Why I Will Enter the 2023 Vocal Writing Awards

On July 13, 2023 Vocal's President and COO authored two incredibly unexpected bombshell announcements about the 2023 Vocal Writing Awards. I'll link those announcements at the end of this article.

Vocal Has Challenges All The Time, So.....??

I hear you! It's just that this is ever-so-much-more than a Challenge. this, dear reader, is a Writing Award! (For the robust Rules and Regulations pdf from Vocal check out the end of the official entry page. ) It differs from a Vocal Challenge in several ways that pulled together are why I will make at least one entry:

1. The Awards are open to ANYONE with a Vocal account. Said differently; this is NOT just for Vocal+ members. That's a BIG deal: opportunities for Vocal free members has been queried often on the Vocal Discord channels and on the Tuesday Raise Your Voice sessions. here it is, and WOW! it's HUGE!
2. There are EIGHT different categories to enter. Entrants can enter as many times as they like and in as many categories as they wish.
3. You can earn $5 for each person that you invite to participate and then subsequently enters at least one category.
4. There will be more than one round of judging, and the Vocal creator community will be part of the process.
5. The current prize value for each category is constantly increasing as entries are made, and can be found shown above the category. In the example above the prize amount as of 12:45 on 7/14/23 for Flash Fiction was $1761. See bullet point #6 for additional details about this. (Pro Tip: This can help creators get a better understanding of the number of competitors in each category!)
6. There is an entry fee of $20 required for EACH entry. Now, I'm going to be straight with you, gentle reader; this fact is upsetting, sidelining, and overshadowing the whole thing for many people. That's their right, and it's yours, too, but I'm OK with it and here's why;

• If you are a Vocal+ member it's discounted to $10 for the first entry in any and all of the 8 categories. So if you were excited to submit an entry in each category you can save $80. You can use this link to upgrade to Vocal+ now.
• An entry fee will likely cause creators to do less 'throw it against the wall and see if it sticks' entries. We will need to be our own best critics since we are putting our money where our posts are.
• Part of the entry fee increases the prize amount for the category to which you've submitted. There are three winners per category and the prizes will be as follows: The Awards first place winners will receive $1,000 plus 20% of entry fees per category; the second place winners will receive $500 + 10% of entry fees per category; the third place winners will receive $250 plus 5% of entry fees per category. That means Vocal started the prizes for each category at $1750. In the Flash Fiction image above we noted that- one day in- the amount for that category is now $1761. As of this writing (1:14 on 7/14/23) the category with the largest prize is Horror Fiction with $1806. That shows a larger entry pool for that category.
• Entry fees should reduce the spam, plagiaristic, and non-attributed AI entries. That's been an ongoing concern for Vocal and its creators, and I see this as a positive step.
• Entry fees should, being frank here, reduce the number of entries and thus create a smaller (relatively, anyways) pool of competition.
• The entry fee, even at $20, is within the parameters of other Writing awards. As a reference (and you might find somethin you'd like to enter!), here is a good list from Poets & Writers, with entry fees from zero to well over $20, and many with comparable prize amounts.

So That's Why You're Excited About The 2023 Vocal Writing Award?

No, as exciting as all of that is, and as much as we will be talking about entries, rules, processes, and prizes for the next many months, and as much as I am looking forward to crafting at least one entry; that is NOT why this is such an exciting time to be a Vocal creator.

2023 has seen Vocal seek out input from its creator community, implement new tools, debut new bonuses and communities, and interact meaningfully and directly through the now by-weekly Raise Your Voice and Creator Chat. All of that within the past six months and likely more that I am missing. Then they bring together a multi-month Writer Awards program.

As an operations person myself, I am stunned by their willingness to implement change, devote staff, and demonstrate their fearlessness to embrace change.

This is no stick-in-the-mud platform. This is a platform for all creators and I look forward excitedly to what the future will bring.

~~

Here are the two announcements:

this announcement has the details on how you can nominate someone to enter an get $5 for each nominee you make that does enter:

Please let me know in the comments: Will you register to nominate writers to participate and enter? Are you planning to enter yourself?

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