Hello, readers. It’s been quite a busy year and a half for me–longer, actually. I’ve mostly been sticking to my freelance work–editing, beta reading, and writing–this whole time. I’ve also started using another tool to get my writing out there: Vocal. I want to share with you what I’ve discovered so far.
On Vocal, you can share your writing and get paid for it. After you create an account, you create a post (similar to a blog post), publish it (with Vocal’s approval), and wait for people to read it. You then receive $3.80 for every 1,000 reads. If you’re a Vocal+ member, you also get the chance to enter challenges with cash prizes. I’ve seen at least one challenge with a $10,000 first-place prize. Once your balance is $35, or $20 for Vocal+ creators, you can withdraw. Vocal only uses Stripe, but that’s a minor obstacle to overcome if you don’t already have an account.
You can post pieces in any number of subjects. Right now, the communities include 01 (technology), Beat (music), Blush (beauty), Cleats (soccer), Confessions (for all confessions from romantic fails to childhood pranks and beyond), Criminal (true crime), Earth (pretty self-explanatory), Education (again, self-explanatory), Families, Feast (food), Fiction, Filthy (for the sexually curious), Futurism, FYI (obscure knowledge and facts), Gamers, Geeks (fanboys, movie franchises, and more), Horror, Humans (relationships), Interview, Journal (work), Lifehack (DIY), Longevity (healthy living), Marriage, Motivation, Petlife, Photography, Poets, Potent (marijuana lifestyle and cannabis culture), Pride (LGBTQIA+), Proof (alcohol), Psyche (mental health), Serve (soldiers, veterans), Styled (fashion), Chain (cryptocurrency), Swamp (politics), Trader (investing), Unbalanced (sports and the culture around them), Viva (being a woman), Wander (travel), and Wheel (cars). As you can see, Vocal lets writers explore virtually all subjects to their hearts’ content. Better yet, you can read other creators’ stories on virtually any subject you want.
So far, Vocal has been a lukewarm experience for me. Like with any other publishing outlet, it can be hard to get readers when you’re getting started. As a result, I haven’t raised too much money yet. I also have yet to win any of the challenges, but a lot of people enter those. It’s just a matter of perseverance, constantly improving on your writing, and continuing to enter all the challenges that you can. The process for withdrawing can be a pain with how long it takes, but if it means that the transaction is secure, I don’t see too much to complain about. Most people will also probably prefer to use the free Vocal membership rather than Vocal+ since Vocal+ is $9.99/month.
There are pros to this experience. When you submit a story, you have the chance of being chosen for a Top Story. Top Stories get featured on the home page, the main page of the community they’re posted to, and the Top Stories page. This generates more readers. You also get an extra $5 if your story becomes a Top Story. I’ve recently discovered that you get extra money for reaching certain milestones, such as publishing a total of ten stories.
As of the writing of this post, I have had two Top Stories, both of which are based on posts from this blog. One of them is a modified version of “Writers on Writing: Anne Rice,” updated to honor the author in light of her death. The other is a modified version of “Disney’s Grown Up: Frozen Through the Eyes of GAD,” also updated to reflect recent issues with the Walt Disney Corporation. They are my best-read pieces on Vocal. Oddly enough, an updated version of “Academic/Essay Writing: A Creative Act” has been my worst-read piece. Of course, not many people are interested in academic and essay writing, so it makes sense.
Overall, I think Vocal is worth trying. It might take a while to make money, and you will need to invest a lot of self-promotion. Regardless, the site can help get your writing out there. You can also support other writers by reading their pieces.
To check out the site and join, follow this link. You can also read what I’ve posted to Vocal by visiting my profile.
