My Vocal Christmas List

Vocal is a vibrant and thriving community. Many members have taken an interest in seeing it grow and continue to improve. The following is provided in the spirit of seeing the platform not only meet expectations but surpass them.

First, some technical request.

Improve the stats by adding a sort function. Currently, the stats are sorted by most reads. If there is only one option, this seems the most appropriate. But why not add the ability to sort by title, and most recently published. In addition, add the ability to search.

Introduce folders to the list of stories. Give writers the ability to organize their stories into folders. Do not predetermine folders, allow the writers to create as many as they need, and to name them as they see fit.

Second, the review process.

Introduce the concept of a trusted writer. If someone publishes a set number of titles, let’s just say fifty. And they have followed the community standards, tag them as a trusted writer and allow them the ability to instantly publish. You would still review their writing and if found in violation of community standards, the story would be put back into draft. If the violation was serious enough, they would lose their trusted status.

Third, enhance the Challenge process.

The key here is transparency. It is my understanding that the stories are reviewed twice and about 30% end up on a list for the next round. The writers entering the challenges would find it very helpful if they knew if their stories were making it past this first screening. Add a tag to the story saying it was a semi-finalist in Challenge x.

Likewise, my understanding is 10-50 stories get picked as finalist. Add a tag here saying the story was a finalist.

For many writers, like myself, we want to win the prize money. But just as important, is knowing if our writing is being viewed positively. If we are never breaking through the 30% barrier, we know we have a lot of work to do. If we are making the final list, but haven’t managed a top three, that gives a lot of encouragement. You have done the hard work of judging these stories, share the results. All the results.

Provide a method for community feedback into the winner selection. If you made public the short list, and provided a method where Vocal members could vote, that would give you valuable feedback on which story should win. You don’t have to go with the popular vote, just use it as another source of input. Or, if you really wanted to embrace the idea, you could have a small prize for the People’s Choice winner.

Fourth, fiction top five stories of the week.

The top story is great. But it goes by quickly and is more suited for non-fiction articles. Add a new feature, where each week you feature five of the best fiction stories. Fiction and non-fiction need to be treated differently. A non-fiction title is more likely to grab my attention, so the constant parade of articles works. For fiction, I need time to read them. By having fewer but up for longer, it provides a better chance of them being read.

Fifth, tip credit.

This one is a stretch. I’m looking for ways to recognize writers. And when you get a tip, you feel great. The idea is that you use $1 of the Vocal+ fee as a tip credit. The Vocal+ member can tip any other author that $1.

I know this would be a considerable cost, but it may be offset with more Vocal membership. It’s also a way to encourage the best writers, since they will most likely get a majority of the tips.

That is my Christmas Wish List.

Happy Holidays.