More than Just a Voice

Publisher's Summary

Once a week, on average, I get a call from someone with a "really nice voice". He (or she) has been told by co-workers, friends, and family so many times that he has a terrific voice that he can't ignore it any more. His call to me is a first step in what he hopes will be a lucrative career in voice acting. Why me? Because I'm a well-known voice actor, and I have worked hard to gain that reputation.

In seven years of blogging only to the community of voice actors, specifically on the subject of voice acting, I've educated myself and others on the challenges of being a freelance voice artist. My first diplomatic answer to my caller is: being a success in voice acting requires more than just a voice. I've had to gingerly explain the real secret to voiceover success so often that it became clear: somebody needed to tell the truth about being a voice-actor. It's hard work! It's a business and should be approached as a business. It takes more than just a voice.

By my best ballpark estimate: a good voice will get you about a 10th of a mile down the road of voice-over success. In fact, in the first chapter of More Than Just a Voice: The Real Secret to Voiceover Success, you'll hear me ask: "How well do you handle rejection, even when you know you're better than the competition?" and states, "Accept that growing opportunities are counter-balanced by declining compensations and increasing competition."

There is no other voice-over book on the market with more practical advice than this book: The first section of the book gets right to the heart of the matter with some of the nuts 'n' bolts of the business of voiceovers:

• Five reasons not to produce your own demo
• Seven essential reminders before you send that audition
• There is no downtime
• Finding great copy

©2014 David P. Courvoisier (P)2015 David P. Courvoisier

A Goldmine of Voiceover Information!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

"More Than Just a Voice" isn't just a book, it's an entire course on everything you could ever want to know about how to be a successful voice actor. I can't imagine how much time it must have taken Dave Courvoisier to compile all the information, lists, links and other great data within this book. He could have charged $1000 and it would have been worth it!

What was one of the most memorable moments of More than Just a Voice?

Can't name just one... every part of it was engaging and memorable.

Which character – as performed by Dave Courvoisier – was your favorite?

I especially like the Dave character :)

Any additional comments?

Whether your a new voiceover artist or long-time veteran, there is information in the book that you NEED. I highly recommend it!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

basically a big advertisement

The audio book is broken up in small small sections and has no real strong cohesion. If you are looking to learn how to voice act, this is definitely not the book for that. He spends almost 80% of the time talking about how to get work and 20% of the time who or where you should look.

The title should be "The Business of Voice acting and how to make money"

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

2014 vintage, but don't be put off for that: Dave Courvoisier's labour-of-love audiobook is 'paying it forward' par excellence.

Wow. 77 chapters (thankfully, bite-sized and ideal coffee break material) of advice, links, contacts and recommendations from a Jedi Master of the voiceover industry, and free of padding or waffle.

Thank you, Dave Courvoisier - impressive and inspiring stuff, and a cinch to recommend to aspiring voiceover talents.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

OUTSTANDINGLY RESOURCEFUL!

Note: This Review was written by Michael Howard. My wife started the account, so it's in her name.

Dave Courvoisier's "More Than Just A Voice" gave me Much More than I was expecting ... and I was expecting a lot, based on the positive Reviews I read.

I just entered the Voice Over (VO) field and I wanted to listen to a book that would not just give me a few fundamentals just to lead me to subscribe an author's "Best You Can Get" Training. I wanted to learn the most important Fundamentals of Voice Acting, and I also wanted to gain knowledge of helpful Resources. I got All of that from Dave's book.

One thing that really stood out to me was that Dave, or "CourVO," as he refers to himself to make it easier for listeners, was that he explains Why he feels each resource he mentions can be helpful to a VO Artist. That, along with his very professional, yet pleasant and sometimes humorous delivery, is what put this book at The Top of my list for VO Resources for beginners.

I want to close by saying that just because I'm new to Voice Over doesn't mean that VO Pros can't or won't get the same amount of satisfaction from this Audio Book. If you research CourVO, as I did, before and after I listened to More Than Just A Voice, you will see that Dave has a very long and very successful career in Voice Over and he shares personal stories, not just generalities, of things he did, and still does, to be a star in the industry.

Very Informative

I am considering going into this line of work, currently doing my homework on every level.

Buy the hard copy!

I loved listening to this book. It is full of vital information, so much so, you need the hard copy or you'll be stopping the recording repeatedly to write down what he says. He is a wealth of resources.

From beginning to end pure, practical Gold...

This could be the most valuable combination of a practical roadmap and a usable ready reference for the VOICE over business. Packed with tips and deep resources only an insider can share. Excellent! Thank you.

unhelpful at best

this book did not contain anything helpful. I fail to see how "scheduling your sleep" and "proper telephone etiquette" have any business in a book about vo (those things are important in life, but this book is supposed to be about vo!). it is basically a how to start a generic business/be a normal person book with random vo keywords thrown in. don't waste your time or $.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

thorough, professional, to the point.

whether you're getting started in voiceover, or you're looking to improve in a certain field of it, this book is for you. Dead Covers a lot of ground, and gives you plenty of resources to improve your learning further, to help you stay current with the scene and business of VoiceOver.

Comprehensive and honest look at the world of VO

The ONLY complaint I have is that my schedule didn't permit me to finish listening to Dave's book in one sitting. I've been making a living with my voice for three decades and Dave absolutely NAILS every aspect of the VO business and what it takes to put food on the table with your voice. If your have any interest in the world of voiceover, even just as an audio voyeur, listen to this book NOW!

An absolute MUST for any aspiring VO artist!

An absolute must for any aspiring VO artist. Dave's advice covers practically every topic you could ever need in the VO industry, and does so with wit, charm and genuine passion.

Invaluable experience and reference sources shared

I just wanted to say a big big thank you Dave for this volume of work that you invested in writing and recording. Your generosity of spirit in sharing your knowledge and experiences, and the tsunami of awesome 3rd party links and lists that you make available all combine to make this an absolute no brainer for any aspiring voice talent. Wow. What a gentleman.

Many thanks and may the spoken word be forever with you.