My First Top Story

It was November 8, 2021. I'd stumbled on a new writing platform called “Vocal”. I was excited and anxious to give it a try.

Writing wasn't new to me, nor was I new to writing. I was a successful content writer, and made good money at it. Of course, that was before AI became widely available. Authors and content writers still actually wrote for a living. 'Nuff said?

I'd also had some solid success with my poetry, netting the grand prize in a “Letter to Your Favorite DJ” radio contest 2 years in a row, and an Editor's Choice award in a poetry site competition.

I knew I could write. This “Vocal” thing was different. I could write about whatever I wanted to, and see how it shook out in a community of writers.

To be fair, the platform wasn't nearly as structured as it is today, nor was it highly interactive. For instance, you may not be aware of it, but the ability to leave comments on each other's stories has only been around for four years.

Segue: If you'd like to see how Vocal has evolved over the past seven or so years, I highly recommend clicking on the Resources tab, then hit that “...” at the bottom of the page to go all the way to the end. Work your way backward from there to learn how much has changed. (Spoiler Alert: It's a lot.)

Now, back to our regular programming.

So, as a newbie, I decided to submit something I knew well, and I wrote a poem about the moon. Some of you who've come to know me on this platform know I'm a sucker for that little orb that circles our planet, and "Moonstruck" just sort of rolled onto the page. I hit the “Publish” button and BOOM, there it was, ready for all to see.

It was so easy, I decided to post a humorous one I'd written after enjoying a meal I'd fixed on the grill, and An Ode to Spatchcocked Chicken was published on that same day.

Imagine my surprise when the notification came that the first of those 2 poems was awarded Top Story. Today, that amounts to a small win. At the time, it was pretty heady stuff and the motivation to keep right on publishing on this platform.

Now, I don't have thousands of stories published here. I'm not one of those members. That's partly because I still have paid writing jobs and it's still how I make a living. As I write this, I have a total of 324 published works here. That's barely a dribble compared to some.

I'm also not the guy with all the medals, but I am an award winner. I've won a few challenges and placed in quite a few more. What's more, I've seen a lot more Top Story awards come my way. I'm not setting Vocal records there, either, but I'm fine with that. When I say I'm here for the community, I mean it.

I've built a nice list of friends here, have a few subscribers, and I spend a lot of time enjoying other creators' work and commenting on their creations. I get a decent number of reads and, much to my delight, I get a fair amount of activity in the comments.

I've published stories about some of my life experiences that mean a lot to me and they've been well received.("He Chose to Chance the Rapids" is still at the top of the list for me.) and thanks to Vocal's policies, I can still publish those stories elsewhere.

So, Vocal has become much more to me than a place to publish, and it all started because of a simple Top Story award.

Here's another little tidbit, based on my observations while I've been here: I believe Vocal assigns fairly high priority to giving new writers a Top Story award soon after they've joined up. I think it's something of a retention and motivation plan, and I'm one hundred percent on board with it. If I'm an example of anything here, it's that it works.

That small win has been, directly or otherwise, the result of many other changes, as well. The content I get paid to write regularly these days isn't just content; it's stories I enjoy writing. I've published a poetry collection on Amazon and I've sold a few copies.

I have two more books in the works and one of them is about my favorite thing, entitled “Fishin' Lessons”. Watch for it in the near future.

Finally, let me say this to any new writers who stumble on this story: Vocal is not perfect. There are still some things that annoy and aggravate me, some of which can be attributed to management, and some simply because it's hard to wrangle two million or so creators, especially with a handful impostors thrown in. I'll even admit that I probably expect too much. The point is, your small wins here can be the start of something great, even if every step of the journey isn't earth shattering.

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