Am I Anyone's Favorite Writer?
A Reflection on 250 Stories
Someday, you’re going to be someone’s favorite author.
--Lucia Franco
With the posting of my drabble “The Invasion” (link below), I hit 250 stories published on Vocal. I know that it should be a time of celebration for me. After all, that’s a lot of stories! Surely, I should be proud of myself. However, I find myself reflecting on my past three years on Vocal and wondering how I could have done better and, more importantly, if I have made an impact with any of my stories.
Based on my stats, I would say that my impact has been minimal. I have 236 subscribers—which is modest, I think—but I wonder how many of them actually read and interact with my stories. After all, I do not get much money from reads on here (not that I ever planned to; that’s not why I am a part of a Vocal). If you just look at the stats for my most read stories (depicted in the image below), you will see that I have not had many reads over the past three years, even for any my top stories (“Writers on Writing: Anne Rice” being one of my first top stories).
Now, I know that this has nothing to do with my writing abilities. People have assured me that my writing is superb (not to toot my own horn). More likely, it has everything to do with the fact that I am not good at marketing my work outside of Vocal. Frankly, I am a very social reserved person, so it is hard for me to go, “Hey, check out my work!” even among friends and family. Then you have to add in the fact that I can no longer get on to my Facebook page thanks to a very frustrating set of circumstances (the fictionalization of which you can read about in a story linked below). So, I rely almost exclusively on my readers to spread the word about my work—well, that and Instagram and Threads. As you can see, that strategy has not worked out so well.
So, has my writing made an impact on anyone?
If you go strictly by the numbers—number of reads, number of hearts, number of comments—then no, not much. However, if you actually read the comments that come with my stories, few though they might be, you could say that I’m making at least a little impact on the people who do read my work.
Yes, I still get some generic comments from people just saying “nice job” or something similar. (Those comments are a bit frustrating, but at least they’re few and far between now.) For the most part, though, I get thoughtful comments, even if they are just a few words. And those comments mean the world to me. They show me that people are not only reading my stories, but they are also absorbing them, thinking about them, and digesting them enough to say something to me about them. And who knows? Maybe that means that that story will have an impact on them and how they think and/or feel long after they make that comment.
I would still like to get more reads and hearts. After 250 stories, I think that I deserve some more circulation. But that’s something that I have to work on. Marketing is another part of writing that I just have to learn more about and get accustomed to. That way, I can make a bigger impact on a broader audience.
Do I think that I am someone’s favorite writer right now? I honestly don’t know. I would like to think so, but with the slim number of readers I have, I doubt it. I won’t give up, though. I will, as Lucia Franco said, someday become someone’s favorite writer. I just need to keep at it.
About the Creator
Stephanie Hoogstad
With a BA in English and MSc in Creative Writing, writing is my life. I have edited and ghost written for years with some published stories and poems of my own.
Learn more about me: thewritersscrapbin.com
Support my writing: Patreon
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Keep reading
More stories from Stephanie Hoogstad and writers in Writers and other communities.
Fantasy and Science Fiction on Vocal
I love fantasy and science fiction. They are my favorite genres to read and write, although I have been leaning more towards poetry in my writing recently. I even enjoy reading fantasy and science fiction here on Vocal. Two of my favorite Vocal series are fantasy: Matthew Fromm’s Songs of the Silver Wizard and Amanda Starks’s An End of Gods & Dust (links to both below).
By Stephanie Hoogstad3 months ago in Writers
How Himalayan Salt Wall Panels Are Becoming the Signature Luxury Element in Modern Homes
Contemporary interior design is moving into a combination of natural beauty, wellness, and luxury, and the Himalayan salt wall panels of the interior are some of the most appealing materials that are making that transition. Initially recognized as wellness rooms and spas, these radiant mineral surfaces are currently a household characteristic in luxurious houses, whether in minimalist apartments in New York or in modern villas in Dubai. Their coziness, organic nature, and wellness attributes have made them an architectural feature everyone wants to incorporate in their homes; having more than merely a decor, they want to experience a life.
By Mubarik Ahmad 6 days ago in Writers
FPS: The Last Flame Challenge Winners
Welcome to our first Winners Announcement of the year and to the final challenge in the Fall Poetry Series. The Last Flame invited writers to sit with endings, using fire as a central image to consider what remains when something burns out: ash, warmth, memory, silence, or the faint promise of what comes next. The strongest pieces treated endings as gradual rather than sudden, allowing them to flicker, dim, and linger.
By Vocal Curation Team6 days ago in Resources
Comments (21)
Honestly Stephanie, your numbers seem admirable to me!! I find the reflection part of this piece very relatable, but my end is more "is it worth putting my energy into this still". 😅 A late congrats on Top Story to you, and for 250 stories!! 🎉
Congratulations on leaderboard! I kind of responded to you by adding to conversation with Novel below. Your writing is amazing so don’t stop!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
You must be proud you got Top Story, Congratulations 🎊 👏
Very relatable and Congrats on TS!!! You are a favorite on here and have written some very impactful pieces. As of late, 'Mapping My Happy Place', 'The Bloody Benders' and your entry for the knock at the door challenge, stuck with me. There are ways to up your read count on Vocal. Not many of us have the time for it though, except Dharrsheena, lol. Keep subscribing to others that are active readers, most of the time they will subscribe back and remember to read some of their work too! You have the talent, so I understand the want to be seen. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Back to sat congrats on your top story win!! You deserve it, Stephanie 🙏
Top Story!
I definitely relate to so much of what you express in this piece and share the same struggles and desires—you’re not alone, Stephanie! Congratulations on 250!
Nice story
I am no one on Vocal's favourite writer, and most do not read or like my work, and people drop off commenting by the day. The few who do comment are positive, and a lot of people read my work. It's good to look at your figures and responses and maybe adjust strategies. As you say, we are here to write and the community is excellent, I love the friendships I have built over the years. I am sure this will place on the Leaderboard today
I would like to go on record and say my most read story only has 157 reads, so you’re not far off on that. It’s all about persistence and trying to find ways to rise above the noise
Congrats on your top story! Please check out some of my work.
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Glad to see this getting Top Story if only because it highlights how passionate you are and the fiver! Well done, my friend!
Wooohooooo congratulations on hitting 250 pieces! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊 I have many manyyyy favourites and you are definitely one of them! As for impact, yes, your writing sure does have an impact on me. The only way that worked for me to get more people to read my work is to read as many pieces on Vocal as I can. Reciprocity goes a long way. But I'm not good with self promotion though 😅😅
I have a dread of media. Posting on FB did nothing for me. I just write, read and not worry about it. If it comes it comes. Write from the heart, everything else will follow.
Top thirty for me! 😏
Perseverance is definitely the key, even when it feels frustrating. The amount of time we spend spilling ourselves onto pages (or screens) vs the "nice job" comments CAN be annoying. The worst ones are the spam comments about Bitcoin etc. I can't stand those. I enjoy reading your work for the most part. I tend to avoid politics to the best of my ability. Even in satire. Only because my brain is at the brink of explosion on those topics. Everything else, I do read and comment when I am particularly moved- even when the words aren't as overabundant as they could be. I am a subscriber and I look forward to what you create! 🩵
I make everyone my favorite - and a few kind souls click with me. It happens naturally...so i have aligned myself with them and we become one another's favorites. The stories we write are supposed to endear others to us...it depends on personalities and what they like. Almost everyone's readership has dropped since the L/board stopped awarding # of comments. You are not alone. I still write, only a few reads these days. So there is hope. change will come.
I hear you, Stephanie. I wish Vocal did a little more to promote its writers' works. Because after all, writers reading other writers (what is mostly happening on Vocal now) is not going to carry you too far. And social media now are not the same as they used to be even 5-7 years ago - the algos seem to suppress the content that links to outside websites. Anyway, perseverance is the key. If anything, you should write for yourself just because you simply cannot not write.
This is relatable and I imagine something a lot of people feel. Well done on that number though. I am bad sometimes at reading stories if I'm short for time and stick to poems. A habit I'm trying to remedy. As to your storytelling, I love the pieces I've read and you know how I feel about your poetry. I find marketing to be a bit icky too. That's why I often die play or oversell to the point of ridiculousness lol, so you are not alone there. I am definitely going to make more effort to read your stories not just cos you said this but because I want to. This was a very interesting and vulnerable bit of writing. Something you excel at and I love about your voice..