An Interview With Voiceover Actor Joana Garcia

by Grace Topping

Audiobook production is the fastest growing area of publishing. With so many books being produced in audiobook format, it’s interesting to learn more about how they are produced and hear about the voiceover actors/narrators that produce these books. Voiceover actor Joana Garcia takes us behind the curtain to provide insight into audiobook creation and her life as a voiceover actor. 

Welcome to Writers Who Kill, Joana.

 

With your background as a naval officer, what motivated you to get into voiceover acting and book narration work?

One of the things that is such a tradition in the Navy is telling sea stories. Sailors have told tall tales about their experiences at sea and those tales provide lessons and entertainment for the crew. Well, being a career sailor, a tall tale or two aren’t far off in any discussion regardless of environment or the company. Narrating is exactly that, telling stories, except you are now telling stories to thousands of people.

 

How do you get roles or jobs narrating books, etc.? Do you have to audition?

 

There are a couple of avenues to get roles. Direct marketing which entails reaching out to authors/rights holders personally and offering your services as a narrator to create the audiobook (as long as they have the audio rights). There is also ACX which is a “marketplace where authors, literary agents, publishers, and other Rights Holders can connect with narrators, engineers, recording studios, and other producers capable of producing a finished audiobook.” And another venue is through audiobook publishers for whom I work directly with. And in all of these cases, yes, nine times out of ten, an audition is required. 

 

When narrating fiction, getting the emotions of the characters across is important. How do you prepare for it, especially with so many different characters?

 

First of all, I have to read the book through to the end so I know what happens with each of the characters, how they behave, and their personalities. In a narrator’s repertoire is a whole host of different personalities and voices that we have on standby. Many of them are close to the characters in most books but with the added twist the characters possess that makes them the unique individuals they are in the book.

 

How do you deal with narrating painful subjects? Does it have an effect on you?

Absolutely it has an effect. I have done some very challenging nonfiction books over this last year. For example: Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders by Anne E. Schwartz, which was an amazing and enlightening book, but it was also factual. So, I was hyper aware of my well-being through some of the more gruesome text. For some books, I often allow extra time so I can take more breaks than usual.

Do different genres of audiobooks require a different type of narration?

It is all about the mood. Every book that is written is written with a point of view (POV). When I prepare the book, I not only read it as a story, but I also read it with the characters’ places regarding relationships, surroundings, their experiences in life, etc. Narrating a romantic comedy (romcom) is going to be different than narrating a mystery/suspense or a cozy mystery. As for nonfiction, I need to find the author’s voice. I do research about the author, other books they have written, interviews on YouTube, etc. I want to narrate that book as if they are talking with the listener over coffee. Nonfiction can be very tough because often times the subject matter is complicated and very precise, so keeping the listener interested can be a challenge.

More authors are seeing their works now in audiobook format. What advice would you give authors to make their works ready for audio?  

 

The attributes are very important. He said/she saids can be over written in that every reply or comment with a “she said” becomes very tiresome for the narrator as well as the listener. Also, what would really help the narrator is when there is a description of the character’s attitude, such as, “she said angrily.” It would be helpful to have that attitude stated before the comment so we know going into the quote the tone of voice that is needed at that time.

 

Where do you do your recordings?

 

I have a studio at home that I’ve recently upgraded. Since I record for as long as five hours every day, I have created a space where I enjoy being and feel comfortable. Being an ocean lover, my entire studio is beach-themed, so when I walk in, I feel as if I’m on vacation. So putting together my love for telling stories and the visual cues of the sea, my work day is me literally just reading a story on the beach. 

 

Besides voice, what is the most important thing someone needs to possess or improve on to become a successful voiceover actor?

Lots of coaching. Doing any voice acting whether it’s audiobooks, commercials, or e-Learning, requires a different read. 

What does it mean to have eye-brain-mouth coordination?

