Voicebank.net’s VoiceRegistry Blog

Gutsy Audio Producer tells her Instant Guts! Story

Joan Gale Frank had a book in her. She wanted to inspire others to go for their dreams so she interviewed people who took action (including herself). Then she took a chance and bypassed the traditional publishing world, turning her printed words into sound with her audio book, “Instant Guts!” She hired male and female voice artists to create playful repartee.

-Tracy Pattin

Here’s her own Instant Guts! story:

T: You created an audio book instead of a traditional book. Why?

JGF: The title of my motivational program is Instant Guts! I wanted to create something that would be fast moving and hard-hitting.

T: What are the benefits of an audio book to the reader?

JGF: Reading a book takes time. By listening to a 70-minute audio program you can get to the meat of the matter much faster. And when you combine the human voice with music, sound effects, and dramatic pacing, you can stir up more emotion and motivation than you can by reading words on a silent page.

Audio lets you listen while you are doing other things - such as driving. By making Instant Guts! into an audio program, it enables listeners to get up the guts to do something, such as quit a bad job, deliver a presentation, or ask for a date while they are driving to the destination where they will need the courage. By listening to Instant Guts! right before they take the risk, listeners are motivated to follow through and take immediate action.

T: You hired male and female voice talent. Why?

JGF: Conversations between people are usually more interesting than monologues, and I think people can maintain concentration longer by listening to various voices. Also, by switching back and forth, I was able to have my voice over talent play off each other and act as audible “punctuation marks” at important points. By switching voices, the listener is constantly pulled back into the program and reenergized exactly where I want them to be.

T: How did you find the talent?

JGF: I started out hiring a well known comedian, practically paid for his new car, put him in a sound booth and let him do his thing. That’s when I discovered he was awful. He couldn’t read from a script and he kept wondering off on his own tangents. I had to start all over again. But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because this is when I decided to use a combination of male and female voices. On my second go-around I hunted down experienced voice over narrators that came professionally recommended.

Once I got a list of names I interviewed them with a little recorder. I found my female voice first. I was quite excited because she immediately brought my script to life. Then I looked for a male voice that matched her energy level and sounded around the same age. When I let the two of them rehearse together for the first time - it was magic!

Tomorrow, Joan Gale Frank talks about the voice talent and how she distributed Instant Guts!