Fiction Awards

Between procrastination and being absurdly busy for the past few months, I finally finished my story for the Vocal+ Fiction Awards. Though, I’m not entirely sure they’re going to accept it. After all, I am a horror writer.

I mean, I didn’t get gory in the tale. But it was pushing the line of what their policies are for “acceptable content” and violence.

Why Care About the Fiction Awards?

In this instance, Vocal is offering 25 winners $5,000 and their stories to be published in Vocal’s upcoming book.

Now, the five grand would be great, especially since I would love to put that towards marketing my book and such. But being published in another book would be the kicker for me.

Truth be told, I’m actually looking forward to entering as many challenges on Vocal as I can. My biggest issue is making sure I have the time to enter. After all, I am trying to get a lot done in the next year.

My own books will take priority.

Still, a few thousand dollars here and there wouldn’t be anything to scoff at. Besides, even if I don’t win, I still have a hell of a story saved on my Vocal account now.

It Felt a Little Rushed

I am kicking myself for waiting until the last minute to finish the story. I should have been working on it back in November. As a result, I’m sure it’s going to appear a bit rushed.

Although I love the premise of the tale, I could have polished it up over the past month or two.

After editing and submitting, I am half-tempted to rewrite it as a much longer story. Perhaps even its own book. That way, I can flesh out the areas that needed it most.

In any case, at least I can say that I entered a contest. I just wish I would have spent more time on it, is all.

Needed 4,000 Words Max for the Fiction Awards

According to the rules, I couldn’t go past 4,000 words. This is perhaps one of my biggest problems, really. When a story just feels right, I keep going until it’s told. This means longer or shorter, depending on the tale.

This time around, it was very difficult to keep it under the 4k cap. There is just so much I can do with the story, and I feel like I didn’t do it justice.

Well, what’s done is done. All I can do now is cross my fingers, I suppose.

Not Available as a Published Article?

Vocal challenge submissions are not posted on your account as published stories. I guess this is to make sure no one tries to rip off your work.

As this is the first challenge I’ve ever entered on Vocal, I don’t know what happens if it’s not a winner. Perhaps it’s released back to your account?

I would like to share it with everyone after the fact, so I supposed we’ll see.

Anyway, I have it saved in Scrivener.

What Will I Do If It’s Not Accepted in the Fiction Awards?

If Vocal doesn’t accept the story, I’ll just publish it either on Wattpad or start my own anthology of tales. I’m a bit worried about going beyond their guidelines.

I tried to tone it down a bit, you know, give it a PG-13 rating. Sam, my proofreader, said that she was expecting more than what was in the story, so perhaps I toned it down enough.

I’m fairly confident Vocal will accept the story. I just hope it does well in the Fiction Awards. At least maybe give someone a moment to really weigh the tale versus another author.

Eh, it’s all good. As soon as it goes live, I’ll share it on social media. I’m also debating on writing a blog post and making a video about the process.

Seriously, I would like to do more with Vocal Media in 2022.

Still Plan on Writing More for Vocal

I’m still trying to plan out some time to write more articles. I wanted to do a 30-day challenge on Vocal for the YouTube channel. I just keep getting sidetracked with more important tasks.

For instance, I decided my first book was more important than Vocal content.

At any rate, I plan on submitting more articles in the near future. Perhaps one of them might net a bit of cash.

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Chris Desatoff
2 years ago

Ah, good to hear that you got it finished in time. I was beginning to worry. Just a little.

Good luck! I hope it goes over well with the judges.
Can’t wait to read it!