Content

Kent Brindley here; your Friendly Neighborhood fellow "Vocal-ite" and aspiring author and content creator.

I guess I was just born for creating content.

I was scribbling side-adventures for "He-Man" and "G.I. Joe" at the age of 4 when their respective adventures were off the air for the day. (I didn't know what "Fan Fiction" WAS at the time, let alone if the term had come to be in 1988).

I went to Grand Valley on the hunch of pursuing a Bachelor's in WRITING in hopes to continue pursue fiction writing one day.

I got caught in the avenue of "Self-Published" works with box loads that I am begging friends and family to take off of my hands with the promise to sign them. (Hey, one day, that autograph alone could be worth...$2; if that).

I found "Vocal" as an avenue to possibly get paid per 6 or so reads (more begging [reads/subs/tips/etc.])

A Locker Room Attendant with a bi-weekly paycheck and a Writing degree requires something MORE; especially if I want to get the car and a place of my own in a new community one day.

Enter YouTube.

I am already quite familiar with YouTube, after a year under the Pandemic (my "go-tos" to this day: "Steven Crowder," "The Quartering," old videos from the now-defunct "No B.S.," "Karen"-reaction videos, terrible Uber passengers, old-school animation, old school music videos, great covers of 80's rock, News regarding WWE 2k22, etc.)

...But I'm not getting paid to WATCH YouTube (...at least, not since I quit taking Unemployment Assistance the moment that I returned to getting ANY work hours at all...).

I need to do MORE with my time.

I need to...PRODUCE (and beg for views and subs).

I've CREATED a YouTube page of my own and I'm ready to try and produce and deliver content. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDcCUUbWYao_Kpg8OA_e-0A)

(Yes, I'm aware of how the media, social media, and the internet treat Crowder and Quartering for their content; and, no, an aspiring, up-and-coming Content Creator is not going to delve into petty politics just yet as he tries to BUILD his credibility).

So, we now know what I use YouTube to VIEW; WHAT, pray tell, do I intend to PRODUCE?

I'm glad that you asked; and don't even mind being interrupted for it.

I've been with "Vocal" now for almost 14 months; and, at 120-some-odd posts by now, I feel like the "Vocal" community knows me pretty well if they give me a chance.

So far, I have posted a couple of WWE 2k20 videos (one match; one "Creation Suite") as I EAGERLY anticipate what "...2k22" could possibly bring to the table. I've posted for Christmas and New Year's Day respectively. I posted about my singleness in light of "February 14th Day" coming up. I posted about the successful completion of my first 5k. I even posted about the intent to bring back "Ask-The-Author-Friday" (on a far better platform than simply my Facebook Author page).

I HAVEN'T gotten around to yet (but I do have dreams to do so), for example, South Haven content (Home Town), Grand Valley content (my alma mater), or my MOTU Classics Collection of figures (but don't think that the last one in particular ISN'T coming EVENTUALLY). I even have plans to use SOME scripts from "Vocal" articles as potential jumping-off points for content (especially in light of Joe Rogan right now, or ANYONE who has ever been told to execute the performance art of a GROVELING "apology tour" that the recipients are never going to accept, I could potentially use "Pardon Me For a Moment of Your Time..." and run with it). Come September, I could use "Semicolon" and run with new content. Me being as awkward around the fairer sex as I STILL am (an entire life-time of singleness, and about 33-months from turning into a bad Judd Apatow character) will have to come up from time-to-time (any number of my "Vocal" musings could come back to that). As a fan of cartoons or music...you understand (plus, if I tip my hand too much, who'd be interested anymore anyway)?

Thanks for listening and I appreciate it. We're all aspiring creators/artists here. What avenues/venues do YOU use to promote your work and do you have any advice for me as I intend to branch out more?

The author here. Many of us are used to begging for our works to reach a broader target audience for (money/notoriety/a-welcome-gauge-to-what-constitutes-good-content/etc.) You KNEW that this part of the article was coming (especially from a venue where we are already prone to asking for subscriptions...)