Are Your Ears Burning?

They say that if your ears are burning, someone is talking about you. In the writing and acting businesses, you want your ears to be burning a lot...and hope you're being talked about in a good way.

Examples:
--I booked a medical industrial without auditioning. The client must've listened to my demo, liked it and talked to my agent.

--A friend actually asked the other day if my ears were burning. She said she'd been talking about how helpful and encouraging I'd been at the writing conference where we first met.

--References...to get a recent VO job, I was asked to give two industry contacts.

--I was put on hold for a job, meaning a client was interested. Time passed, and I didn't hear about a firm booking. You don't want to dwell on what's happening with auditions or submissions, but sometimes it's a challenge not to wonder if the job fell through or what made the client choose another talent. Lo and behold, more than a week later I got the firm booking call.

You want your marketing materials (on camera reel, VO demo(s), headshots, Web site, or first three chapters and synopsis) to speak for themselves in encouraging industry professionals to hire you. Building a reputation for professionalism, meeting deadlines and being pleasant to work with is also important for repeat business.

Getting compliments and/or feedback is great and useful. I don't often find out what a client liked, or if there was something they didn't like. Some writers are offended if they receive a revision letter. Their opus is fabulous as is, how dare anyone suggest otherwise? But most know that a revision letter means that the agent/editor wants the manuscript to be the best, most saleable product it can be.

While researching the definition of ears burning, I came across another saying I hadn't heard: Left for love, right for spite.

Hmmm.