Wanna Be Friends?
A Little More On Reciprocity
Introduction
This is prompted by someone who has commented on a couple of stories with roughly
"I read your story. Subscribe to me a read my work. I am poor"
Now I didn't respond and you may think that I am cruel and heartless for various reasons (a lot of Vocal creators apparently do, allegedly 🌝) but this did not give me a good reason to respond.
The guy may be poor, but he has access to Vocal. He may be just starting out and may change, but I am not responding just now.
So Who Do I Subscribe To?
Today someone left me an excellent comment on a story. It didn't look like AI, so I checked him out. One story but it was interesting and touched a lot of bases with me so I subscribed.
Essentially you have to catch my eye and show that you are supportive and have something to say, then you have a chance of grabbing a subscription from me and capturing me as a reader.
I do have some readers who comment on lots of my stories and I only get to one or two of theirs and that makes me feel guilty, but it is the way I work.
I believe that reciprocity is very helpful to our progess as Vocal Creators And Judey Kalchik has written and excellent post on it that you can read here:
A subject, an image and the author's reputation and friendship will probably get a read from me (I have liked 13,316 stories so far and commented on most of those and there are many I have read that weren't good enough for a comment from me)
Sometimes people (usually Facebook friends) will ask to to read or give an opinion on a particular story, but that story has to interest me. If I don't feel I can help I will let the author know.
We are all here to support each other but we all need to act supportively to each other and not just expect others to support oour work without some reciprocity.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading and I'll leave with some great Facebook Vocal Groups
About the Creator
Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred
A Weaver of Tales and Poetry
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Comments (12)
Since you mentioned it, I decided to check how many stories I've liked. It was 36,073!!! My jaw dropped because I thought mine would be lesser than yours 😅😅 Also, that "I am poor" comment, I saw that too. But they didn't comment on any of my pieces so far, lol
Although I am new to Vocal, I'm coming from over ten years on Wordpress. My approach is similar to yours, Mike. There is a quality threshold and there is also the problem of time. The more writers I follow, the greater the time commitment of keeping up with their offerings. I guess we are all looking for endorsement for our work, but (as I think you are saying, ever-so-nicely) it has to be earned.
I do a lot of reading and commenting on a lot of articles and if I ask some to read my work that only means that I want a comment that's all. I always learn from yours. Good work.
I got a similar comment. It's weird for sure. I never ask people to read my story. If my title and image draws their attention great, if not oh well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. What I love about Vocal is how supportive it is.
I agree (mostly), but I really need to know: where did you pull that "stories liked" stat from?? Don't tell me you have a clicker on your desk, haha
Agreed 👍 Some have more time to read and comment so it’s not a numbers game. I try to vary my reading so may not get to my favourite writers as much as I like. Sometimes I omit commenting so I can get on and read a couple more. A ‘like’ from me is real, not an obligatory gesture; I may have not managed to comment, but I’ll have read and genuinely liked your piece. Like you, I ignore spammy stuff and don’t do follow for follow. If someone likes my poetry, but only writes about tech, for instance, I’m not going to follow them. Conversely, not everyone I follow will follow me back, and that’s fine 🤗
I received the same comment, I replied thank you. normally I wrote more to say thanks. I have a similar process when I subscribe, some grab me with one piece others two or three. I am glad you pointed out Judey’s article, she has many that help Congratulations and thanks for writing this.
That comment you quoted in the beginning, I'd almost guarantee that person did not read your story. Well said..my friend .
I recognize the users and the haters out there, and I am glad someone else does, too. BTW, I am poor. Please read me. I am nice guy who has nice write on work Vocal screen. :/
When one reciprocates, one has to do it out of sincerity rather than obligation. But it’s one of those things with which it’s hard to strike a good balance.
The title caught me (of course I want to be your friend!), and then I was surprised to see one of my articles linked! Thank you for that. I truly believe it's the way to build community.
Great points Mike. I always try to just read/comment on whatever I feel like at the time rather than doing it out of “favours” - but I absolutely get what you mean about feeling guilty too haha 😝