#200 Future Plans

I did not plan on returning to Vocal this year (2024). I stopped regularly posting for various reasons in 2023, among them being mental health complications and frustration with my progress on the platform. I felt jaded. No matter what I did, I could not generate new views. I only had a handful of followers and expected to garner at least passive views, but that has yet to happen. My followers are likely friends and family members who have accepted the request because they know and love me rather than want to read my work.

I felt disheartened and dejected. I kept feeling like one voice did not matter and lost among the din of other voices. This platform was something other than the place for me. I took a break. For two months, I quit writing articles entirely. I moved to digital art, beginning a Redbubble sticker shop with my friend. Our shop has 56 designs and counting, and we’ve been having a blast promoting it. We are Chaos-Crows, and I am the creator of the SE Collection. If you’re interested in our weird little designs, check us out.

There, I learned a few things:

1. The importance of social media management
2. The importance of self-promotion
3. The importance of consistency in all parts of the process.

Anyway, I do lurk on Vocal occasionally to view the Challenges. I will try a new topic or writing form if I find something intriguing. But I was never serious about re-upping my Vocal Plus subscription to upload them. It was one of these times that a realization dawned upon me.

My underutilization of self-promotion stunted my previous foray into Vocal.

I spent too much time attempting to pry the notion from my brain, but it had claws and latched on. Eventually, I came around. I need to try again. I need to use what I have learned from promoting our sticker shop. I came up with a plan. It seemed simple and ridiculous to do something repeatedly and expect different results. I have no assurance that this time will be different. But I owe it to myself to try. I am giving myself a month.

As I am writing this, I have resubscribed to Vocal Plus. I will seek out a following for a single month. After that month’s expiration, I will allow the statistics to dictate whether or not I continue to subscribe. At the moment, I have 38 Stories and 15 Subscribers. This story is the first step in my return process.

After resubscribing, I have the following 2-4 challenges to submit to and a regular posting schedule to create– at least three times a week or more, depending on the muse’s inspiration (If I believe in muses, which I don’t.) Some stories are more complicated than others, but my point is consistent creation and promotion.

My husband and I are going through a growth period in our lives right now. Our children are in school full-time, my husband feels compelled to change careers, and I would like to eventually make a career out of writing. There is no better time to start than today. I currently have a novel in the works, or I would attempt to write on Vocal full-time if I cannot make something of it, whether as an author or otherwise. I want to get a part-time job to assist with our expenses.

Having listed all of my wants/desires/expectations of Vocal this year, I also wish to concede that everything I do follows God’s will. If Vocal Media is not part of his plan, if it does not work, I accept that. But this will be fun while it lasts. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I pray it finds you well. ~ God Bless!