5 Reasons Why Self-Publishing Platforms Like Vocal Are Brilliant (And 5 Reasons Why They Are Not)

I will begin with a confession: I struggle to put my writing in the public eye. I don’t struggle to show people. My family and close friends will attest to the eagerness with which I present any and all half written lines for critique. My mother, a writer and editor herself, always sends me away stating, “You need to finish your work before you can get feedback.”

I counter, “I want to know if I’m on the right track.”

We carry on predictably while the rest of the room empties and I neither finish my work nor get feedback. But that’s family. When it comes to showing the rest of the world I get a twisting in my stomach. I have a desperate, driving desire to put words in front of people and a definite sense that I should only do that if I can get myself published by traditional means.

I should put a disclaimer in here. I write quite happily for other people; their websites and blogs, newsletters, articles etc. are no problem for me to write and send out. That is my job and most of the time it is not my name on the by-line. When it comes to my own work, the stuff I feel strongly about, my creative outlet, that is where I trip at the line. I have this sense that I should not put it out unless I get it verified and published. A stamp of approval that says ‘this is quality work, the world should see it’. I don’t think I will ever change my mind fully on that, but over time I have come around to certain aspects of self-publishing (you are reading the evidence). These are five of the reasons why I think self-publishing platforms, like Vocal.media, are brilliant for writers. But, there is always a but, each of the points I look at here has a corresponding and negative partner. The lines between the good and bad are blurry. For me the good have been invaluable, the bad are the weights keeping the good balloon held down to earth.

1. Learning to expose yourself to the world

The Good

Another line that gets bandied around my family home is this: once you have written something and put it out there, it is no longer yours. We’re not talking about copyright here. Basically, once someone is reading what you have written you have no control over how they interpret it or how they feel about it. This is the case for just about every creative industry out there. The people will see what they see, the best you can offer is guidance but at the end of the day everyone understands things differently.

Self-publishing platforms allow people with little or no previous exposure to overcome that first hurdle and put themselves out there. Being able to build confidence and get constructive feedback on your writing is incredibly valuable. This doesn’t just come from platforms like Vocal, it is important to get feedback from people you trust. Sometimes, showing people you know a piece of your own work can be harder than putting it out there for complete strangers but, in my experience, the feedback you get is more detailed (and perhaps more harsh). Importantly though, self-publishing can teach you how to let go of your work and let people make of it what they will. Building the confidence to put your work out there is a good thing no matter how big the audience. Self-publishing gives you that opportunity and you can even do it for free on many platforms.

The Bad

The problem with exposure is that it’s risky. I mean that in an emotional sense here. By letting the world see what you have written you are opening yourself to everything from adoration to downright humiliation. You might write something and have it read by thousands of very complimentary people and come out feeling a true sense of achievement; you may have it read and be buried under a sea of needlessly harsh criticism; worst of all, there is a decent chance no one will read it at all. You can look around and wonder why all these other people are getting views on their stories and poems and mindless thoughts when you are getting nothing, it can hurt. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, it just means you need to be prepared for people to not like what you have written or for people to not even see it. If that happens, don’t give up. Do your best not to take bad feedback to heart and try learn to from it. Look at what other people have written and study why they are getting noticed. If you really want to get noticed and improve your writing you need to keep practicing and keep taking the feedback on the chin. Change and adapt your style bit by bit until you have something that people want to read and that is out there in a way that people will see it.

2. It removes gatekeepers

The Good

There are more examples of famous authors who struggled to get published than I care to list. The likes of George Orwell and J.K Rowling spring to mind immediately. It would take years to list out every successful writer who was written off as unpublishable by those with the power of the print. One can only imagine how many brilliant texts will forever remain unread because they were wrongfully deemed unworthy.

Self-publishing removes the gatekeeper. If you have something to say and have put pen to page—or more likely finger to keyboard—then there is very little between you and getting it out there. If you are publishing on a site like Vocal, it truly is cheap and easy. If you are going after print then it can cost you a bit but so long as you are willing to cough-up you will be able to see your text on paper. Getting it read is a whole other issue, but for those who work hard at it the chance of success is there. Saying your piece has never been easier, getting heard above the rest is the hard part.

The Bad

Without someone guarding the gate, the barbarians have taken Rome. I am not the first, and I will not be the last to say that self-publishing opens the door to a lot of crap. Just because you can does not mean you should. There is a distinct lack of self-criticism in the world of self-publishing, not to mention a distinct lack of editing. Perhaps the most valuable part of traditional publishing is due process. Everything went through editors and was sent back for redrafting, and then again. And again. This is not to say that mistakes did not happen or that bad writing never got published but there were at least checks and balances.

