1 month, 9 stories, $5.55

Mythbusting time: I've seen several posts claim you'll get a $5 bonus after posting your 5th story, but I'm here to report that that is NOT true. (Maybe it was true at one point, but it isn't anymore.) However, I did manage to earn over $5 in my very first month on Vocal Media!

The Beginning

I joined Vocal Media in the early morning of August 31. I had actually made my decision to join on August 30, and I was so excited about it that I couldn't sleep! So I officially joined at around 2 am on August 31.

After I finally slept and woke up again, I saw an email for the BookClub challenge: "Write about a book that changed you". This challenge was totally perfect for me! I knew exactly what to write about because this one particular book had been so life-changing for me, so I spent all day frenetically writing and revising as quickly as possible before the 9pm (in my time zone) deadline. I didn't win or get mentioned as a runner-up, but I am still really proud of that piece (and I highly recommend the book I wrote about!). You can check it out here:

What I've Done

Over the course of my first 30 days on Vocal Media, I ended up posting 9 stories. I acquired 92 total reads, 18 subscribers, and $5.55. I'm quite happy with this! It's not much, but I feel like it's a really good start and I am optimistic about the future.

In addition to my BookClub Challenge entry, I posted 3 other book-related posts: How I plan what to read each month, a discussion of short story collections, and finally "I packed too many books," my first Top Story!!

On the theme of writing, I posted about staying positive with zero reads, my Vocal Media content planning process, and the first thing I ever wrote AND PUBLISHED! (I have also since written and posted "You Are a Real Writer," but that was not during my first 30 days.)

And finally, I posted two other stories on random topics, both poems. One was my entry in the Extraterrestrial challenge (Not sure how the judges will like it, but I'm very proud of it!) and one was just a quick update on a biopsy I had mentioned in a previous post.

Plans for the Future

I plan to pretty much continue as I have been for the foreseeable future. I will continue to write about books, reading, and writing. The only change I have planned is that I will decrease my posting frequency to only once per week starting in November (I can't cut back in October because I have too many ideas to write first! ^_^). My next post will be my entry in the Lost in a Story challenge. It will be based on my all-time favorite murder mystery! Any guesses as to what that might be? :D (slight hints: It is a very well-known book, and it's NOT shown in my author page cover photo.) I will give a $2 tip to anyone who guesses correctly! Update: here it is!:

Final question: was paying for Vocal+ worth it?

I did sign up for Vocal+ when I joined, mostly because they were running a sale at the time, so it was only $49 for a year (=$4.08 per month) instead of the usual $99. It is sort of unclear whether or not this was a good financial decision. Being a Vocal+ member only increased my earnings from reads by 20 cents this past month. However, the Top Story selection criteria do state that being a V+ member increases your chances of selection, so it's possible that my $5 Top Story bonus is due to being a member, in which case the $4.08 investment this month was profitable. Regardless of the finances, Vocal+ is great for my sanity...I would hate to not be able to edit my stories after publication if I find a typo or whatever. Also, I have really enjoyed being able to participate in the Challenges. At this point, I think I will most likely continue being a V+ member next year as long as I am able to at least break even this year. However, I will revisit this and make a final decision next year. (If you decide you also want to join Vocal+, using my link will give me a commission. I would really appreciate your support!)

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Thanks so much for reading! Be sure to subscribe if you want to be notified whenever I post a new story. And don't forget to comment your guess :)

P.S. I fixed my Stripe information, so now if you want to leave me a tip, you can!