Medium And Vocal Media

Let me start this piece by saying that I think that Medium and Vocal Media are both excellent platforms for writers, the best that there are out there. Now I will not be doing an extensive review of each platform. However, what I will say is that they both have great editors and features, though Medium does offer a lot more editing features to add a little sparkle to your submissions. And amongst all of those features is the one very simple feature of being able to delete an article with a single click, which is a godsend for writers like me.

The reason I like this so much is that like all writers, sometimes I am a little too eager to publish without letting the story settle in my mind. Sometimes a few hours, or a day, later I want to make changes. admittedly Vocal Media does have a quick edit feature, but it does not let me change the headline, subhead or photograph. All I can do is change a sentence here and there or maybe even add a new sentence or paragraph or two. But sometimes I want to change so much that it would be easier to delete the article and start afresh. 

Frustratingly, on Vocal Media, there isn't any delete function available. To delete I have to contact Vocal Media by email, supply them with the URL for the story and then wait until they can get round to it. Only then can I re-submit a re-hashed or up-dated article.

With Medium I simply go to the story, click on edit and I can rehash the entire story if I want, including headline, subhead and photograph. So it would be nice if Vocal Media could do something about that, please.

Also on Vocal Media, I don't feel any sense of community. On Medium, or at least on Illumination, I know lots of writers and editors by name and can have direct contact with them. On Medium's Illumination pub we have the wonderful benefit of a Slack channel which is open to all. I accept that might only be available to Illumination members, so maybe Medium as well as Vocal Media, ought to encourage other pub owners to provide their own Slack channel.

However, there are at least one or two ways in which Vocal Media scores over Medium. I love that Vocal Media have connected a direct link to Unsplash. This is great as it is a bit of a palaver copying Unsplash images from their site onto Medium. On Vocal Media, I do not have to leave the site and open Unsplash separately, it is dovetailed into each and every story right under the headings on the first page.

The other thing I like about Vocal Media is their Challengers section. This is a feature whereby writers can respond to a pre-selected prompt with a story on that subject. The Challengers have not only a prompt, but also a description of exactly what it is they are looking for. This can be another godsend for those writers who have a sudden attack of writer's block. In addition, each challenge has a word count you cannot exceed. This is great as it forces you to write economically and edit judiciously. 

Finally, the best part of each challenge is the monetary prizes on offer, up to 1000 dollars for the first prize, with second and third prizes for a lower, but still well worth while, amount. I would love to see that feature on Medium.

In the main, the above are the things that concern me most. I have not come across any others so far. Maybe if I delve into Medium and Vocal Media a little deeper I will discover more.

Now of course, I write this to publish on both platforms in good faith, not to complain in anyway, simply to note one or two improvements that could be made. It's a little like driving a car which has drum brakes and one which has discs all round. Obviously the disc brakes offer superior braking performance, and I think it would be incumbent upon other manufacturers to upgrade what they have to offer in order to improve the driver experience. I hope Medium and Vocal Media see what I have said here about their respective platforms in a similar fashion.