Voc-chievements and Voc-bye

Let’s not dance around it: At the end of this month, my Vocal+ subscription will lapse.

But don’t panic: I’ll still be around. Still able to comment, to post an occasional article, and see any notifications from you fine folks.

Just an average Vocal Joe (V-oe) now.

Why?

Lots of reasons, but mainly because I think this money can be put toward better use with the Dick Winchester trilogy I’ll be releasing starting in September.

On a deeper level, I’ve grown a lot through my time on this platform, and I think it’s time to put all that learning to use in the other aspects of my writing beyond Vocal.

So, to honor all that our time together has made possible, I now submit to you:

Things That Never Would Have Happened Without Vocal+

1) My Podcast

Before Vocal+, I was writing and submitting short stories to publications. Something I have continued to do the entire time I’ve been here (see next section “My Greatest Underdog Story”). In the publishing world, first rights are your bread and butter. It’s what publications buy when you place a story.

So I never would have ended up with Jon and Stephen Recorded Readings if not for this site named Vocal offering $20,000 for a post-apocalyptic story that included a locket. Only catch? I needed to publish “King of the World” on their site to enter. Goodbye first rights.

But 20 grand! That’s the same value as dozens if not hundreds of placements. So I wrote, I submitted, …and I lost.

Since I was already on the site now as a Vocal+ member, I figured I’d take a swing at a few of the other challenges that came after. These also fell short.

So here I was, with five stories I really liked that were now “trapped” on this platform.

Ah, but that’s when ingenuity stepped in. As reprints, these stories also presented opportunity. I could do things with them I’d never do with an original short story that I still held first rights to.

A bunch of intermediary steps that you can read about below…

…and I now have a podcast up and running with Season 2 officially in the books now.

Special thanks to voice talent Jonathan Kilgore without whom this little venture would not be possible.

2) My Greatest Underdog Story

Time goes by, and I write another challenge entry. At the time, it held the title as the only horror story I’d written that scared me. Me, the author, who was completely in control of the setting, plot, and ending.

But, as is so often the case, it failed in its original purpose of placing. Granted, it was an unconventional take on the concept of an aquarium.

Either way, I refused to let that be the end of the story.

Allowing me to come back 1.5 years later and publish this article:

3) My Awards Page

Recently, I rebuilt stephenaroddewig.com from its prior life as a professional portfolio to now full-blown author site. As part of that effort, I figured I’d whip up a quick Awards page. Let the visitors know they’re dealing with an author of “acclaim.”

And if you take a look, you’ll quickly realize that it would be quite a bit emptier (though not entirely empty, thankfully) if not for Vocal and its many challenges over the years.

4) My Novel

Put simply: title character Martin Williams would not exist if not for the Vocal Ship of Dreams challenge that demanded a story set aboard RMS Titanic.

I took the bold direction of comedy, and nearly two years later, A Bloody Business is out in the world now.

A whole lot more background available below:

5) My Upcoming Series

This time, Vocal wanted a story centered on an anonymous package delivered by drone.

It can’t be a mail bomb, I told myself. It won’t place if it’s a mail bomb.

…I made it a mail bomb.

And once again, if not for the challenge placing the idea in my head, who knows if title character Dick Winchester would ever have been born. Not to mention that “The Box with No Name” was intended as a direct parody of Martin Williams set in the modern age, another character that would not exist without Vocal.

And now, on September 27, 2024, precious few months away, “The Box with No Name” will find new life as the opening chapter of The Opening Salvo.

6) My Writing Beef

I once alleged that all horror had to be confined to the month of October as per the social contract we all signed.

Only to then discover that another Vocal creator had erroneously set the end of their spooky community challenge in November.

So I set out to correct the record:

What resulted has been a running cat and mouse game of Paul Stewart and I taking good-natured shots at each other. For example:

7) My Moment of Clarity

For a long time, I saw myself in competition with long-time friend, fellow author, and fellow Vocalist Bri Craig.

But the ViM ChallAnge earlier this year forced a reckoning.

And in short, she won the race and has been winning for a long time:

The Road Ahead

So what now? Am I leaving Vocal forever?

Nope. Just no longer a Vocal+ subscriber. I can still comment. I can still read. I can still pen the occasional article or challenge entry (assuming they open any up to us average Vocal Joes).

I just can’t Quick Edit them 😳 Gotta be extra good with the proofreading now.

What am I going to do with all the time I previously put into Vocal?

Simple. Write the Dick Winchester trilogy. Write some short stories I’ve had kicking around in my head for a while. Continue the story submission engine I’ve built. Make a couple more podcast seasons out of the remaining content on Vocal.

Perhaps even develop some other full-length projects and attempt the rocky road of traditional publishing.

What? Did you expect some inspirational speech to rally the troops?

I could say “onto bigger and better things” as others have, but that would make it out like I didn’t consider my time here worthwhile. It was.

My time on Vocal has been a mild success.

The launch of A Bloody Business has been a mild success.

My upcoming Dick Winchester trilogy just might be one, too.

Dare I even hope for a lukewarm success 😱😱

No matter what, I’ll have tried, and that’s the most important part. The best way to fail is to never make the attempt. Someday, I'll be back to report on the outcome, good or bad.

Until that day, wishing each of you who took the time to read this all the best!

Over and out.