Arroyo Grande resident Jim Seybert was born into the fabric of San Francisco in the mid 20th century, and as a toddler remembered clanging through the city on cable cars operated by his father, a motorman or grip, who pulled the levers of the city’s iconic trams.
With that rich, imagination-stirring beginning to his life, it’s no wonder that Seybert ultimately found his way to a creative future as a voice actor. He hosts events and reads writers’ stories. In 2021, he was dubbed “The Voice of Stone Skipping” by ESPN when he co-hosted the International Stone Skipping Championships with his pal and fellow voice actor Johnny Heller.
But how did he get here?
“I went from being a radio guy to a corporate marketing guy for an independent chain of bookstores—to fast-forward through the story—I quit the marketing job and started my own consulting firm, then eventually voice acting,” he says.
Consulting required Seybert to travel a lot for business. One late night, as he drove through Kansas or Oklahoma (he’s not sure which) he began listening to audio books, and that changed his life.
“I was trying to listen to the radio but couldn’t find anything worth listening to, so I started listening to audio books,” he says. “Then it dawned on me, ‘You used to sit in front of a microphone, you have a decent voice, you should do this.’”
So he did. He reached out to people he knew to get connected in the industry. He stepped away from consulting work where he constantly interacted with others and stepped into a life locked in a room with just himself and the characters that fill his head.
“One guy said, ‘I have a buddy who’s starting an audiobook production company,’” Seybert says. “I contacted him, and he said to record some clips. I sent them in my radio broadcaster voice. I listen to them now and think they’re horrible.”
But it got him the job. Seybert got an assignment, borrowed a microphone, and went to work on his Mac computer in a corner in his home.
“He paid me for them, and I thought, ‘Wow. They actually paid me for this?,’” Seybert says.
“Now when I finish a book, that downtime in between, I’ll sometimes feel out of sorts.”
A typical day for Seybert involves about four hours in his studio, located in his home in Arroyo Grande. That’s followed by more hours prepping for the next day’s work or next project in line. A book that’s 10 recorded hours can be the result of 60 hours of work. But something as common as a cold can put the brakes on his work.
Even mild sniffles can put Seybert out of commission. If his sinuses are congested, forget it. Unless he’s voicing a character with a plugged nose, he has to wait it out.
And imagine wanting to grow a beard for the traditional No-Shave November, or to wear any kind of clothing that tickles your fancy. Or even living in a family with the typical noises of daily life: All of that hampers the workflow for a voice actor.
“If you have a collared shirt and have a beard and turn your head, the mic will pick that up,” Seybert says. “If the family is home and run the shower or flush the toilet, I stop recording. The neighbor lady has grandkids, and if they’re particularly rambunctious, I stop.”
The noise issue, at least, has improved since 2016 when Seybert began working at home.
“When I started in 2016, I didn’t have any soundproofing at all, so I could only work when it wasn’t raining, when the neighbor lady didn’t have grandkids, when the garbage trucks weren’t going by,” he says. “So I ended up buying a prefabricated isolation booth. It’s not soundproof but very insulated.”
One of the coolest things about being an audio-book narrator is the looks on people’s faces when you tell them what you do.”—Jim Seybert
He can get so into character in his private little world that sometimes it takes a minute to shake it off once the book is completed.
“I did a book quite a few years ago where a character had a Florida drawl, a young boy during the Civil War fighting for the Confederacy,” he says. “It was one of the first books I did with a character voice. It took a while—a couple of weeks—to record this book. I’m done with this book, and my head is still in Florida, and without thinking about it, we were out with some friends, and the server asked what I wanted. I just automatically answered in this guy’s voice. Everyone at the table was just looking at me.”
Just like reading a work of fiction does not turn the actor into the characters he’s playing, the same is true of non-fiction books. It’s a misconception, Seybert says, that he has the same philosophy or opinions the writer is expressing.
“I can read some pretty outrageous things from the other side and understand it because I’m reading it from the author’s point of view,” he says. “For example, I read a book that was very pro-climate change, and it had been released, maybe out for a month, before another Big Five [one of the big five publishing houses in the U.S.] wanted me to read a book claiming that climate change is a ruse. I read both books, and they both got pretty good reviews.”
When all is said and done, Seybert says it’s a good life and he has no plans to stop. “It’s kind of fun. One of the coolest things about being an audio-book narrator is the looks on people’s faces when you tell them what you do.”
Editor’s Note: Visit Seybert’s website to hear clips of his work.