Life Lessons from Forty-Five Years in the Writing Trenches!
by Michele Olson
I’d love to tell you I had a brilliantly strategized plan on how to make money as a creative, that would be far from the truth.
My career has had two definite phases so far.
Phase one—before the internet.
Phase two—after the internet.
My First Job as a Writer: Working for WISN TV
Phase one began in 1974 when I graduated from high school as a seventeen-year-old and didn’t have enough money to take a bus to the “big city” of Milwaukee to look for a job.
A stint over the summer on a pickle plant line took care of that, and soon I had my bus ticket. I headed from Oconto (just north of Green Bay, WI) with my suitcase on a Greyhound to get a room at the YMCA with my friend who was also looking to “Laverne and Shirley” it with me.
My first stop was the job service office, where I promptly secured a job as a writer at WISN TV. Being a writer in this instance consisted of writing small blurbs for the live-on-air announcer and the local news shows. That was how I entered the world of getting paid to write, and 45 years later, I’m still a paid writer!
That first job lasted a few months, with family ties pulling me closer to my home and a job at a Green Bay TV station. During my lunch hours, we had to take turns at the reception desk and answering the phones. It boggles my mind that we worked on a switchboard putting in and pulling out the plugs. (One ringy dingy!) And, today I could be writing this on an iPhone—that’s how life has changed!
Every Writing Job I Took, There Was Always Something New to Learn
From TV writing, I segued into radio writing for a radio station. While there, they would drag us into the studio to do bit parts in commercials. That’s where I began doing voice work.
Next, I became a DJ for years, the kind who spun records and learned the fine art of talking right up to the point where the singer begins. The DJ’s were also tapped to do commercials.
While working at a station, another voice pro/writer recommended me to ad agencies for voice work. Ad agency work turned into more commercials, video voice overs and the like. I think the overall take away was — I was always ready to “try” the next thing, even when those newfangled computers came along.
Every writing job I took, there was always something new to learn that I had not been trained for, but I never let that stop me. I’d also like to encourage anyone reading this who doesn’t live in a big city, or on one of the coasts! That probably doesn’t apply quite as much today as it did pre-internet, but it can seem like all the jobs go that way, and people in small towns are left behind.
Today you can be successful from anywhere.
Life Lesson One: If there’s something you want to try, fake it ‘till you make it, and keep going after it!
Me in the studio in the 1970s as a DJ.
The Internet Changed Everything for Voice and Writing Pros
Then the internet happened! Hooray! No more driving hours to cut one: 30 spot.
The internet changed everything for voice and writing pros. Suddenly, where you lived was not the point, and you could get something anywhere quickly. We thought faxes were amazing!
As a busy Mom of two kids, working and married, I had to make it all work from where I was—a small Midwest town. What opened voicework to get past the whole “are you Union/Non-Union,” and “living in LA or New York” was the indie movement in voice—much like the indie movement in writing.
You no longer needed an agent to get jobs. Big services emerged where one could audition for voice work, much like an actress auditions for roles.
Granted, residuals don’t exist in my world, or I would be rich, rich, rich! There’s a one-time payment for the work done.
A more recent picture of me in a studio.
How Do You Get Into Doing Voice Work?
Now I see a plethora of people who want to teach others how to be a voice-over person. No such thing existed in the past. I have had a multitude of people say to me, and it pretty much always goes like this:
“I heard you on a commercial. I’ve always been told I have a good voice. How do you get into that?”
Bottom line? It’s a business like anything else. Study the business, not the glamour aftermath part.
At a studio getting ready to do a session.
Voice is one small part of being a pro. How versatile is your voice when you are put in a small booth with possibly three or more producers all asking you to do something different and match the idea they have in their head at the moment? How good are you at inflection on a read where you never saw the copy before and can you deliver a session quickly, with precision, and bring something to the read they didn’t even know they were looking for?
It’s an art like a lot of other creative fields. The sound of your voice is only one aspect. If you don’t have a demo, you must start with an investment of creating one at a professional studio. While you can end up doing things with your own mic, in your mini studio, having a great demo is essential.
And then audition, audition, audition at places like Voices123 online. That’s how you start to build a client list and get repeat business.
Life Lesson Two: Get past the romance of any business you are interested in and understand the nuts and bolts, and what drives profit!
I’ve Had a Job in Writing for 45 Years Because I Wasn’t Afraid to Write in Any Medium
I’ve had a job in “writing” for 45 years and counting because I was not afraid to write anything in any medium, or if I didn’t know it, I would figure it out.
Writers write. They may need to learn parameters and styles etc. but they write. I have written everything from commercials, to packaging, to inserts, to white papers, to advertorials, to catalog copy, to training scripts, to greeting cards, to magazine and newspaper articles, to press releases, to everything surrounding the internet and social media including blogs and click-bait, and yes, ghostwriting in a multitude of disciplines.
When it comes to voice, I’ve done TV and radio commercials, training films, movie lines, documentaries, cruise ship announcements, museum parts, audio instructions in a car wash (in French!), on-hold for phones, operator instructions when you call the phone company —you get the picture—voice is everywhere!
I do have a small mic and board in my home office, but I’m not a fan of editing long pieces. For those, I go to a studio with a great editor. I prefer to be in the studio with full concentration, my happy place! If you ever watch a V/O person in the studio, we are waving our arms and being quite animated!
Have you played the Nintendo game called The Croods (like the movie)? That’s my voice doing the granny grunts and groans. The makers of Angry Birds contacted me for that gig. Once you have a client, you can do work for them for years. That’s the beauty of finding people who need your voice.
Two of my grandkids, Jett and Jace.
My Niche as a Writer: Versatility
My niche as a writer is versatility.
I write in any medium with a goal of not boring the reader, even if the subject is highly technical. (Gosh, I hope you aren’t bored right now!)
My niche as a voice person? I’m very versatile. I can sound 30 years old, or 90, plus I’m fast, as in getting in the booth and accomplishing the goal in very few takes. Time is money in the studio, so the ability to do it quickly but effectively is important.
One quick story: I was doing a major brand of salad dressing in a studio with several other V/O people I knew quite well. We joked around as it usually made for a more engaging session. This producer had no sense of humor and was not amused. He looked at all of us and with a very stern voice and scolded us — “Lettuce is not funny!”
That was the end of smiling in that session until he left when we couldn’t contain our laughter. So, remember, the next time you see lettuce, it’s not funny!
Doing voice work can be very lucrative if you can do it quickly and do it well. I have not narrated novels yet, (I will as you will see below), but the length of time it takes diminishes the lucrative part unless you are one of the top, sought-after talents. We’ll see, I never say never!
Life Lesson Three: If you see something you want to do, don’t emulate what the person is doing now, follow what they did at the beginning of their journey to get there.
Writers Get Paid to Face a Blank Piece of Paper
I’ve always had writing jobs because I’m not afraid of a blank piece of paper. Once you write something, in most worlds, it gets picked apart by people who cannot face the blank paper. That’s part of a being a paid writer.
Look at it as getting paid to face a blank piece of paper, when others cannot. That’s why you really get paid! And writers must have tough skin because your project will get picked apart.
Currently, I’m moving into Phase Three: Author! I’ve always wanted to write a novel, and now I did! It’s coming very late this year or early 2020.
Set in 1979, it’s the story of a disillusioned young woman who has turned her back on her faith because of a hypocritical televangelist father. After his murder, she ends up on a tiny Midwest island where she encounters more deceit from the local townspeople.
The story involves some mystery, some romance, and best of all, a quirky I-Love-Lucy loving nun! My new publishing imprint is Lake Girl Publishing, with a website coming out later this year and much more info on the book called: Being Ethel (In a World that Loves Lucy), A Mackinac Island Novel.
The first in a series of three, I’m excited also to go down this new road with writing. I’m a watercolor artist, so that plays into my novel, and is another art form I will pursue more in the next few years. I have worked on the book for three years under the mentorship of a NY Times best-selling author who teaches.
What a learning curve! I’ve enjoyed being the “newbie” student in all thing’s fiction and indie publishing, and there is a lot to learn.
Life Lesson Four: Never stop learning, growing, and asking questions. There is always something new to learn! Keep doing new things, even if they are hard in the beginning because everything is hard in the beginning!
One of my paintings.
Advice for a Young Writer: If I Can Do It All These Years, So Can You!
The greatest piece of advice I could give anyone after all these years is: be kind. No goal or dream is worth achieving if you can’t be kind in the journey.
Don’t neglect the important things in life like faith and family. No matter how much you love to write or pursue art, the time with loved ones is fleeting. And, there will be time for most people to keep working on the creative arts as time goes on. Keep your priorities straight and let life happen with joy and kindness.
I would love to be much further on my books, but I have a husband, two children, two children in loves, and two grandbabies that I adore. (My oldest grandbaby is in a national Oscar Mayer TV commercial for cold cuts, the little boy who starts the commercial, and my other grandbaby just modeled for a toy box!) Time with them is everything.
Don’t be afraid to say “no” to something that doesn’t feel right for you. Another good thing will come along.
I’m technologically challenged, I didn’t have continuing education, I’m still making things up as I go —faking it till I’m making it—and I’ve always have had a job as a paid writer. If I can do this all these years, so can you.
Greater than any tactic, program, or insider secret, I just want to encourage you to keep going. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other toward whatever is planted in your heart. Only you can do that exact thing, in exactly the way you do it. Constantly reach out, ask questions, and build relationships. The right door will open, and the wrong doors will shut, even if you thought they should have opened at the time!
Life Lesson Five: Kindness matters. Kindness wins.
“The only safe thing is to take a chance. Play safe, and you are dead. Taking risks is the essence of good work, and the difference between safe and bold can only be defined by yourself since no one else knows for what you are hoping when you embark on anything.” – Mike Nichols
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Michele Olson is an author, voice pro, artist, copywriter, media writer, speaker, and collector of all things I Love Lucy and Wizard of Oz. Working professionally for over 45 years, her favorite times are spent with her husband, kids, and grandkids.
She is excited to launch a new publishing imprint in 2020 called Lake Girl Publishing with the first offering, a Mackinac Island Novel – Being Ethel (In a World that Loves Lucy.) You can check out her technologically challenged temporary website at Michele-Olson.com to hear her voice demo and see her artwork. Or, depending on when you read this, you might see the technologically competent (because she got help) Lake Girl Publishing website with way better info.
For writing, speaking, voice work, info, or to give her a piece of your mind, she can be contacted at funnymichele at gmail dot com. Follow her on Twitter at @MoDawnWriter.
