Journey to 1k

Woohoo! Over one thousand reads! There are quite a few writers on Vocal who can boast this statistic - and I know, some are well into tens of thousands - but this still feels like a huge accomplishment to me. So let me begin this little piece by saying thank you to every person who has read, liked, commented, and encouraged me on this writer’s journey through Vocal.

It feels amazing, to say the least. That being said, here are a few things I’ve learned over the last couple years that may help someone else on their own journey.

First - and this might sound silly - you need to write. Don’t expect to get better at writing if you’re not doing it. Your favorite author didn’t just wake up one day and write a best seller without putting in any work. Write your ass off!

Second, publish it! How can anyone give you feedback if you don’t publish? Do it!

Third, read! This is so important! Find authors on this site you enjoy reading, and be sure to at least leave a like so that they know you’ve read it. Many of us, especially those of us still in the early stages of our careers, will do our best to “pay it forward.” We want to see you succeed too!

Last, while Vocal is a wonderful community, it is mostly a writers community. That means most of the people who read what you post here are also writers. Not a bad thing at all, especially with so many being good writers, but if you’re serious about writing, you need to spread your wings a bit.

Look for other places to submit your work, even if it’s another writer community. Writers are, after all, also readers. There are a plethora of websites out there just waiting for you to offer your talents to, but I’m also talking about submitting to the hard prints, like magazines. Two of my favorite places to search are Reedsy and Submittable. There are tons of competitions and magazines accepting submissions for lots of different genres, and those two sites will help you find them.

Thanks for reading, and here’s to the next milestone! 🍻