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Shaina Summerville's avatar

I’ve always joked that I’m a “3/4 time narrator, full time actor.” The vast majority of my income is narration. But I do occasional theatre gigs or roleplay work for medical students/police officers. I’ve always felt a little left out in the full time/part time discussion. Because I feel mostly full time (and sometimes hit that), but I’m more than part time. I love that you solidified my experience in words here.

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Steve Corona's avatar

I’m in a similar situation. Although I’ve considered myself a “full time” narrator for a few years, because that’s the vast majority of my income & time spent working, I acknowledge the usefulness of Tanya’s breakdown for a few reasons. 1) I’m fortunate enough to have my wife’s income added to mine to cover household expenses. 2) I also coach, and although that’s a much smaller % of my income, it does mean I’m not 100% relying on narration.

So, by these definitions, I guess I’m 3/4-time? And might I add another bridge between “booked” and “fully booked”? I’d say I’m “mostly booked” because I do have a pretty full calendar (for my capabilities & unique situation), but I could shoehorn in a few books here & there if necessary.

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Tanya Eby's avatar

I wish I could think of a snazzier name for 3/4 Time, but it is a totally valid and unique place to be. It's a different workload than other levels, and I think it might be where more full-time narrators end up as the hustle increases.

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Heath's avatar

Great post, Tanya. Very interesting. (For the record, I am lucky enough to consider myself "over-booked" but for me, at my recording/prepping pace, with a young child, and factoring in health issues -and possibly the loudest gastrointestinal system in the bizness - that is nothing like the almost 500 hours a year 41+ hours a month would be. As you say elsewhere in the article, full-time is very different for different narrators.)

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Tanya Eby's avatar

Everyone has so many different factors. I just wanted something tangible that helps break it down and explain that my full time might be really different from someone else's. Both valid, just different

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Heath's avatar

*nods* you did a great job.

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Kelly Wilkinson's avatar

Thank you for this post…for the clarification and I am definitely not a FT narrator. You brought out the various factors that determine which level narrators would fall into…family, other income sources, work life balance etc. It is quite subjective. The clarification on ‘booked’ vs ‘ fully booked’ helps…many narrators often mention that in their post

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Tanya Eby's avatar

Oh good. Yeah. Some of the language we use can get confusing or can make us feel like we're not enough. But it is such a fluid market with lots of people doing lots of different things.

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Kris Keppeler's avatar

Extremely helpful!

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Sandra Huston's avatar

I love this, Tanya! Thank you. You always think of things that are so practical for us to know and understand!!

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Tanya Eby's avatar

This makes me so happy. Thank you!

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