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How To Make The First Dollar

Launching your Vocal empire from scratch

By Jord TuryPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Like all things, carving a legacy in the shape of written works is much easier said than done. Saying that, however, launching a new pastime on Vocal Media isn't really that difficult — providing you set your expectations relatively low. At least to begin with, anyway. Take me, for example. It took me eight months to accrue a single dollar in revenue from Vocal. And, believe me when I say — I wrote a lot of stories. Like, a few a day at a bare minimum. But I never let those slow harvesting pennies stop me from wanting to branch out and pursue the writing dream I longed for. Oh no — I pushed on and I kept writing, because I knew that one day my words would reach the right audience.

A year later, and those pennies have broadened to a nice three-figure salary. Of course, I'm not buying out properties in Dubai just yet, but I am making money from the articles I published well over a year ago. And, strangely enough, it's the few that I least expected to make so much as a penny that are somehow surpassing my expectations even today. Crazy — I know.

Every great story begins with ambition. Every worthy staff pick ends with a moral. But, if you sink your teeth into Vocal expecting to make bank overnight from anything and everything, then you're probably in the wrong industry. Frustratingly, writing is all about the grind and the number of ideas you submit before being noticed. It's about fusing your keywords into the right context and channelling through to a specific reader. It's about exploring your creativity in the hope you'll latch onto something worthy of jotting down on a page. And, above all — it's about patience.

It might seem like a pipedream at first, but trust me when I say — it takes time to earn from the things we love most. Writing is a joy in itself, even without the added luxury of profit. That should always be your starting point no matter what. And if you set out with the mindset of becoming the next multi-millionaire writer within a fortnight, then you're only going to let yourself down and crush your self-esteem in the process.

Vocal works wonders when it needs to, but the platform itself can't put in all the work for you. It's you who needs to grind like there's no tomorrow. And it's you who can only think of the future and where it might take you and your passion. Of course, seeing that small readership chart and few cents can undeniably be tedious to hunch over. But, every great writer has been in that exact same position. Even I, who honestly isn't a great deal further ahead than most newcomers, am still trying to find ground among the global competition. But I pursue it because I not only dream to — but because I genuinely want to.

So, I strongly suggest writing for the sake of writing. Tell stories because you want to, and the rest will come. Perhaps not today, or even next week — but someday, when the time is right and the world is ready to see you and the works you have to offer. But, for now, keep the bar low and focus only on that first dollar, because before you know it — you'll be standing over it like a stepping stone on a long and wondrous road to success.

Keep your patience, and discover your niche. Write and submit stories every day until you locate your inner sanctum and want to write more. Crack knuckles and grind day after day, and eventually, you'll stand tall over not only a throne of achievements — but also over that very first dollar, too.

Good luck, friends!

advice
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About the Creator

Jord Tury

Just a regular guy living in the West Midlands, UK.

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