The current free for all has created a messy, overcrowded literary world where anyone can throw in their two cents. Well, my two cents is this: if you are going to self-publish, whatever the medium, please, please read it over first. If you can, get someone else to check it over too. If it is something fairly major, a novel for example, get a professional editor to go over it. Yes, it is expensive but it will set you apart from some of the nonsense out there.

(There is definitely no irony in my having that little rant and putting this on a check-free platform)

3. Variety

The Good

This one relates quite specifically to platforms like Vocal. The structure here allows you to present and experiment with different forms and styles of writing as well as giving you prompts in a range of genres and formats. It also acts as an accessible platform to read different types of writing that you may not be familiar with (though as discussed earlier, quality is not guaranteed). There are very few places these days where you can have access to a complete range of written material all in one place without having to pay for it. There is something fantastic about being able to read short stories, poems, blogs and articles all in one place, being able to hop between. The culture of community in each section is also valuable and encourages an inclusive and diverse cross section. It provides a platform for anyone to express themselves and exposes people to different content forms that they may not otherwise have come across.

The Bad

In general I find little wrong with variety. I could again mention quality but that is more an issue of control than it is one of diversity of content. There is quality content in all areas just as there is some poor content in all areas. Perhaps an issue with variety is more one of sifting. It can be frustrating to find something particular in such a broad catalogue of work. The luck of the draw is a thrill some people love and others loathe. However, given the innumerable spaces available for very select ideas, on balance I think a little variety is a good thing.

4. Managing your own creative expression.

The Good

"I did it my way" is the calling card of the self-published. With no one to get past you really can write what you want the way you want to. I can’t tell you how many times I have written something and had someone tell me to cut parts, add in more or reshape whole sections. Sometimes they were right, sometimes they were absolutely not but I had to do it anyway. There is nothing so frustrating as thinking you have a beautiful angle and being told to change it. Self-publishing frees you from that frustration. You can do it exactly how you want to.

Managing your own creative expression ties in with a couple of the other points from above. The tie between this and removal of the gatekeeper is fairly obvious and they are similar points, although they do differ in important ways. I would argue that the removing the gatekeeper argument deals more with access whereas creative expression is about control.

Variety also has links here. One of the fantastic aspects of many platforms like Vocal are the challenges. The Australian Writers Centre runs a similar style of competition called Furious Fiction. Half the beauty of these competitions is the range of responses. It seems contradictory that competitions with particular guidelines should be a great example of free expression, but the complete diversity of response never ceases to amaze me. Given the chance, everyone brings their own ideas and perspective.

The Bad

The freedom to go your own way unchecked leads some to get drunk on their own imagination. Just like hearing a drunken story the results can be nonsensical or just plain dull. Just because you are not required to have guidance or listen to advice doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek it out and consider it. The benefit of self-publishing is that you don’t have to make changes that you don’t want to, unfortunately, sometimes those changes are necessary. As the saying goes, kill your darlings. It is a cliché for a reason and so often the difference between good writing and bad. There is still a choice here, this doesn’t have to end badly. As painful as it might be, don’t shy away from advice. Take it on board and relish in the knowledge that it is your choice whether or not to make any changes.

5. Practise

The Good

This is personally my favourite part of platforms like Vocal. They encourage me to practise writing. Even though I write every day in one way or another, so often I am writing to fit a very set template or in a style that I am uninterested in outside of work. This platform encourages me to write in different forms and to put that writing somewhere where it can be read, and where I can get feedback on it. It encourages me to practise multiple styles and try out genres or topics I would not normally write in. Whatever it is encouraging me to do at that moment, it is all practise. It is something I have written that I otherwise might not have. And every time I do, I get more confident doing it. For me, these platforms are not where I want to end up but they are definitely a stone on the pathway there. In that way, I think they are brilliant.

The Bad

Who wants to read someone else’s practise? Well if you’ve made it this far you’ve read mine, so thank you for that. If you let me know what you thought of it in the comments I’ll pop by and have a read of yours too.

It really is the biggest drawback of these platforms that the content is hit and miss. I have loved some of the stories I have read on Vocal, others I have wished for the time back. But for all the hit and miss I keep coming back as do so many others. That, I think, is testament to the overall value the platform provides.

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Thanks for reading. I really do want to hear your thoughts, both on what I have written and what you think of platforms like Vocal too. Drop me a line in the comments and a like if you'd like to.