Why I Fail as a Vocal Writer

I joined Vocal in January 2022. To date, I have 33 Top Stories. I have also placed Honorable Mention in one contest and Runner-Up (before the current prize structure) in four. I have even received $75.98 from 24 tips, most of which have been from unofficial challenges. So, one might think that I am a fair success on Vocal. However, one metric proves that that is not the case: my overall reads.

Now, thanks to recent Vocal updates, my Stats page is not currently showing my total reads. However, my Wallet page is, as you can see in the image that I have included below. According to that page, I only have 4,122 reads from my entire 4 years on Vocal; that’s only $24.70 from reads, with everything else coming from Top Stories, contest wins, and tips. From that standpoint, I have to say that I am a HUGE flop as a Vocal writer.

So, the question becomes: why?

Why am I such a huge failure as a Vocal writer?

Is it my writing?

No. I don’t have much self-confidence, but I know that I am a decent writer. Based on the comments that do make their way onto my stories, I believe that other people think that same thing. I know that Top Stories don’t mean much anymore, but I think that the sheer number of Top Stories that I have had over the years speak for themselves as well. I may not have as many contest wins as, say, the wonderful Paul Stewart, but I think that any contest placement also indicates that my writing is worth something.

Could it be what I’m writing?

Again, I don’t think so.

I write on a wide range of subjects. Grief, political satire, science fiction, fantasy, even the subject of writing itself, the list goes on and on. Perhaps not everything that I talk about is everyone’s cup of tea, but if a reader does not like one thing that I write about, then they can move on to a different story easily. I like to think that I have wide appeal.

So, what is the answer? Why have I failed so miserably at being a Vocal writer?

Well, it’s relatively simple: I cannot network.

The most successful writers on here—like Mike Singleton—network outside of this website and bring in readers from other sources. I am horrible at that. I hate social media. Twitter has gone downhill since it became X, Instagram is not very good for networking stories since you have to include images, I don’t trust TikTok, and I’ve been locked out of Facebook for over a year now because of a hacker that changed my settings without me realizing it (and there is NO customer service over there). I also haven’t updated my blog in years because I’ve been too busy. Instead of finding outside readers, I’ve relied entirely on Vocal. I just post my work, release it into the wild, and hope that others will like it enough to share it.

Unfortunately, that has not been the case. In fact, getting anyone on Vocal itself to read my writing has been like pulling teeth.

I know the reasons for that: people are busy, people have to write their own work, and people want reciprocity (something that I’m trying to squeeze into my own hectic schedule). However, these reasons also mean that my little “business model” for Vocal just will not work. If I am going to be successful as a Vocal writer, I am going to have to find a way to network outside of the website and gather readers for myself.

It would be helpful if Vocal promoted our works on their social media channels like they used to. Unfortunately, it looks as though they are not going to. So, it is up to each of us to do this ourselves if we are going to be successful here. For me, that means sucking it up, facing my dislike of social media, and posting links to my work wherever I can. I might even have to dust off my old blog enough to promote myself. Because the sad truth is that writers are, at the end of the day, self-promoters, whether we like it or not.