 

That can be a challenge. While narrating, I pre-read as I go, meaning I voice the words and read four or five words ahead at the same time. That allows for variation in the tone, speed and inflection. It makes the text much more interesting and becomes more conversational and more of a tale than just reading.

 

Some audiobooks identify a director. What does a director do for a production? Do you have one?

 

Some publishers provide a director to direct certain books. Or, the narrator can hire a director. I have been directed for only two books out of my 100+. I really enjoyed being directed. They do much of the research that is needed for the characters. They ensure that you maintain the chosen voice for each character and ensure no words are mispronounced, misread, or left out. 

 

What is done during post-production? Do you do your own?

 

It depends. If I am hired by a publisher to narrate an audiobook, they do all post production. So, I provide the narration as a clean recording. Meaning, to the best of my ability I have narrated the book in its entirety with no mistakes and at the required level of sound quality. And those standards are provided by the publisher. If I work directly with an author/rights holder, I would do all the post-production. Post-production is editing the narration to ensure all words are accurate in pronunciation and as written, editing out any noises that were created by your environment and bodily functions (growling tummy, mouth noises, etc.), and ensuring the standard recording levels of audiobooks.

 

What has been the biggest change in this field since you started? 

 

Now that most people are working from home due to COVID-19 and other factors, a broadcast quality studio is required. Also, the influx of voice actors since the beginning of the pandemic has really saturated the business. However, I believe that to be temporary and will normalize once the pandemic eases up. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another variable that will bring a challenge to the voice actor world. As AI becomes more and more realistic and somehow can mimic human emotions, there may be a time where humans performing the voices will become less and less frequent. But that may be some time down the road.

 

Besides book narration, please tell us about some of the areas of voice work you’ve done. 

 

I have done audio-dramas, corporate narration, and video game character sounds. Recently, I decided that 2022 is going to be the year to expand my business into commercials. I have been receiving coaching this last year and have a new commercial demo produced by one of the greatest demo producers, J. Michael Collins. If you want to check it out, go here: https://www.voicesbyjoanagarcia.com/

 

What haven’t you tried but would like to?

 

I’m looking into trying character work like for video games and animation, which is different than characters in a book. I have taken a five-week course in character building with the incomparable David Rosenthal and was astonished at the hard work that goes into creating characters. It isn’t just about making funny voices. I think it would be so much fun to be able to get lost in a character that is in a shooter video game or in an animation of little duckies. That would be a whole other genre of voice acting.

 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into the various forms of voiceover acting?

 

Do your research. Working in a studio that is five by seven or smaller is not for everyone. It is a singular existence and can be very lonely. Many times, I spend all day in my studio in my basement and come out having not seen the outside world. Especially in the winter when I go into the studio and it’s just getting light and then I come out as the sun is setting. Come to think of it, it is very much like my life on a US Navy ship. It’s probably why I love it. 

 

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned since starting in this field?

 

Wow, that is a hard one. There are so many. When I was young, I struggled with reading. I was slow, had low comprehension, had to reread paragraphs often and just didn’t like it. Then in my 20s, I discovered Harlequin romances. They were a true gateway into a life-long love for reading. I just think it so ironic that a person who struggled so much with reading now reads for a living. 

 

What keeps you in this field?

 

It really is a true love for stories. When you read, you enter into a realm the author created from their perspective. A world, an environment, and feelings and reactions to those feelings. It is a view into what that author is thinking about and how they want to tell you the story. And that is my job—to understand the author and be able to tell that story as authentically in their voice as I can.

What are you working on now?

 

I just finished a book about COVID-19 in an area in the Midwest called Unmasked: COVID, Community, and the Case of Okoboji by Emily Mendenhall. It’s a very interesting case study. And I’m starting another called Gods in Everyman: Archetypes That Shape Men's Lives by Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD. I’m looking forward to finding out what god shapes my husband.

 

Thank you, Joana.

 

To learn more about Joana Garcia and voiceover acting, visit her website: 

https://www.voicesbyjoanagarcia.com/