Click here to listen to this article on Youtube.
When I was just out of college, I had a roommate who had a much more exciting dating life than I did, even though she rarely left our apartment. She dated the carpet cleaner, then a maintenance guy who came to fix the garbage disposal, and ultimately ended up marrying her high school sweetheart who found her on social media when he moved to our state. I on the other hand regularly went swing and salsa dancing, and participated in a ton of social activities in order to meet guys, but hardly ever met anyone interesting enough to date. There were likely many factors that contributed to dating luck (or lack thereof), but I would never use my former roommate’s success story as an example of how to meet one’s significant other. On the other hand, I have been guilty of admiring other freelancers’ success, and trying to follow their paths. In fact, I think it’s natural to do this, and that’s where many people go wrong. Here are some reasons why it’s a bad idea:
- That person may not be as successful as they seem
Social media marketing often takes the form of bragging. If someone is active and posts often about their gigs, it may look like they are getting a lot of work. The work might be high paying, great work, or it could just be low paying, resume builder type work. There’s nothing wrong with that of course. The danger is when one tries to follow the path of the poster without knowing whether it will pay off in a way they need it to.
- There’s not always a direct correlation
I recently booked a project with a major player in my industry. I started posting about it on social media about a month after I attended a networking event with the person who booked me for the job. I hadn’t posted about the event, but to others who knew I was there, it may look like there was a direct correlation between the networking event and the booking. In reality, I had been corresponding with and auditioning for the company and that casting director for many years before I received a job offer. The networking event was great, but it didn’t contribute to me getting the gig. The booking actually happened before it took place.
- It might be the right choice for someone, not necessarily for you
I, and many other people in my field, attend a lot of fan conventions. I enjoy them and I always go with the idea that I might get some work out of it. (Also, it’s a tax write off!). When I talk to my industry peers after the events, many ask me: Was it worth it? Did you get a lot of bookings? The answer is usually “no”. Sometimes I do get a few, and I know others who have had success due to their extreme extroversion. I’m not bothered when I don’t have direct bookings, because I enjoy attending these events. And I do sometimes get work directly, and indirectly from going to these conventions regularly and developing relationships with people I meet there. But for those who don’t really enjoy attending cons, and who are merely looking for work opportunities, events like these wouldn’t be worth attending.
- Times change, and the way we do things changes.
Industries change all the time. To get an acting agent, you used to mail your headshot and resume to as many as you could afford the postage for. Now many actors become Tiktok stars and go from there. Or at least, that’s how it’s been for the past few years. It may have changed again.
The bottom line is that success can be achieved in many different ways. Follow your intuition and do things you enjoy doing and have the patience to keep doing. It’s the commitment to the work that will eventually pay off.
Thanks for reading!
Rebecca H. Lee
Rebecca H. Lee is an audiobook narrator, director, and producer based in Seattle. She records titles for publishers and indie authors. When she isn’t narrating or blogging, she geeks out on comedy, languages, science, games, and nature.
You can visit my narration website at becksvoice.com
Or connect with me at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-h-lee-audiobook-narrator/
https://bsky.app/profile/beckcentric.bsky.social
https://www.youtube.com/@RebeccaHLee
https://www.instagram.com/beckcentric
Audiobooks I’ve narrated can be found on Audible, Chirp, Kobo, and wherever you get your audiobooks.
