My First 30 Days With Vocal+

I was just sitting here, editing my third entry into the Moleskine Little Black Notebook Challenge (see also: my first and second entries!), when I got distracted and checked my current stats. My earnings from reads has been sitting at nearly $2 for so long I was stunned for a moment to see a nice round $2! Like when I'm about to turn a milestone on my odometer and when I think to look down all round numbers are looking back at me! It was like that. I get really excited about my stats on here, even if they aren't objectively impressive yet.

I've been writing this whole month, and, honestly — that's really the point. I have 24 pieces published! And yes, I made $2 (which I can cash out when I make another $18...), but the real benefit here is — I've been writing. There is something about the Vocal platform that makes me want to write. I enjoy the interface. I like the look of it, and I don't struggle trying to figure out how to use it. I have signed up for countless other things over the years, and none of them made me want to write.

This one does.

Oh! I forgot! I also received $6 in tips! So this month did pay for itself! When I signed up with the $4.99 for the first 3 months deal, I said to myself I'd try it for 3 months and see if it pays for itself by the end — and it already has!

And, I bet you're thinking that it seems like a lot of work for a very small reward. And if I were just paying attention to the money, this would be true. Well, I mean, it IS true, but artists are notoriously underpaid for their work in the 21st century, (and 20th century, too). It is pretty rare for any artist to make a living wage from their art, it comes with no minimum wage expectations. (Not that minimum wages are livable wages, but that's a different slice of cake.)

Mental gymnastics to justify the amount of time I spend being an artist versus the compensation for it aside, I do get tremendous intrinsic value from writing and making art. It would be exceptionally nice to make enough money from it that I could be reliably housed — most of last fall/winter I lived out of my SUV. I got by well enough as a street artist not having to pay rent; I sat with my typewriter and typed "downloads from the universe" and "live typewriter readings" for passersby. Until everything started to shut down, anyway...

So, here I find myself in the midst of a pandemic with enough time to write whatever I want to write. This is time past-me asked for many times over the years! And here I have it! I'm housed for the moment, and in the middle of writing several things, (because the reason it's hard to finish things evidently had nothing to do with not having time or electricity). And I'm getting to work through all the stuff that keeps me from wanting to sit here and empty my head onto the screen and make it readable. This is all intrinsic value — and I am grateful for it.

I have no expectations of winning any of the challenges, or making a living wage from this — but both of those things ARE possible. It IS possible that I could win $20,000 from one of my entries. And, so, I am going to keep at it, doing the things that make that more likely.

Thanks for being on this journey with me! I appreciate every single read, including the fraction of a penny I made from you reading this! And I genuinely squeal with delight from every tip. Most importantly to me, though, I'm having fun — during a pandemic. Tremendous value added!