How Many Websites Can One (1) Freelancer Juggle?

I guess I just wasn't really sure what would happen, once I decided to focus on writing.

The Stumbling, Eager Past

Once I made my Vocal account on that crisp December night in 2018, I thought to myself, "Okay. Well, I need to . . . to promote this." Luckily, after creating an account, Vocal's team had put together first-time articles for first-time users, going over what Vocal was all about, and the best ways to succeed on there. One of those, was how to go about promoting your work- email lists, friends and family . . . and social media.

Well. I had a Twitter I'd made back in 2013 because an art class demanded it, and I never used it, but . . . maybe I could overhaul it. And I did! Decided on a pseudonym to write under, because I just thought that would be fun (and if, you know, I did become a prolific writer then I'd need, you know, a way to separate work from personal, aha), and then I . . . wrote.

My first article was about "Cabin in the Woods", one of my absolute favorite horror movies ever made. It . . . was a modest grand opening to my freelancer career (?), but the fact that it garnered attention bolstered me. I continued posting, and sharing it to my humble following, and thought about ways to be a more successful writer. What would really interest people? What could I write to bring in the big numbers people were talking about on this site?

I never did get into posting on Instagram, and my Facebook was full of coworkers and family that I didn't really want to know about my writing. It just felt too intimate to share, with people who had some idea of me. Better to toss it to strangers with no stake in my development (was I just not counting on a dedicated following??? I was terrible at self-promoting, at the start). I got rid of those, anyway, in 2020 . . . so all I've had was Twitter. I tried Medium for two months, didn't touch it, and then deleted it because I am a fool. It was just me and my mainstream ass Twitter account, yelling about movies or something else random, one writer amidst a sea of far more vocal artists all jockeying for attention amidst grifters and celebs. It was fun.

The Steady, Silty Present

My job ghosted me several months ago (it was contract work, remote), and I've had nothing but time to try and add to my creative pursuits. I have three different writing accounts, and two social media accounts for my writing name. No, wait, three, I just added a Pinterest for visuals and "flare". The Shambling of Twitter (I know "shambling" isn't a word, but I'm making it one now) didn't really help anybody, but I don't think it affected me in a very concrete way as my posts weren't all that popular in the first place! Anyway, I've admitted to myself that my dream is to make my writing my primary pursuit, and source of income, in my life.

I just got onto Lemon8, this new app that opened up in 2023 from the same company that made TikTok. It's been nice, so far, quite cute when you figure out how to block and curate your feed. My author Pinterest is still pretty empty sans one pin I've made, so I keep meaning to go on there are start making boards, but I keep on getting distracted. By fanfiction.

Currently I'm writing on Substack, Medium, and Vocal. Which wasn't difficult at first, but I've been stuck in a rut of despair over humanity ever since October- Free Palestine, if you don't agree leave and never come back to my work again- and have had some trouble trying to keep a stead flow between all three. But I've been improving! You know I had to restart my Substack? At first I was trying to make it this sort of serious, literary thing . . . all "grungy prose" and whatever the fuck I wrote in the about section the first time . . . but after . . . seven posts? I got the groove. I'm not a grungy prose person, I'm a silly goose person. I don't like committing to one track because there's so many different ones! So now it's my online diary, and I'm much happier with it now. And I just dropped the January setlist promised to paid subscribers so they can see what a drive with Danny Fantom sounds like. Good stuff :D

Medium is going along pretty well too. Funny thing, actually, this is also something I restarted after being dissatisfied with its first run through. But I gave it up quicker than I did my first Substack, only posting one article in the Fall of 2022 before giving it up. When I revived it in Fall of 2023, though, I was more prepared. I had far more writing at that time, that I could cross post from Vocal to Medium, plus I had just started a new horror flash series that would pair up as well. Now I've got 23 articles posted, and late last year I started my own publication called "The Weird Little Back Alley Library" where I just post my 5 minute reviews of some of the weird, the sweet, and the odd books I've read. I think I'll start cross posting my movie work, too . . .

And yes, of course, Vocal. The one that started all this. I just cancelled my Vocal+ subscription because I don't even have $20 to spare, let alone the $100 renewal fee. I let them email me four different times, asking about the delay in payment, before I finally gave up and just cancelled it. It feels a little weird not to see that pink badge anymore, but . . . I don't know, I feel like cooling it with Vocal anyway. Over 100 stories, 36 subscribers, and yet I can't help but feel like I'm only just realizing that my Vocal momentum started sputtering out a while ago. I wrote an article last year, just after Halloween actually, about relearning how to write just for myself- for my enjoyment, and my benefit, and not to care about story stats. Which is still true! I wouldn't write across three different platforms if I didn't enjoy it . . . but now I'm also ready to admit to myself that, yeah, stats do matter. Not in a self-worth sense, but sort of in a regular worth sense, you know? No, you probably don't because I worded that like an insufferable indie girl lead from 2002.

