You’re Darn Smart Vocal: An Open Letter to my Fellow Creatives

Disclaimer: I am not being endorsed by Vocal in any way by publishing this article. These are 100% percent genuine insights and I feel really grateful for this platform.

I started writing on Vocal in February this year. Since then, I’ve published exactly 5 articles (excluding this one). This may seem like a minuscular amount for 5 months of potential articles that could have been published but the truth is, I’m only getting started.

You see, I don’t know any greater platform than Vocal to give you the opportunity to call yourself an author after submitting one article. No portfolio. No previous experience. No strings attached.

The only requirement is that you put in an effort and make it your best. They know that we’re not perfect human beings. They know that writing, like anything in life, takes time. That you need to work that writing muscle before you can finally write that amazing article you’ve been dreaming of publishing.

As creatives, we often get super attached to our work. We think that everything we make is already wonderful the way it is and we are super proud of what we do (rightfully so!).

That’s when rejection hits. You realize that other people may not like what you’ve been creating. You hold your creation even closer to you heart until it gets so close that you can’t even see it for what it is anymore. Only a distorted version that doesn't allow any changes or edits.

By overprotecting our art, we don’t give it a chance to grow. Just like a flower needs time to grow and flourish, so does your art. No matter what your ego says; don’t listen to it. It is pretty useless at giving you advice.

This is why I want to thank you, Vocal. For providing a platform for creatives, like me, to strive to succeed.

I have to tell you though; it did get to my head when my first ever published article made it in the Top Stories. It was a very proud moment for me. I even received my first $5 tip for actually doing something I love doing. It felt good. I even thought to myself that making a Top Story would be easy.

Over the next few months, I wrote 4 more articles and none of them made it to the Top Stories. In fact, I wrote my last poem four nights ago while thinking to myself that if I didn’t make a Top Story, I would officially quit Vocal.

I did not make a Top Story. Yet here I am, writing this article on Vocal.

You see, something happens after you publish five articles on Vocal: you get five dollars added to your account balance. The thing with Vocal is, you need to have at least $20 in your account (when you are a member, $35 if you’re not) to be able to withdraw it. I had also just gained ten dollars for simply participating to a challenge, had five dollars from reading other people’s articles and made a little over a buck from people who had read my articles. So, I finally made the threshold. Once again, I made money doing something I love. That felt good.

It doesn’t matter how little you make. You may not know this yet, but every time you get paid the smallest amount for something that feels right to you, you hold it to your heart. You hold it even closer than you previously held your past articles because now, you can finally see into the future.

You can now imagine how it feels to actually make a comfortable living off of what you want to do. Not what you are forced to do for money. If only the smallest amount can bring you joy, imagine how happy you would be if you could finally ditch whatever you have been dealing with to make money. What if life could just be that easy?

What if it is?

I write my own story and so can you.

Peace.

-Val