Why Are We Here? (On Vocal)
I Will Say Why I Am Still Here And Likely To Be Here For A Long Time
Introduction
If, like me. you have been here a few years, you were probably drawn by the huge Vocal Challenge prizes. I soon learned that was as likely as a lottery win for me. Many of my friends have won and placed so they have been properly rewarded.
The music I have included is Steve Forbert's "Thinkin'" because that is what I have been doing.
Many more of my friends have not won, but still continue to produce excellent creations so this begs the question...
Why Are We Here? (On Vocal)
While I see a few people say they make a living off Vocal, one with supposedly a million reads, though that was the only post I saw of theirs. Another told of the three hundred dollars they had been paid for their fifteen thousand reads complete with a screenshot (Photoshop can tell many lies).
The ones who say they have come to make money seldom stay, and I cannot think of anyone I know who is on Vocal for that.
What keeps me here is the friendship and community that has come together on Vocal. I am privileged to be part of that group of Creators.
Vocal is a platform, and while flawed, it is wonderful for sharing our creations, whether they are poems, fiction, or articles about stuff in the real world.
It has many flaws and the communities talk about these and ways to deal with them. Unfortunately Vocal seldom communicates directly with Creators, but the community that we have built by combining Vocal and Facebook is incredible.
Vocal is not a platform for making anything more than coffee money, but it is a treasure house of knowledge and friendship.
My writing on Vocal has become a library that I can look back on and use for putting together poetry anthologies, though I do have ideas for other publications:
Like art and music, many create in these areas, but very few find that their particular art form can support them. I have a day job that is my main source of income, and I know many who write here are retired or financially independent. I don't rely on Vocal but it has paid me more than any other writing platform I have been involved with.
I put a few Stephen King quotes in this recent piece:
Then my friend Caroline posted this in The Vocal Social Society
This hit so well because we support and encourage members in the Facebook Vocal communities such as VSS.
That is a huge benefit to us all. I would not be here or writing this if it were not for the support and encouragement I get from these Facebook Groups.
Conclusion
I am here to write and share my work and hope that others will like it too.
The money is very much secondary, and challenges are just a writing prompt to me.
I am successful on Vocal, and I am to keep being successful.
Thank you so much for reading.
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Comments (14)
Agreed, Mike.☺️
I was never here for the money, and I have enjoyed the interactions with other writers, but I haven't posted for over a month as I feel I have nothing to say. We'll see if I get my mojo back before my membership renewal comes around.
Mike, I am at the crosswords of 'staying or leaving'...again. It happens a lot, but I do love to write. Your article is timely and leaves room for contemplation of what to do going forward. I do love the FB groups, but there are so many, I try for a little bit at a time. Thank you for encouraging me. Vocal needs to engage with their writers, I suggested a series of monthly zooms just to check in, they did one for their Investment and then dropped it, maybe because of lack of audience support. They should have just talked to people first instead of just doing it when they wanted something.
Yes! I have this thing I want/ have to do - called writing, and Vocal is a good place to put it because it will at least be read by a few people and I can return the favour.
I've been here on Vocal for two years now and the best part about it is being friends with all of you!
Mike I agree with you. Vocal has helped me to write again expressions of creativity and beyond
Mike, you hit the proverbial nail on the head here. Vocal is more than a giant, helpful writers' group, it's mostly about making good and diverse friends with writing as our similar interest. I have to commend you for your output on top of a fulltime job. I write for a living, and I am exhausted by day's end. You are amazing! I do find reading the stories I can get to really rewarding because there are a lot of good writers here with the Challenges at least offering diverse writing prompts to get us going. Glad we are Vocal friends!
I have a passion for writing and sharing information, thoughts, and other things I think others will find interesting. Funny, after such a long time over 10+ years online if I did not keep writing especially on Vocal Media I am not sure what else I would do besides blogging, I love VSS.
❤️
Thank you for sharing. This is informative. I had no clue about the VSS.
Thanks for the inspiration. Sometimes I have to be reminded why I stay. Glad you're my friend
Yeah, writing on this platform is of great use Here you can interact with like minded people and can find solace by discussing your POV with others
Nice article Mike, I didn’t know about VSS until now… glad to find it! I was only aware of the discord before. I’m much the same… came here all those years ago hoping to win a prize… left, returned and found the community I really needed over the past couple of years 🌻🌟 This platform hs been / is really important to me now.
Definitely agree on all counts. I'm not here for the money (obviously!). I'd starve to death... but the community and the opportunity to share matter. And it matters to me that I build the habit of writing routinely. In short, I'd say writing via Vocal helps me focus and direct my reading and writing. I spotted a small typo - "d I am" third para under "Why Are We Here? (On Vocal)". Also, for some reason, the link to Caroline's post on The Vocal Social Society is not working for me. Great article. 🫶🏻