What I mean is, I enjoy writing. That's not going to change. But I do not enjoy feeling ignored, or . . . deliberately skipped over, in a field where some of the most heinous people alive are getting to thrive. Really, it's not even a self-worth/worth thing, it's a self-respect/worth thing. Ooh, that was still confusing! See, it's- truth time, I can prove to you I enjoy writing!

As I mentioned before, I wrote a flash horror series for 2023 called "Fright Feast." I also wrote a slightly longer flash horror series for Halloween in 2022 called "The Wicked Carousel." I adored it, it was so much fun to challenge myself to write fiction (hard, and then you have to add dialogue and watch out for plot holes-)! Only three stories from both series got even one person to read it. The rest make up the bulk of my three pages worth of zero reads on stats. Wouldn't someone who doesn't genuinely enjoy writing look at the first page and a half and say to themselves that this isn't working out anymore? I don't look at all those zeroes and think, "Wow, I must be a shit writer, which means I must be a shit person because my writing comes from my experiences and dreams, therefore I'm a terrible human being."

I look at those low stats and I'm like, "Hmm, I deserve better." Which I don't think is a terrible, or arrogant way, to think, but it then prompts me into unsolved spirals of trying to figure out how to get what I deserve. And maybe you're thinking, "Yeah but maybe you're just shit at this," and you're not wrong to point that out! But I know I'm not because when cross posted to Medium, a lot more of those stories got read, and given "claps" (Medium's like option) than on Vocal. Which, how? 36 subscribers, but nobody bothers to read what they get notifications on? Being a freelancer in this digital world is rough.

First they tell you to "read these articles to see how to create evergreen content" and you do, and you follow it, and nobody really reads that, but then you start doing your own thing and hyping up shit you like to write about, and some people read it but it's still so random what hits and what doesn't. Hence the new social media on top of Twitter. Posting to different sites with different, like, vibes, is hard. But also something new, and kind of exciting, but mostly hard and more difficult than some might think.

A Future Not Yet Certain Enough For Adjectives

What the hell do I want for this going forward?

Oh, that actually sounds very close to that Vocal+ challenge that happened not too long ago. Like, what do you want from your Vocal account going forward? Pity I couldn't enter it, but that $100 renewal amount was desperately needed elsewhere, and now I can only squint disapprovingly at the lack of hot pink badge by my hazy, lazy profile picture. Enough with being a bitter minx (shoutout to GoodnightMoon), let's answer the question:

What do I want from this all going forward into 2024?

Some recognition. I had my humble writer era, and maybe I'll swing back around to it, but NOW I want some praise. I want likes. I want the kind of easy belief in my writing folks is out here giving KKK romances- you know what I'm talking about!!

But let's break this down. Let's be real specific.

What do I want from Substack? Subscribers! To get my chat started and have some random comments, funny, witty, random shit in there! I want Notes to be full of illegible yet benign chatter! I want to find the weirdos on there, and I want them to find me, and I want us all to communicate solely in 80s movie quotes, or some shit. I want it to grow, to be a healthy outlet for myself and others, and to cement myself as a solid voice on that platform, even just in the "online diary" niche I placed myself in.

What do I want from Medium? For people to see my publication, The Weird Little Back Alley Library, and find it a source of either their next brick in the TBR wall, or a nice little blog to scroll through at a doctor's office or just on their phone because they're trying to add a little more variety into their social media habits. Whatever. I want someone to comment, "you know if you liked this, you would probably love . . ." and then proceed to give me either the most sensible or the most unhinged book recommendation ever!

What do I want from Pinterest? Stay just as cute as you always are, baby. Maybe help drive some more traffic to my writing, but there is absolutely no pressure because you, Pinny, are an angel baby and I am blessed to have you.

What do I want from Lemon8? Honestly, I don't think I've ever grown so fast on a SM platform before! Only one month and I've already got 6 followers, some reactions, and . . . it's nice and easy. Like Pinterest, honestly. And I'm learning how to make things in advance and keep it in drafts- oh, and because of my desire to grow on this platform, I'm finally learning how to use Canva! So, keep helping me learn and grow Lemon8!

What do I want from Twitter? Don't jump me. Let me get by unharmed. That's what I want from that circle-of-hell-site I just want to find interesting lit mags to submit to, and hope to hit my goal of 30 publications.

Now . . . what do I want from Vocal. Honestly I'm not sure. I'm reminded of that "200" challenge, where they ask what your goals are concerning Vocal. How can you be better on here? More popular? I think I could do a better job of interacting with others on here, but I need to find the willingness to keep working on this site . . . which will mean probably my slowest update schedule ever on here. For 2024 I'll be shooting for once every other month, as I'm deciding to focus on publishing work in magazines and journals, then Substack, Medium, and finally Vocal. If my luck changes and work flows in steadily (and the money too), I'll take a look at my progress for the year on Vocal and make a decision on reclaiming the subscription or not.

Really, I guess we can sum this up- and end this- with: I want 2024 to be my most successful year yet. So I'm planning accordingly.