Revisiting Vocal's guidelines

We tend to rush through our daily routine, zipping here and there pursuing the usual, following the same route in our quest to squeeze the most out of every pristine and new day. Sometimes we forget to check for the new and updated avenues that get us where we want to go, but in a less breathy and more productive way.

I recently had a few of my stories rejected. Truth to tell, some of them were a tad on the militant side. Somewhere in my protesting creativity, my little imp was yelling and informing me that my story was a little inappropriate to Vocal's standards. I shook her off of my annoyed shoulder and proceeded with the stubborn intent of having my voice heard.

Rejected! Return to sender! Listen to your inner imp, or better yet, know the rules before you create! This was how I decided to revisit the rules and regulations and become reacquainted with everything Vocal.

Moral of the story is:

Take the time every now and then to revisit the guidelines, make room for some advice from the Resources section and catch up on the latest. As they so eloquently advise us to get informed:

"From tips and tricks to product updates and inspiration, explore our resources to learn how to grow as a Vocal creator".

We are reminded of the fundamental principles, or five 'umbrellas' which outline the various parameters for content.

Quality

Copyrighted Content

Inappropriate Material

Assertions of Personal Beliefs

Safety & Legality

I find that these lines can become blurred at times. How to approach controversial topics which are not fictional in character. How to express strong views without being disrespectful or hateful. How to walk that fine line between raw truth and the attempt, sometimes futile, to hold back or dilute (water down) what one actually has a need to express freely.

When articles are returned, we are left to figure out why by ourselves. This is a conundrum for me. I have had articles returned more than once because I was unsure of the specific reason. I ended up changing the story three times before it was published. Maybe a hint would help, but this is another reason to keep updated on the latest updates.

Vocal tells us:

"How the Vocal Moderation Team is Keeping You Safe

The internet is a dangerous, unpredictable place. We do our best to ensure that Vocal is not".

There is an entire plethora of advice, tips, information on how to do the right things, information on how not to do the wrong things, stories of successful creators with helpful tips that made them the big money winners, how to deal with conspiracy theories, how to share your stories on vocal, how to embed rich media in your stories, how to create stories that people will actually read, among a whole host of other fun inspirational topics.

Some of my favorites are, 'How to find inspiration for your Vocal stories on Reddit', that was from 4 years ago, hopefully it can still help. That is a new one for me which I intend to check out. It is never too late, I believe, to learn something new, even if it is old news. Another is how to grow your audience, and how to recycle your content on Vocal.

Podcasters, Musicians, You tubers, Photographers, Video promoters and so many more, they promise, can find success by creating on Vocal.

Truth to tell, I never realized the mountain of information that I was missing out on by not delving more deeply into the Resources section.

Better late than never I say. Though early is always better.

I hope that everyone else has already partaken of this feast of enlightenment. If not I totally encourage a dive into the great sea of knowledge that is waiting freely to be swum in and be informed.

One creator tells how he made $2000.00 from one story just by having an interesting content which held people's interest long enough, and was shared enough. It took research and hard work, but he did it.

The information is all back there in Resources, Check it out.

Best of luck on our Vocal journey.

N.A.