We recently connected with Dominique Franceschi and have shared our conversation below.

Dominique, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

I think the biggest realization, especially in a creative industry, is that the most powerful thing you can do for yourself within your industry is to “simply” show up as your authentic self.

I say “simply”, because it’s far from being a simple task, or at least at the beginning it wasn’t for me. Throughout my training, most teachers and mentors kept trying to fit me into a box so I would be more “hirable”, and in the process I started hiding or altering parts of myself to blend in. As a result, I was not bringing anything new or unique to the table, just parts of other people I was told were “good for my career”.

I was lucky that I crossed paths with mentors who empowered me to unapologetically show up as myself.

Dominique, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I always say this industry found me, and it it, I found my creative home.

Working in Audiobooks has been such a joy. The community is like none other I’ve ever found. I’d describe this industry as having a collective abundance mindset, and I think that is something so magical (and in my experience, rare) to find in a creative career.

I get to use my voice to bring words (and worlds) to life in a different format. I’ve been lucky enough to work in various genres and with different publishers. I love having the mission to immerse my audience in good stories. It’s a honor that this is now my career.

My favorite? It definitely changes, though I will say right now I am manifesting a good world building Fantasy.

I also started producing exclusively in Spanish with Audiobook Empire this year, and it has been a delight to serve the industry in a different capacity.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The idea of creating something new, be it a new character, a new story, or a new universe, and sharing it with the world, is always incredibly rewarding. I say “creating” because even though I am not writing the book, I’m connecting written word with sound, and introducing it to a completely different medium. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

If there is at least one human out there that resonates with it, that’s such a lovely bonus.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

The process of making an Audiobook is a lot more intricate than most folks realize, so when you finally get to share the final product, there’s months of work behind it. One of the most entertaining comments I hear is “Oh, I would be really good at that, I read to my kids every night”. Not to say that’s not good practice, but just cause I’ve sewn a couple of garments does not mean I am a fashion designer :)

If this is something you think you might enjoy doing, then I encourage you to be as curious about it as you would with any other career, and likewise, to invest your time and energy into your craft beyond a few minutes each day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dominiquefranceschi.com/narration/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/domfranceschi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/domfranceschiofficial
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/r2domi2
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/r2domi2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi9e8wl490gmMG8nzWVeP_w?view_as=subscriber

Image Credits
David Cybulski