I'm out.

If Vocal is really not going to pay anyone unless they have a subscription, I'm out. I haven't reached the cash out limit yet and I've been on here's for at least three years. I know I need to do better at posting and promoting my own work, but if I have to pay to earn I'll just prioritize Medium. I'm already paying $5 a month for their subscription.

I was a few cents away from cashing out. I don't have steady income because I've had a lot of health issues. It's easier to use their mobile app, and they don't allow AI.

If I were earning a steady income from this, it would be different. I'm not. And yes, I could be doing a bit better. But I've recommended Vocal on my personal accounts. I've told people they can earn money here. I've given them free advertising. They gave me 10 cents when I finally got a top story.

While I'm at it--I've made the mistake of saying that I wish I could get paid for fanfiction before. Vocal now has a fanfiction category. This could cause legal trouble for them down the road. It wasn't a suggestion that should have been taken seriously. The reason a lot of fanfic used to come with a disclaimer is that more than one writer tried to sue for use of their intellectual property. It's not like art, where there's a bit more wiggle room.

I don't know if they have any legal counsel, but they should. And they should remove the fanfiction category.

I don't know what to do. I've tried starting a patreon, but I was so depressed that I couldn't post monthly. I'm not good at promoting myself. The point of using a website like this instead of having to promote my own website is that the discoverability is supposed to be built in. They're supposed to help market for you.

They don't do that. And I think this is a sign that they're struggling. I don't understand where the money is coming from, and apparently it's not enough.

I'm jumping ship. I'm going to try to find an actual job so I don't have to worry about all this. I would love to still support other authors on Medium, but I can't do this anymore. There's not enough here for me.

Thank you to everyone who's supported me over the years. I do appreciate and remember all of you.

If Vocal lets me cash out, then maybe this will amount to a lot of hot air. I just can't justify paying more than I earn. It's usually considered a scam in the publishing industry. They call it "vanity press." I don't have vanity press money. That's why I'm here.

I do appreciate the fact that I can (barely, there's still some issues) type this on mobile now. It's just too little too late.

Vocal needs to re-evaluate if they want to keep their users. I fully intended to opt in to the subscription once my earnings outpaced the subscription money. Without that, I don't have a reason to stick around.