Starting a blog in 2026 feels perhaps a little retro, but I’m leaning into the Y2K renaissance and using this space to share coaching insights, thoughts on audiobook narration, and behind-the-scenes insights on how one working audiobook narrator/dialect coach manages the many threads of freelance life.
I feel vulnerable and exposed at the idea of sharing my process. I find it hard to get past this deer-in-the-headlights feeling when it comes to sharing my work publicly, which, as an actor, is kind of an issue. One of the most effective ways to market as an audiobook narrator and dialect coach is to share clips and video reels on social media. My social media marketing venue of choice is Instagram (TikTok feels overwhelming, she says, betraying her Millenial bias… but maybe some day!)
You might expect that since my audiobook narration niche is in books with varied and complex accents, I would have many accent samples on my website so that casting directors and producers can hear my work and ability level. You would be wrong. (This is absolutely what I would advise anyone who is gifted with any particular accent to do: give producers some proof of your ability!) However… I don’t currently have a ton of accent samples readily available. There’s no New Zealand accent sample there, limited European accents of all kinds, and only a few American samples. And yet, I perform in all of these accents!
While I’m glad casting directors and producers either trust my word or check my accent-performance claims during an audition, audiobook reels are an important card for an audiobook narrator that should be regularly updated. I know this! You know this! And yet, why is it so hard to record new ones? Why am I hesitant about posting examples of my work publically, either on social media or on my own website?
Everyone is a critic.
Dialects are to voice over what costumes are to film: everyone has an opinion, educated or not. Posting a video about accents online opens up the floodgates to armchair experts. Take a look at the Audible reviews from listeners critiquing every native British narrator for their “bad” British accent. (I’ve received a few “this narrator is clearly not Australian” comments in Audible reviews myself. As I said, everyone has an opinion, even if they’re wrong).
Accent performance is one of those areas in which we aim for authenticity, but are sometimes hamstrung by outdated expectations of what an accent “should” sound like, and what makes an accent recognisable to listeners. The bar for accent performance in audiobooks vs film is different. We expect an actor embodying one character in a film to carry off an accent performance believably, consistently and at a very high-level of embodiment, because for the runtime of the film, we are supposed to believe the actor is that character. Audiobook narrators create an entire cast of international characters and embody them all. At no point does the listener believe that the narrator is actually from every one of the 18 countries represented in the book. The challenge in many ways is greater; jumping between accents is hard, and we do it over a lot more text! But the bar for accent embodiment is a little lower. (We hope the audience will be more forgiving of our slip-ups.)The internet records everything.
On stage, an acting choice is ephemeral. On audio, it’s recorded (theoretically) forever. The permanence of an audio reel or an audio performance adds pressure. As a performer, I am aware that I am eternally in draft; my skills are continually being refined, I am increasing my knowledge and ability and the idea of people judging me on outdated information feels unfair. I can get on board with a demo or a video being a snapshot of my process or abilities at that particular moment in time, but part of my mind knows/fears that my audience might not have that same awareness. What if I make a mistake that is recorded forever? The internet doesn’t understand being in process. The internet understands a finalised, polished product.
Time constraints flatten complex choices.
Creatively speaking: did you read the book I’m narrating a snippet from? If not, you don’t know the full story behind my decision-making process. There are twist characters! There are conmen who are supposed to be bad at a particular accent! There are creative reasons why a particular accent might be bad. (So… maybe those are bad excerpts to pick for an accent demo…)
Educationally speaking: as a dialect coach on Instagram, there’s a time limit to the amount of information I can present, which makes me feel pressured to summarise complex concepts and flatten them. Some creators seem to be able to present complex ideas quickly; I find the act of compressing hours of preparation into a two-minute video inevitably loses nuance. Quick tips to accent performance rarely capture the full picture, and I feel slightly like a fraud in the void, throwing out cheat codes to something that doesn’t actually have a shortcut.
Time-and-energy-speaking speaking: it is time-consuming to create an online video! And it feels particularly vulnerable as an AFAB, female-presenting person who is also visibly queer. Before even hitting record, I’ve spent time and energy putting on makeup, feeling self-conscious about my appearance (my mind buzzes with insecurities: is this too much makeup for camera or not enough? Am I femme-presenting enough to avoid being called homophobic or misogynistic slurs by commenters who are strangers?) I feel anxious about opening myself to critiques not just on my skill but on my face and body — and realising that even as a voice actor, appearance matters as part of marketing, clicks, and attention.
But what if I’m actually bad at this?
The more I learn about accent performance, the more I am at the mercy of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. As a shiny, newly-minted audiobook narrator, I had no problem telling everyone I could do anything, perform in any accent. Bluntly: this confidence was not backed up by ability. Now, ten years later, having trained as a dialect coach and learning more about accents every day, I understand how complicated, nuanced and detailed great accent work is, living in the balance between character work and technique. Learning more about accents means being able to better identify when I fall out of an accent. My lack of confidence in sharing my work, ironically, has grown proportionately to my increase in knowledge. There is this feeling of being an imposter: how can I claim to be an expert if I’m not perfect? What if by sharing my work more broadly I will be revealed as a fraud?
Imposter syndrome, or, getting away with it one book at a time.
When I go to share my work, at the back of my mind is the gnawing monster of imposter syndrome. That monster whispers, “You don’t know what you’re doing.” It says, “All those Audiofile reviews talking up your accent ability were lies — you got away with it on that title, but what about next time?”
My logical, kind-to-myself brain tries to argue with imposter syndrome: I know my accent work is solid. I know I am prepared with research, and I know I know what I’m doing when I break down an accent. Take that, imposter monster! What about those Audiofile reviews that didn’t mention my accent work at all when I was performing in a first-person accent other than my own (the greatest compliment of all)? I know that as a dialect coach, I have helped many other actors find paths to more convincing dialect work. Sometimes the counter-evidence quiets the imposter syndrome anxiety, but more often than not I simultaneously hold in my mind the knowledge of my own ability and experience, and the worry that maybe I was fooling everyone all along.
Accent work is vulnerable. It reveals any lack of prep time, inexperience, or lack of confidence. Poor accent work is at best, distracting, and at worst, insulting. It’s no wonder I, like many other actors, get in my head about it!
After all this navel-gazing: What’s the path forwards?
After analysing all the reasons that keep me blocked from sharing my work, I’m addressing my fear head-on with a series on Instagram (first post linked below!) where I film myself as I update my audiobook demos across a range of dialects. I already feel embarrassed about putting this work out there... However, my hope is this peek behind the scenes of how a dialect coach approaches creating accent samples is helpful to other narrators, and other people who may suffer from the same imposter syndrome that I do.
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Who am I?
Hi! Let me introduce myself. I’m Kat Littrell, a dialect coach and voice actor. I have an MFA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and trained in the Knight-Thompson Speechwork method of accent acquisition. When it comes to audiobooks, I am also an Audie Award-nominated audiobook narrator, including a nomination for Audiobook of the Year (2026). I have taught acting and accents at the conservatoire level, most recently at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). I have led dialect workshops for audiobook narrators and voice actors at the Thriving Narrators Retreat in Cincinnati, with the Teach a Narrator to Fish workshop in NYC, and with narrator.life online. I offer group dialect workshops periodically throughout the year, as well as one-on-one coaching. You can follow me on Instagram @littrelly.speaking, or book a coaching session with me via Calendly.