online writing platforms

To Vocal.Media or Not to Vocal.Media?

Why do I stay? I can not say.

Perhaps challenges that pay the top three winners are why?

I’ve participated in many challenges on Medium and enjoyed them very much. For the most part, they don’t pay. Vocal challenges however generally offer cash awards to the top three stories. I’ve yet to win-but like the lotto-if you don’t play, it doesn’t pay.

Here is the article I posted in a Vocal. media $20,000.00 challenge. The criteria was simply to mention the word “Barn Owl.” I happened to have a barn owl story in my folder!

I can not seem to gain any traction on Vocal. Media yet something keeps me there. I like the layout, is that enough? I love the challenges, but is that enough?

Here is one of my stories submitted for their summer fiction series. I double challenged myself and tried to turn the summer fiction series into a chapter book. Below is the Medium link. If you are one of my followers, follow me on over to vocal to read the rest of the stories and leave me a heart. Frankly, they are heartless over there!

Is it the hope of turning external reads into cash?

My story on comparing payouts of Medium.com to what I earn in my savings account received 2.3K views on Medium!! So happy, but they were mostly external views, so you know, no payout. Vocal pays for external reads, so I tweaked the article a bit, added in Vocal analysis, published it in Vocal, and received 1 view/heart (the editor who published it I am guessing). I did get a $2.00 bonus for submitting an article about Vocal! So maybe that’s why I stay? I’ve never been rejected and every once in a while they surprise me with a bonus.

If you’ve not checked out Vocal. Media yet give it a look! If you like my stories heart me. I’ll give it one more year, then run the numbers again. But I fear like my last heartless relationship-I’ll stay way too long before I decide to cut my losses and run.