5 benefits of joining Vocal

I believe that everyone has a story to tell, but some of us are driven to write our stories. I didn’t join Vocal for the dream of winning big money from a challenge – though, I admit they are exciting. I signed up with Vocal as an investment in my writing. And compared to what I’ve experienced in the past, it’s paid dividends.

Creating a writing profile

Every writer needs a writing profile – a place where you can write whatever you want – for all of your varied work. In the past I had a blog, but I wanted to write in several genres. I soon realized how hard it was to keep everything in one blog. Readers tend to identify blogs by specific themes, and they lose interest if you write in different genres. Now with Vocal, everything I write is under my profile. That means I can easily promote my stories to various reader interest groups – inside and outside of Vocal – with a simple link.

Growing an audience

Let’s face it, we all work hard to get our readers, or even convince our family and friends to keep reading our work. Vocal provides ad-free space for our readers to enjoy our stories. I’ve heard from family and friends that they feel comfortable reading my work because they aren’t bombarded with pop-up ads. In the past, I created a website for my writing and paid an annual web hosting fee $145. After a few years, I had to let it go. It just wasn’t useful in growing my audience – and I did not get paid when readers looked at my work. Vocal pays me per read. Additionally, readers can tip writers. I have certainly received more from tips than reads. In fact, the tips I received this year covered the cost of my annual Vocal membership. Thank you, readers, for all the $1.00 tips. They really do add up.

Keeping a writing routine

I must confess: I look at my reading stats daily. Nothing has ever been more motivating than finding out that one of my stories was read. It inspires me to create goals. I reached a thousand reads in less than a month...then two thousand reads. Looking at my stats gives me a positive boost. Even on the days I get just a few reads, I’m motivated to write and share my stories.

Even on the days I get just a few reads, I’m motivated to write and share my stories.

Entering writing competitions

Last year, I sent twenty-two short stories and poems to several literary magazines and publishing competitions. The entry fee for these contests varied from $20, $25, $30 or even $35. In one year, I spent about $500 to enter writing competitions. All I got for my work was one placement among top ten finishers and a whole lot of rejection messages. No prizes, no publication. I told myself, “the more I write, the better I’ll get.” But motivation is hard to maintain when there’s no return on investment and you’re getting monthly rejection messages – with no feedback, by the way.

Joining Vocal costs less than $120 a year and you get to enter writing challenges without paying an extra fee. When I first joined, I thought Vocal would have maybe two or three challenges a year. Wrong. This summer, Vocal introduced eight summer writing competitions. Now, I can practice entering writing challenges and improve – without having to pay an entry fee for each competition. That’s a great benefit!

There is always something to learn from other writers because we are all at different places in our writing journey.

Learning from other writers

Over the past few years, I paid more than $2,000 to attend creative writing courses and workshops. There seems to be more being offered – thanks to the Internet – now than ever. There’s always a guru ready to impart writing wisdom – for a hefty price. The best benefit I ever received from these workshops was when I got to share my writing with classmates. To receive and give feedback to other writers is why I kept paying to attend. Soon after I joined Vocal, I joined three Facebook groups for Vocal writers. I became what I call a ‘story trader’. Writers in the group will post their Vocal stories and trade read-for-read. I would say most of us do a fair trade and provide each other with feedback. I now read at least ten stories a day written by other Vocal creators. There is always something to learn from other writers because we are all at different places in our writing journey. Sometimes, I read a story and I am motivated by the storytelling expertise. Other times, I read a story and it reminds me of where I used to be. When I became a story trader, it filled my need to share and receive feedback, and it gave me a sense of belonging to a community of writers.

Are you still hesitant about joining Vocal? Don’t be. A community of supportive writers are waiting for you, and it’s an economical way to develop your passion.