What I Wish I Had Known When I Started Writing on Vocal

The Vocal of today is very different from the 2021 Vocal.media platform. Sure: it is still an easy-to-use platform that provides a place for writer/creators to share their work, participate in Challenges, and stretch their writing skills.

But, to be honest, even that, which was where we were in 2021, was a lot for me to navigate, and I struggled with formatting, sharing, photos, embedding a link, and more. Now- there is SO MUCH MORE to being a Vocal writer/creator that I KNOW I would have struggled- and perhaps I would have given up.

This is for the Vocal-newbies, the Casual-Vocalites, and those that (like my dear spouse) do not read all of the How-To-Stuff and thus may miss some of the nuances that make things that much easier and enjoyable. Here are My Top Four Vocal Newbie Wishes.

I Wished There Was One Place to Learn How to Start

Great News! There is! Better News! It's been updated since 2021

Best News? I was part of the updating and rewrote the original 8 Steps into the current 10 Steps of Creator 101. This link (which looks like a mistake, but isn't, because the platform is coy like that...) takes you to the Creator 101 tab on the platform. TBH: so does clicking on Resources at the top of the page, then Creator 101.

Here's the links to each of the steps in Creator 101:

• Step 1: Welcome to Vocal
• Step 2: Complete Your Profile
• Step 3: Connecting Your Stripe Account
• Step 4: Create Your First Story
• Step 5: Promote Your Story
• Step 6: Maximize Your Earnings (This is the one I REALLY wished I known when I first started)
• Step 7: Tracking Your Stats
• Step 8: Getting Paid
• Step 9: Stay Inspired

• Step 10: FAQs

The good thing about having a writer/creator update and create these: I see every comment, can update when things change, and wrote it from the viewpoint of someone that uses the platform every day and interacts -constantly- with other writers. Let me know what you'd like to be added to the FAQs... I have a few changes in mind already.

I Wished I Knew What to Write About

When I started I read the Top Stories, as one does, trying to determine WHY they were Top Stories. (Pro Tip: Here's how.) My goal, obviously, was to someday see one of my stories on that page, too.

That is, unfortunately, exactly the WRONG way to approach writing on Vocal.

The correct way to write is... to...write. Write about the things you would like to read. Write about the thoughts that just don't go away. Write about your adorable goldenpoodledoodle, write about the weird weed that keeps coming back in the middle of your sidewalk, write about not knowing what to write about.

Above all: write.

And if you are stumped for writing topics, check out the gazillion* topics Vocal has gathered together. They are part of the the posts you will find on the Tips and Guides tab of the platform. The link below looks -blah- and wrong, but it takes you to that very tab!

*there are not actually a gazillion topics. I do not enjoy math or counting anything except hearts, claps, and money, so I used an estimate, employing literary license. As one does.

I Wished I Knew Some Vocal Writer/Creators

Writing is, for me, best done solo. But as soon as I finish I want to share it, discuss it, and obsessively visit it and read it over and over. (Note: This does not, strangely, assist me in finding errors and typos. Strange.)

I didn't know anyone else on the platform when I started in 2021. (History: in 2021 there were no Comments on posts. There were no Notifications. There was no Discord channel. You gave a heart {maybe} and moved on. It was dumbfoundingly silent.)

So I looked online for 'Vocal groups', found a few on Facebook and then started my own. That's when the Vocal Community became alive for me. And that is, I am sure, why I am still here.

You can connect with the Vocal community of writer/creators now in many ways. Here are some of the ways a writer/creator can now interact with the rest of the Vocal Community:

1. Read, 'Heart' and Comment on posted content. This is the simplest and most satisfying way to get to know people and create a connection. You might even find yourself on the weekly Leaderboard!
2. Engage with the Bi-weekly Creator Chats and Raise Your Voice discussion here on the Vocal platform. Not ready to post there? Click on the highlighted words in the previous sentence and read all of the past sessions. It's a good way to find the most active and reciprocal writers.
3. Join or drop in to a public Facebook group for Vocal writers and readers. A quick search will turn up a LOT of them. Here is the group I created, and you are welcome to join or just read great stuff.
4. Jump into the Vocal Discord channel. It can feel intimidating, and 'just one more thing', but it's not too hard, and besides interacting, you have one place to find Challenges, report site-wonkiness, ask questions, and share your work.

I Wished I Knew What Challenges to Enter

When I started on Vocal I hadn't written a fiction story since 5th grade (and that one was rather terrible). I hadn't written much poetry, and my prose was limited to work emails and a half-hearted blog that I couldn't make up my mind about one way of the other.

Unlike many of the folks that state it was an advertisement for a Challenge that hooked them- I was just looking for a home for the words that swirled through my mind. (Spoiler alert: I found that and so much more.)

My advice? Enter them all. Read the Rules carefully, follow the directions, and enter every one of them. Every time you write, every time you stretch yourself: you change. The current effort is the culmination of all your past efforts. Think of future You, and how happy they will be that present You started trying.

~

If you enjoyed this (heck- if it bored you!), please leave me a comment. What did YOU wish you knew when you started on Vocal?

What should be added to the Step 10 FAQ? If you wrote something that you believe is a resource for Vocal creator/writers, share the link and comment to let me know why. It could be linked in the Creator 101 FAQ.