My First Month On Vocal

Yesterday marked the first month on this platform for me: 30 days since I published my first story on the platform (currently revamped to fit into the format of a challenge), 30 days I thoroughly loved.

It's no huge feat, true. I am very, very far from my 1000th post or even the 100th one... but it still feels like an accomplishment.

But I have committed to myself to write and read as much as possible, mainly during my little man's naps, and any other scrap of free time around his attention-demanding antics and the needs of my family.

And being still here, still reading, and still writing, feels like a victory!

Initially, I didn't intend to write anything about it, but then Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred posted a beautiful collection of milestones on the same day, and I felt inspired to celebrate too.

So, what do I have to say after a month spent here?

I love Vocal!

Predictable, simple, that's it. My review is over; you can skip the rest.

If you are still reading, here's some background.

A few years ago, when I still had tons of free time on my hands, I tried writing on another famous blogging platform for a few months.

Spoiler: it didn't work out.

I will not be dragging old sorrows out here, but suffice it to say that they did not appreciate new users regularly interacting with each other. I was appalled by the moderators (in hindsight, it was probably AI) and the way they handled the appeals of several users whom I came to consider as friends, so I ended up rage-deleting my account and everything I've written on their platform.

Not my smartest move, since they were still supposed to pay me.

Writing returned to be an item on my forever untouched to-do list, and it wasn't until about a month ago, after listening to Atomic Habits, that I decided to give myself a chance again, this time without any expectation other than to strive to improve.

And searching online for a good platform to host my ramblings brought me here.

I felt shy and nervous at first. Getting behind the laptop and showing my soul through words again, fearing judgment and rejection, the familiar "I'm not good enough" stuck in my chest. But the community on this platform quickly turned my nerves into excitement.

Instead of staring at the blank page until my eyes dry out, I find myself daydreaming about the keyboard and what to write next. It's an amazing feeling, and most of the credit goes to the wholesome people on this platform.

Since day one, I felt welcome and accepted. That fragile, nervous wreck of my self-esteem as a writer has been steadily nurtured into a healthy "I know I can get better with practice" attitude.

I'd love to give a shout-out to all the great writers who make up the community of this platform with their awesome feedback, supportive words, and inspiring posts... But then it would become a very long and very corny post, which I'm not sure I have time for.

So I will only name very, very few.

Huge thanks to:

• Paul Stewart, who first welcomed me to the platform and writes both uplifting and encouraging feedback, and amazing, inspiring stories (that, I'll admit, I often have to read a few times).
• Dharrsheena Raja Segarran, whose enthusiastic support and scary stories feel like a true pillar of this platform.
• Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred, for occupying most of my "saved stories" section with resources and interesting ideas.
• Sara Wilson, SAMURAI SAM AND WILD DRAGONS 💗💗, Imola Tóth, Bride of Sound, Tim Carmichael, Maya Or Tzur, and Caitlin Charlton, whose name, each in their own way, is a genuine pleasure to see inside the notifications list.

Now, the other main thing I love about Vocal so far is the abundance of challenges. Official and Unofficial alike. They ease the pain of having to come up with something to write — which can be a big issue for a newbie like myself — but also provide a fun reason to try new and often uncomfortable things.

For example, I had never written a story below 600 words before "Paul and John's 47-Words Short Story Unofficial Challenge"!

And whether some money comes out of these challenges or not, they are an amazing opportunity to test new things, "get yourself out there", and learn from other great writers.

Which is often quite a humbling experience.

...

Do I think this platform is perfect?

As a philosopher, I have to answer: "What is your definition of perfect in this instance?"

Jokes aside, after barely a month here, I am not the right person to point out all the areas of improvement. But I would like to take the chance to name three things I'd love to see in Vocal's future:

1. An autosave feature in the editor. For all those people who often forget to click "save" and could be abruptly kidnapped from the laptop by a screaming child, just to come back, find their computer decided it was a good time to reboot, deleting hours of precious work that their hormone-flooded brain cannot remember in its entirety, forcing them to start from scratch. I'm sure it's a common issue.
2. A working app. When I tried downloading the current app on my phone, I got an error saying that my phone runs a version of Android that is too new for the app. I wrote an email to support about it, but it has gone unanswered so far.
3. A text-to-speech feature to read the stories. I have very little hands-free time, and scrolling through my phone is a luxury that I cannot afford most of the day. But there are still so many amazing stories on the platform that I want to read!

(If somebody knows a workaround for any of these issues, please help!)

...

Now, for those who care about numbers, here are mine after a month:

• 11 stories published

Most read, with 18 reads, 6 likes, and 5 comments:

Least read, with 2 reads, 3 likes, and 1 comment:

• A couple of accomplishments: 2 Top Stories, 1 Honorable Mention, 1 Runner-Up.

• 85 total reads, with most reads in one day being 8 and the least, obviously, 0.

• 1 tip! Which feels warm and fuzzy, like caramel-flavoured mocha on a chilly morning. I was not ready for how good a small tip would feel!

Altogether, it tallies up to 31.51 dollars and covers most of my yearly vocal+ subscription!

...

And for those who read the whole thing: thank you so much for making this community awesome!