In The Pursuit Of Success
My Vocal Media Journey
In response to the many Medium writers who, knowing I am also on Vocal Media, have asked me for my opinion of that platform. Well here is my answer, warts and all. I did submit the following story to Vocal Media but they failed to publish it, which was disappointing. Perhaps the story touches a few raw nerves that they would rather ignore. I did reach out to the CEO Justin Maury, to whom I sent a copy of the story before publication to give him the opportunity to comment, but I have not yet heard back from him.
Of course, I do realize that I am potentially blotting my copybook with the higher-ups at Vocal Media. Maybe I’ll get banned from the platform? That would save me a good deal in subs. There would be no disgrace in getting banned from a platform that I have paid 360 dollars in subs for a return of less than a third of that figure. Vocal Media has paid me a grand total of 107 dollars for three years of writing over four hundred stories. Let that sink in.
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The story of my three years in Vocal Media can be told in a variety of ways. I could tell you about the friendships I have made with people all around the world. Those contacts have been initiated by me leaving supportive comments on the stories I have read and enjoyed, or by others leaving comments on my humble offerings. Reciprocity is the key to so many wonderful things in life, but most especially on writing platforms such as Vocal Media and Medium.
I could tell you about my development and growth, as a writer as well as a person. I like to believe that I am now a much better writer and person than I was back in 2020. I am grateful to those who have accompanied me on that journey.
Equally, I could tell you about how Vocal Media challenges helped me to start writing again after a lengthy layoff due to various health issues, with dozens of hospital visits and two stays, one of them for three months after a serious accident.
As for the platform, I love the editor for its ease of use and for the professional presentations it is capable of producing. In particular, I really appreciate having Grammarly and Unsplash on board, as well as the Video Embed feature. It all makes the working day of a lifelong, passionate, dedicated writer so much easier and more enjoyable.
Yet another part of Vocal Media I love is the challenges. This is such a boon to writers in giving them inspiring, highly detailed prompts, as well as the opportunity to win valuable prizes.
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So, what’s not to love? I have to say I find it very frustrating not being able to easily delete or temporarily withdraw from publication a story I would like to edit. Yes, I have the quick edit feature, but that does not allow me to edit the story headings or the image at the top of the story.
Another thing that is less than impressive is the number of reads my stories attract, or fail to attract to be more precise. I don’t know if that is due to a lack of exposure or promotion, or if it is simply the case that Vocal Media does not have the reach of Medium in terms of numbers of readers.
On the subject of Medium, I have been writing on the platform for three years as well, under the pen name of Liam Ireland. I have 2000 followers and I have earned several thousand dollars in reads alone. My best-performing story attracted 15,000 reads! Yet the same story on Vocal media has attracted no more than half a dozen reads and a few cents in earnings! That is not enough to even cover the three years of subs I have paid. In effect, I am paying Vocal Media for the privilege of having them publish my stories. Reciprocity this most certainly is not.
In addition, on Medium, I am a Top Writer in a variety of subject areas including Writing and Relationships, and I am a Senior Editor for the Illumination and Relationships publications.
As a form of compensation for the lack of reads and the very low income derived from that element, Vocal Media does have bonuses for reaching certain milestones, such as the number of stories written and published and the number of stories read.
Finally, the two most frustrating parts of the Vocal Media package are the Home Page feature titled Creators We’re Loving and Top Stories.
Every day, I check out the creators being promoted and have been dismayed to discover writers who have only ever written one story, three years ago, and published with a number of grammatical errors. Sometimes what I discover is what is called an advertorial, promoting a certain brand of dog food. Yet I have only ever seen my profile included once! After three years of monthly subs and 408 stories, I expected better.
Top Stories are a great way to not only highlight the better writers among us but also to add a little extra income in the form of a five-dollar reward. Every little helps.
To date, I have won Top Story only three times! The third Top Story I was awarded was only after the intervention of a follower who could not believe that the story in question had not won a Top Story award. Yet, when I read the Top Story page I see a certain number of writers who appear to be a regular feature.
Upon further investigation, I have found that some writers, who shall remain nameless, have won Top Story almost thirty or fifty times! And a few of those writers have only been on the platform for a fraction of my time here and have published a lot fewer stories, in one case at least, about the quarters fewer! Are you kidding me?
I hate to put it like this, but there appears to be a little coterie of writers who are favored above all others. I am not blaming those writers who are all excellent at what they do. However, without wishing to sound boastful, because that is so not me, I do consider my writing to be easily equal to the writings of those other writers in We’re Loving who frequently win Top Story.
Of course, I fully expect that there will be those who may say that this is just sour grapes or petty jealousy from somebody whose writings simply don’t cut the mustard or doth butter no parsnips. However, my hard-won and well-deserved success on Medium suggests otherwise.
I have friends and colleagues here on Vocal Media in the form of the Medium Illumination pub owner, Dr. Yildiz, and the extraordinary writer Joe Luca, both of whom I am sure will vouch for the quality of my writings.
I do not begrudge those other writers their success, I applaud them and congratulate every single one of them whenever one of their stories comes up. It is just so frustrating to write and publish a story about writing a complete book inspired by a Vocal Media challenge, only to see the story ignored. A few days later a certain female writer published an identical story of how she came to write a book inspired by a Vocal challenge and it won Top Story!
A few days ago Vocal launched an initiative to allow writers, those whose work makes Vocal what it is, to invest in owning a part of the platform. I must say I was sorely tempted, not least of all because I do believe that there is a great deal more good than bad. More than that, I sincerely believe that Vocal Media has a great future. However, the misgivings that I have, as alluded to above, for the moment preclude me from buying in. I need time to think whether or not I want to be a part owner of a platform that has not exactly made me feel welcome or wanted. And I am not talking about my fellow writers here.
This last week has been somewhat challenging, having to plan a month’s stay in Europe (October in Spain and the UK) plus, yet another hospital visit for an eye test, a severe case of stomach cramps, and the unholy squits, putting a new tire on my bike, getting two new books ready for publishing, and still finding time to write on Vocal Media and Medium, Top Story or not.
Congratulations to all Top Story winners and those featured in Creators We’re Loving. I do hope nobody feels offended by my comments, and sees them as constructive criticism, taking on board the genuine feelings of a very disappointed faithful supporter.