The Unacknowledged Writer

Introduction

I think everyone would love to be a successful writer and live off the proceeds of their book sales, but we all know that very few reach that position.

We can all write, and we can self-publish books, and Vocal pays us for reads with the odd bonus, but in the end, it is just coffee money for me (and my artistic collaborators), despite the fifteen or so I have on Amazon:

What Chance Do We Have?

That may sound like words of despair, but it's not meant to be. Sometimes it is a case of tailoring our expectations. I used to walk eleven thousand steps a day to make my million steps every three months, but it meant going out walking before work and then after work. I was not going to stop, so I reduced my daily target to seven thousand, and that is easily achievable for me, and I still often walk well over eleven thousand steps a day, which I record on a Google Sheet:

Since 2021, I have sold 274 books on Amazon, which is about one a week:

Back to the point of this piece, sales and reads show that people are taking notice of your work, and that is something that we all hope for. Comments and hearts on our Vocal stories show that others are taking notice, but I see many stories, even initial Top Stories, without reads or hearts. A Top Story shows Vocal have noticed it, but it must be depressing if there are no hearts or comments.

I often see pictures of huge libraries and bookshops, and I have written about the benefits of libraries in pieces like this:

While libraries and bookshops are wonderful places to wander around and even discover new works. If you are a writer, what are your chances of being discovered by a random reader?

You can spread your work on social media. If you have a publisher, you can organise book signings and promotions, but even that may not bring in the sales.

On Vocal, we can subscribe to others and comment on their work in the hope that they will reciprocate, and though there are many creators who expect to be read without reciprocation.

As I have said, I often find stories that are worthy reads and find I am the only one who has read the story.

I don't know if that makes me good or bad,

Essentially, we can just take joy from writing and the fact that Vocal gives us a brilliant platform to share our work on. Comments really to raise my, and I assume your spirits when you get a supportive one:

Conclusion

Thank you for reading and for your excellent support. I really do appreciate it.

Here are a couple of recent stories where, when I found them, I was the only reader, give them a read, a comment and a little support: