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Mike Lenz interviews voice actro and audiobook narrator Tom \xa0Jordan.

I started voiceovers in 1994 \u2013 before the internet. I did some computer-based-training voiceovers that paid the rent for a few months, but was living and working in Long Beach, CA and these were the days before people had in-home studios, so whenever I had to audition, I had to drive to LA \u2013 in LA traffic! It just didn\u2019t seem worth it at the time.

Fast-forward to 2002 and the internet now allows home studios and emailing MP3s \u2013 a huge breakthrough. I start soliciting my VO skills to local cable TV providers \u2013 ones that had in-house video production. Got several gigs around the nation \u2013 mom and pop stores, mostly \u2013 TV and radio gigs. This was fun, but three kids and a full time job took priority.

I had done corporate narration in addition to copywriting as my day gig for several years and, in May 2016 finally decided to turn my VO experience into something that could feed me in retirement \u2013 still many years off, but I needed to start somewhere. I hire a coach, Terry Daniel, and do a number of workshops, practice, practice, etc\u2026 Cut my demos in February. Apply to ACX in April and get hired within three days to do a six book romance series. Baptism by fire! I was approached by AB2 Talent in May and joined their roster. And now here I am. \xa0Networking and social media marketing daily and also meeting people in person. I\u2019m the organizer of Orange County Voice Acting, which I started in January. We have 150 members now. It\u2019s a lively group of newbies and VO pros. I\u2019m having a total blast and love to share what I can with people who are actively pursuing a the VO adventure.