The downside to succeeding on Vocal

I grew up shy and was afraid to speak my mind. As I aged and life happened I turned into a whistleblower of sorts. I enjoy bringing uncomfortable issues to the forefront so they can be pondered and today I have a new one concerning Vocal.media. My mother told me that I liked to rain on people’s parades but she did not understand my views when I wrote for a local newspaper. When I see an injustice I enjoy bringing it to the forefront so it can be tackled.

Today I tackle a subject that has been at the back of my mind concerning the Vocal platform but until recently I never dealt with it. There are over 800,000 contributors on this writing site and that means creators from all walks of life. This brings with it individuals who have varying personalities and ways of viewing things. This is wonderful because variety is the spice of life. Perhaps you might not have thought about this before but just like on a job there will be Vocal creators who envy the success of others. Instead of honing their own craft, they take potshots at the writers who are doing well. I have seen this first hand.

I admit I have read top pick stories that I questioned and wondered what the team was thinking when they chose it. I am certain there are some who did not think my stories deserved a top spot and that's OK. This platform does not allow comments on articles, so in the everyday scheme of things, those who disagree with what you write have no way to voice it. Truthfully. I had forgotten how petty people could be and became used to just writing and flowing without interruption until I joined 3 Vocal Facebook groups.

The purpose of these groups was supposed to be a place where Vocal contributors could share our work and receive feedback while supporting other creators. This did take place to a small degree. There are also some individuals who are using these groups to complain about how they believe Vocal chooses top stories and winners for challenges. There seems to be a consensus from some creators that Vocal plus is somehow a scam that does not benefit the writers but lines the pockets of the people at the top of Creatd. Let's explore this for a moment. If Vocal plus were $100.00 a year and 100,000 creators joined that's a million dollars, annually, so money is being made.

There are perks for Vocal plus members and the first is that we get $6.00 per 1,000 reads as opposed to $3.80 for regular Vocal writers and this does make a difference. If you are obtaining a decent amount of reads on your stories then Vocal plus quickly pays for itself. Vocal plus members also have the benefit of exclusive contests that are not available to regular writers. Another issue brought up was a line of thinking that some creators praise Vocal in order to get their article chosen as a top pick. I’ve written stories that share positive aspects of this site but not one of those has ever been featured as an editor's pick.

I have had quite a few other articles as editors' choices, I’ve won 2 challenges, received tips and bonuses and I’m a Vocal plus member. I currently have 315,000 reads on my stories and when I reached 250,000 Vocal gave me a $50,00 bonus which I appreciate. So basically, those complaining about all the above were talking about me. How could I remain in groups that are disparaging to everything that has benefited me on the Vocal site? This put me in a precarious no win situation and I saw no option except to remove myself.

I am not knocking the forums but only saying that I don't fit. Everything they spoke against is something that I have enjoyed on Vocal so I was the odd woman out. The intent of setting up these groups was supposed to be a place for creators to share and to support each other. I mean no disrespect but the negativity is not worth having 10 or 12 extra reads a day which is what I averaged during my time in the Facebook groups.

Anytime, you give humans free rein to say what they want, things often can get off subject and out of hand. This is why I will say again that I prefer Vocal not allowing comments but if they change in the future I will go with the flow. My advice to creators is to continue creating and when you see someone else succeed, don't hate. Instead of thumbing your nose or exposing your middle finger, ongratulate, celebrate, and appreciate instead.