A Revelation

Disclaimer: Your goals are your own. Your preferences are your own. What I talk about in here may have no appeal to you. And that is fine. I’m not trying to sway your opinion to my line of thinking. And you shouldn’t feel obligated to defend it.

From Humble Beginnings

Oh, Vocal. This crazy, eccentric place.

I, like many writers here, came to the platform for a chance at an eye-popping sum of $20,000 in exchange for a gold locket and a post-apocalyptic setting.

Perhaps not as common, I almost balked when I realized that entering meant publishing the story (not the norm for other writing contests) and surrendering first-publish rights to this platform. But $20,000 is the equivalent of a heck of a lot of short story placements, I reasoned.

And here we are 3+ years later.

I like to think of myself as a mildly successful creator. Certainly not the most popular. Definitely not the most accomplished. But I’ve made friends here. And I’ve placed a few times.

And all this time, I’ve wondered where the end was. Because, for every medal or gushing comment, there was another story that flopped or was forgotten.

Does publishing in a magazine automatically guarantee more exposure and impact? No.

Still, there is a sense of legitimacy there. It had to go through reviews. Others looked at it and said, “Yes, this will do.”

Meanwhile, for every challenge miss, there’s always a sense of loss. The idea of the Vocal Graveyard isn’t new. I certainly didn’t come up with it (and perhaps Donna will say the same).

With each flop, I always wonder if there could be more in store for these pieces somewhere else.

Certainly, there are ways to extend the longevity of all your hard work:

• The reprint market
• Podcasts
• Self-published books

Of course, I’ve ignored the fact that, without the inspiration or motivation of the challenge prompt, many of these stories would not exist in the first place.

So even the misses are beneficial for expanding my toolset and genre offerings.

Too Many Loose Ends

Perhaps what I am truly growing wary of is the number of open threads these challenge entries leave behind. Stories that hint at larger narratives and plots. And once that breadcrumb is out in the world, I feel a compulsion to close that loop.

It started way back when with “Before the Dawn” in 2021.

Then it happened again with “Beacon at the Abyss” in 2022, now a half-written SciFi novella.

Half a year later in 2023, the Tales of Ezok was born with “The Precipice,” now a mostly-written Fantasy novella that will be one of the most unique projects I’ve ever undertaken (hint: it may involve collaboration with another Vocalite).

Recently I did it again with “One Unchecked Box,” a future SciFi novella set in the same literary universe as “Beacon at the Abyss.”

I’m not even mad about this latest one, because the premise is so uncanny: a planetary settlement cast adrift by the fancy SciFi galactic government that put it there and forced to fend for itself. The settlers reverse engineer some tech… poorly. They discover the planet has magic and start to use it… also poorly.

When a sudden reversal of usual current (😉) destroys the hydroelectric dam and the main source of power, the fate of the entire planet’s human population is placed in the hands of one very underprepared Chief Sorcerer.

What could possibly go wrong?

Still, I do get tired of adding more to the queue. And with entries like these that I end up loving, the rejection is all the more searing.

There’s nothing wrong with having ideas and characters you can’t forget. Better than the alternative of no inspiration.

But why keep adding to the queue? Especially when I’m not sure I’ll continue with independent publishing forever?

So What Now?

Two days ago, I wrote a SciFi story.

I’ve been relistening to one of the most unique books I’ve ever encountered: Kitty Cat Kill SAT: A Feline Space Adventure. To attempt to summarize it without needing an entire paragraph would be impossible.

Point being, I enjoyed the subject matter and wanted to write a story that emulated it.

So I did. Just like in the olden days before Vocal and challenge prompts.

And then, crucially, I resisted the urge to post it here.

Not that I wouldn’t love to get feedback from the fine folks here. But there were more strategic things to be done with this story. Lots of SciFi publications out there, and my existing SciFi short story stock (all 2 of them) has been thrown at just about every venue in town to a resounding “No” from the market.

Time for some fresh content in that genre. And if, no, when I complete Beacon at the Abyss and One Unchecked Box, a placement in a leading SciFi publication can help attract new readers for these in-genre books.

Of course, who knows if any magazine/site will say yes to “The War of the Satellites,” but a man can dream, can’t he?

And today, in a reaffirmation of my revived focus on short story markets, I renewed my membership in the Horror Writers Association.

A membership only made possible by past short story placements. And a membership that really only makes sense if I plan to continue down that path and want that nice little tagline in my bio. Does HWA membership guarantee publications say yes? Absolutely not. But could it mean an editor gives my piece a little extra consideration? Perhaps.

If nothing else, it sounds cool. And forces me to not completely abandon the horror genre from which I first learned to walk.

Even if thrillers, comedy, and SciFi are my main outputs these days.

Still, I won’t abandon the valuable relationships I’ve forged here.

And though my V+ membership has lapsed, I may still enter a challenge or two. $500 is certainly not the prize pot we used to see, but it’s still valuable for powering my fledgling publishing engine.

The new approach will be strategic entries. Challenges I really want to enter and where the odds of success are higher. The Lipogram challenge was a bitch, but that high barrier to entry meant less entries and better odds.

I didn’t win, but my first placement in 12+ months certainly isn’t nothing.

I look to the future, and it is full of good stories.

And work. But dividends as well.

And if I contradict this entire speech by re-upping my V+ membership tomorrow and entering a new challenge… no I didn’t 😉