of the line for me or if I will continue working for that company.

The client may introduce me to their successor via email. Those emails are encouraging and give me a sense of job stability, although nothing is guaranteed. Other clients ensure me that they’ve given my contact info to their creative departments. A few simply vanish and I’d never know unless I write to them and get the message that their email is defunct. Fortunately, that seldom happens.

Long gone are the days people work for a company for 30 years, get a Rolex and a retirement cake and move to Florida. Business is in a constant state of flux. Millennials on average change jobs every two years and 9 months. Gen Zers are expected to have a whopping 18 jobs over their lifetimes. We must be prepared to deal with the ebb and flow of clients throughout our voiceover careers. How do we retain these companies as clients once our contact person is gone? (I don’t have an answer to this. Please let me know in the comments if you have any ideas.)

Why the sudden uptick in career changes? Is it because it’s the end of the year? Is it due to Covid? I’ve heard a few people say the pandemic has made them rethink their careers. Others have moved to another state, citing covid 19 concerns. Even though we’ve proven some jobs can be done remotely now, I would imagine telecommuting is not an option for all. A change of residence could account for some of the job switching.

Downsizing happens, also. The pandemic hit some companies hard. Positions were eliminated. Quite possibly the person who took over my contact’s duties either didn’t get my info or they have their own talent pool and don’t need my services.

Looking at this with a glass-half-full mentality, I could say the personnel turnover means new people are taking over for people who *have not* hired me before. They will now be in the position to discover me and use my voice talents. While I’m sad to see my clients leave, I welcome new clients with different perspectives and fresh ideas for voice projects.

Fortunately, the 3 contacts that left their respective companies did connect me with their colleagues and I do continue to work for those companies. I’m hoping this turnover will result in more opportunities for voice work both with my established clients and new ones.

Voice Talent Job Description: Auditioner!

November 16, 2021 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

Auditioning is my job. Booking a gig is the end goal. A typical morning for me consists of combing through auditions from various sources like agent and casting director emails, and VO websites. First I delete the ones that aren’t in my wheelhouse such as Adult Male with French Accent. (Mais non, je ne peux pas!) Second, I take the ones I think I’m suited for and write them on my to do list with agency name, client, proper slate, the due dates & times. For Example: ABC Agency – Brawny Paper Towels – No slate – Due Monday noon ET.

I then go into my booth with my iPad, scroll to the script that is due first, read the specs and hit record. I give a few reads and move onto the next audition, reading those specs and recording it. I do this until there are no more to read.

Usually it’s all recorded onto one long file. Then I take my list and my computer and do about an hour of editing, depending on how many auditions there are that day.

My list is really helpful because I can keep track of which agent sent me what. Once editing of the first file is complete, I go back into the agent’s email and see how to name the file. Agents are very particular about naming and will delete anyone who can’t follow the rules. It actually helps them weed people out.

I also make sure I send the file correctly. Some agents like me to upload to their FTP. Others prefer the auditions by email. Once I send that one off with a kiss, I start editing the next one until they’re all done.

If any more auditions have hit my inbox while I was editing, I put them on the list and repeat the cycle. If not, it’s time to record my dailies or my “paid gigs.” This approach is very different from the way I used to do things. Before I would always record the paid gigs first, then audition for possible gigs.

I changed my method when my booking ratio slowed quite a bit. It’s true that the early bird gets the worm in this industry. I’m up early enough to get my auditions out of the way before the workday starts, so I’m not keeping my paid clients waiting AND I’m getting my auditions in as early as possible so my agents can listen and send to their clients.

This system has been working for me for a while, but I’m constantly revisiting my techniques. I’ll keep doing it this way until bookings slow down. Then it’ll be time to roll up my sleeves and roll with the changes.

Groserias does not mean Groceries and other translation frustrations.

November 2, 2021 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

A groseria is a swearword in Spanish, not groceries. I would hope Artificial Intelligence would not make that mistake, but many translations come across my desk that were obviously not done by a human.

I’ve had the occasional client ask for my translation rates and then decide they’ll do it “in house.” Perhaps they’ll use another human and that’s great. But they may use an on-line translation method, like Google Translate. And, while I admit, the algorithms have gotten better, it’s still no match for the human translation. AI can only do so much.

Take the word “prensa” for example. Sure, it means “press” such as reporters, or others who might have a “press pass” on their windshield. But it does not mean the motion of pressing down on something, as in the English word “press.” If a client sends me a script that says Prensa 1, Prensa 2, (and YES this has happened multiple times) I know right away no human has glanced at the translation. This gets send back to the client for re-translation.

I’ve seen many correct words for “press” in Spanish; Oprima, Marque, Pulse, Entre are all valid words for pressing numbers on a keypad. Most IVRs I’ve recorded use “oprima” or the familiar form of it “oprime.” It’s best to be consistent when recording a phone tree, so commit to one way to say “press”and stick with it throughout the entire script.

I’ve also seen scripts where sometimes they’ll use “oprima” and further down in the phone tree they’ll use “marque.” This tells me they’ve had various people working on chunks of the translation. This can be fixed but is more of a headache for the one tasked with fixing it than anything else.

Furthermore, I shy away from offering to “fix” a script that’s already been translated. Why?

It’s actually easier to start from scratch than fix someone else’s translation. It could be just me, but the process of going from one language to the other has a flow to it. Reading someone else’s version of the Spanish and figuring out what they were trying to say in English and then re-translating it back into Spanish is a tedious process for which I charge accordingly.

The bottom line is, it’s cheaper and faster for the client to get the translation done right the first time. This ensures the project will get recorded correctly and make you sound professional, knowledgeable and in touch with the culture of those listening to your recorded messages.

Changing seasons, changing voice!

October 25, 2021 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

I live in the Northeast. It’s lovely to see the seasons change. We get vibrant fall colors, white winters, green springs and lush summer vegetation. But I noticed years ago that from mid-October to April, my voice changes. If I listened to something I recorded in June and compared it to something I recorded in November, they were drastically different. This was no good for my career. My Automotive clients in particular will often use donut recordings. In other words, they would keep the intro and outro that I recorded in the summer, for example, and redo the middle of the spot in December with their new car models and sales info. So my voice had to be consistent. I was careful to use the same mic, same booth and same settings, but what could I do about my voice sounding the same?

Here are a few tricks I’ve learned over the years that help my voice sound the same year round.

I got a humidifier. This helps me breathe better, especially at night.
I limit dairy during the winter months. Almond milk replaces milk. It helps me feel less stuffy.
I bought a Neti Pot. This apparatus is relatively inexpensive and works wonders by cleaning out the nasal passages.
I drink honey mixed with apple cider vinegar. Bragg’s is my personal favorite. This is especially helpful if I have a long narration session or hundreds of IVR prompts to do.
Hydrate!!! This is important to do year round, but especially in the fall and winter. My goal is to drink 64 ounces of water daily. It is so important for us voiceover folks to stay hydrated.

Since implementing these few changes, I haven’t had any complaints that my voice sounds different from season to season. I can enjoy the changing New England scenery and my clients get a consistent sounding Amy.

Voice Over Actor