Onwards And Upwards
Where I Am On Vocal

Introduction
I am now able to publish on Vocal and just posted my 3,500th story. These have been a difficult three months.
People have blamed me, sometimes jokingly, but that did hurt a lot, and I still feel very shut out. The fact that I don't have to look for stories to reuse means that I can support other creators
But Looking On The Bright Side
I still have a good set of friends who have stuck with me and I am thankful for their encouragement, but there are a lot who have stopped commenting on my work, but my reads are rising again, which implies people are reading my work.
A villanelle I posted yesterday has had fifty-nine likes, though thanks to Vocal's flawed stats, I don't know how many are actual reads

This is what I mean by the Vocal stats issues, four years on, it's not been addressed
Conclusion
I am in a better place than I was on Vocal, but nowhere near where I want to be. Despite all this, as I have said in the past, it is the best publication platform, and for many it is a lucrative coffee money source.
Thank you so much for reading, and the music has to be Wet Willie's "Keep On Smilin'"


Comments (5)
What an achievement, Mike, well done. You are always appreciated, and you are a constant source of inspiration. I must get back and do some more Villanelles and try a new one from Zejel- you introduced me to.
Wooohooooo Congratulations on your 3500th piece! ππππππ I hope most of those likes on those post turned out to be reads
I got overloaded on villanelles in that godawful challenge, so Iβm going to skip it until I recover from the villanelles of regret. π
So happy that you're back in action! Headed to read your villanelle! π
Great job, Mr. Mike. You are so right one must write to get reads and comments for at one time when I just read and commented my stats went down and now since I am writing again my stats improved.