The Vocal Readers
Most Of My Reads Are Not From The Vocal Community
Introduction
Yesterday I got a new subscriber, a fellow Novocastrian (I am just by relocation, not by birth, by birth I am a Prestonian). I thin I may know her name, though she is probably a friend of a friend although her Vocal profile is fairly detailed (though not as detailed as mine which has all my social media IDs there)
The second two in the list have appeared in my stories, and I will share them at the end. They joined so they could comment on the stories that I did for them, but this got me thinking.
So Who Reads My Stories?
Seven of my ten most-read stories have nearly five thousand reads between them but only a total of 65 Vocal Hearts, that is one Vocal Heart per 75 reads. This is not a complaint, but an observation. If "Rose Red" had that many reads per heart it would have clocked 5,700 reads which would be a significant number of dollars.
Having said that, one of my stories (which got a Top Story bonus) had almost double the number of hearts than reads (75% more). The reason for this which I submitted to Vocal is that sometimes people will go into a story and heart it, with the intention of coming back later to read it properly. This is counted as a visit by Vocal but not a read. When the Creator comes back a second time to read the story, Vocal counts it as a second visit so does not record the read.
I don't know if other creators have a similar situation with their creations, but I would love to hear if you do or don't.
I think that all Vocal Creators' priority is to create something worth reading. The next one is for people to read it and hopefully have a positive or constructively critical reaction to it.
If we just publish on Vocal, it is only going to be picked up by your subscribers, maybe a few other Vocal Creators, and if it hits a search engine with popular search data then some outside readers. This latter thing is a huge plus in the Vocal model. I think that is what happened with my second most-read story which was just an exercise in clickbait, but I was sort of embarrassed by it being my most-read story for a long time.
The others in my Top Ten are the results of sharing in other Facebook groups and other sites, and these, as well as many further down the stats ladder, get two or three reads a day.
I am looking forward to the day my Gail Collins Pappalardi story becomes my second most read one. I think this is the result of the story being shared in a Facebook group and then being shared on by people that enjoyed it.
A similar situation occurred with this piece on Greg Davies's "The Cleaner" "Christmas Special" which was written with Robbie Curran. an actor and writer from London and was the first autistic performer to graduate from the Oxford School of Drama. This taught me so much about autism and highlighted several traits in my own personality. If you can watch it you should. It will teach you a lot, and make you laugh as well.
Conclusion
In all honesty, I don't know where most of my reads come from, and I probably never will. All the big hits have been pure luck, but I am grateful. I am also very grateful for all the support and encouragement I get from other Vocal Creators and I always try to reciprocate.
I will conclude this with a poem I write that contains my favourite Vocal Facebook groups so may give you opportunities to share your stories further.
About the Creator
Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred
A Weaver of Tales and Poetry
Join & Share In VSS
Creationati
Call Me Les ♥ Gina ♥ Heather ♥ Caroline ♥
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More stories from Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred and writers in Writers and other communities.
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By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 2 years ago in Writers
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For many people navigating the United States immigration system, a Request for Evidence can arrive unexpectedly. The notice often brings worry, even when the application has been prepared carefully. In reality, an RFE is a pause in the review process, not a rejection. It signals that an officer needs more clarity before moving forward.
By Sheila Danziga day ago in Writers
Comments (8)
If I think about this too much it makes me crazy, so I try not to dwell on it and just focus on writing cool stuff that I enjoy. Getting more than a handful of people to read it is a bonus. I’m sure if writing was my sole source of income, I’d be sweating though, because I don’t get high numbers.
I too have no idea where some of my reads come from 😅
Very interesting read Mike. I’ve noticed and wondered about the imbalance of reads and likes on my stats.🧐
It's fairly clear to me that the stuff that gains traction does so via non-Vocal resources. My top story was about a non-league football team; I shared it to their FB page, they ran with it and the hits dribbled in. Similarly, my Pints & Parkruns stuff serves a niche, and when a run's FB page talks up something I've written, I see a response in reads. At the same time, writing that I can't tag onto another site - so my fiction, in effect, goes nowhere. I might get a handful of responses from FB Vocal groups, but nothing significant. Maybe part of the problem is that this platform incentivises writers (up to a point, at least) but not readers. Not sure how that can be fixed, though.
I can't speak to any of your other reads, but I am on humble reader who (actively) reads nearly everything you write. I might miss something once in a rare while when my schedule gets jammed up, but generally I read my subscribed Vocal writers' work straight away every time. I have no idea how Vocal operates -- how it counts read or likes or subscriptions, etc. And I don't know if anyone actually gets tips. I got one 3 years ago, and I'm still over the moon about it. I also have no idea how or if Vocal pays out those creators who place in Vocal Challenges (official challenges). I was delighted to have placed as a Runner Up in a challenge and thus should have earned $20 for having done so, but my Wallet does not reflect a $20 bonus for the placement. Ah well. Good thing I'm not here for $$$. If I were in charge for a day, I'd separate hearts/likes from bookmarks. I'd enable readers to bookmark and return and then the story earns the read. And I'd use a different metric to follow bookmarks. And of course, subscriptions would be as they are, and measured separately. As for where reads come from, I'm still messing round with the birds and bees of all that. I have the best readers ever --- they are a life support system! But my numbers are few (a precious few). So I'm no help at all here. Great article! Thanks for writing it and getting us all talking about it.
I read then heart. If I have time I will comment. If I cannot read a story. I bookmark on my Facebook page and read it later. I get a lot of hearts on my pin stories. As for my most read story it come closed to my pin stories. I get my most read story a secret the funny think about my most read story. I producer read it . 🌞☺️
I actually read a lot more than I write and still can't figure out how The Vocal operates. I know I am a decent writer and on this platform we are inundated with some extraordinary talents, many who seem to go unnoticed. I actually search for writers lost in the Vocal maze out of curiosity. Despite receiving a few Top Story's I have never had many reads and without moral support from my fellow scribers it gets a wee frustrating. I am grateful for the encouragement that Mother Combs and Celia in Underland gave me as I was really thinking of giving up. I get very overwhelmed by too much interaction even online so sometimes I crawl into my shell a few days to reboot my creativity. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel bad when something that ripped my heart open to write doesn't get noticed. That's the writer's plight I suppose.
This was an intresting read. I barely get any reads so I can name on two hands where they come from 🤣 The only time I might get a few more is if something happens to get a TS but these days that doesn't seem to help much either. What to do? Give up or just keep plugging away. IDK