Leveraging The Algorithm: How You Can Help Creators You Love Get Seen

Being a creator is no walk in the park. Whether you're a novelist, a short story writer, someone who makes videos and audio dramas, or you just put together weekly blog entries for people, it takes a lot of work to keep making art. However, that challenge is nowhere near as difficult as it is getting that art you've made seen by people.

And while I've talked in the past about how absolutely necessary it is for fans of a creator to lift them up and boost their signal, this week I wanted to provide a look behind the scenes, and explain why the actions you take matter to the creators you follow. And how you can help them succeed, even if you don't have the money to toss patronage their way.

Because numbers really do matter in this game.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more!

Actions, and The Algorithm

Social media is a major component of a professional creator's toolbox these days. Sure, a lot of us will go to conventions, or appear in more traditional venues like talk shows, TV slots, etc., but most of us don't have the fame or budget for that. So most of us use social media as a way to get our work into the hands of people who like it.

Unfortunately, this means that we have to contend with the dreaded algorithm.

We are algorithm, and we are many.

Algorithms are, generally defined, just systems that crunch numbers, and process data. In other words, it's the formula that tries to figure out what you want to see, and what is going to get more interaction/attention from people on a given site. As a caveat, it's important to remember that not all algorithms are the same, and they are constantly shifting and changing depending on what alterations are being made by the various sites that use them. Because of this I'm going to try to keep the following advice as general as I can, while still giving folks directions that can actually be followed.

Okay? Okay.

So what are the things you need to do to help the creators you like get seen so that we can get an audience large enough that we can pay rent, eat, and keep making stuff you want to see? It's pretty simple, actually.

#1: Subscribe

It sounds like the most obvious thing possible, but algorithms weight your posts (at least partially) based on how many people you have following you. This is why people with 5 million followers will have their updates show up across a given website, and those with 5k will barely be seen by their own friends. So even if the only thing you do is act as a warm body by subscribing to a channel, profile, etc., that helps in and of itself. Especially when you consider that subscribing means you'll see a creator's content more often, making the following steps easier for you.

#2: React

Most social media sites have some form of react option. If you're on Reddit, it's an upvote. If you're on Twitter, it's a heart. If you're on Facebook... well, you have a slew of options there. Generally speaking, the more reacts a post gets, the more popular it's considered, and the more likely the algorithm is to boost the signal to other users who wouldn't normally see it.

As a side note for Facebook, the different reactions are weighted differently. While it's hard to nail down exactly which ones are more valuable at any given time since the algorithm is often changing, the general wisdom seems to be that if you want to add as much value to a post as you can, use the Love, Laugh, Wow, or Care react. Like is significantly less weighted, and while it was heavily endorsed when it first came out (according to The Washington Post) the Angry react actually seems to be a negative thing to have on your posts these days. Again, this is subject to change at a moment's notice, and your reaction is only one part of the formula... but if you want to min-max your engagement to help a creator, keep this in mind; loving is better than liking.

#3: Comment

Commenting is particularly important when it comes to telling the algorithm what you want to see. I've been told that the general rule of thumb is to have at least 5 words in your comments to get the algorithm's attention, but different sites have different takes on this in my experience.

Regardless, when you leave a comment on a post, it can help generate more interaction from other people (especially if your comment creates a discussion). This is particularly true on sites like Facebook and YouTube, where users can talk for hours (or sometimes days), keeping a post at the top of a group page, or drawing in lots of outside viewers who wouldn't have seen the content on their own, but whose friends are engaged in talking about it.

#4: Share

Sharing a post seems like the most obvious way to get it more traction, and it sort of is. Because on the one hand, you are boosting the signal directly by showing it specifically to your audience. And whether you have a hundred friends and family on your social media profiles, or 50K followers who hang on your every word, that is a direct signal boost that can make a big difference.

However, sharing a post is also counted into how popular it is, and how much engagement it's receiving when the algorithm crunches its numbers. So if you see a post someone made, don't just copy and paste it if you can avoid it, because then your new post will be starting from zero. If you share it from the original creator, though, then all subsequent shares will count toward making that original post bigger and more important in the eyes of the algorithm.

That said, if it's just easier for you to share a link to a video, or a new book, or an article in a group, forum, or Discord channel, it's definitely better for you to do that than to do nothing in terms of finding fresh eyes for a creator's work.

#5: Consistency

This is the step that a lot of folks overlook, or don't think about. Because even if you go through all 4 of the previous steps for a post that you saw a creator make, that's a drop in the bucket for us when it comes to actually getting noticed (barring some strange zeitgeist that makes us explode because the right people all performed the right actions at the right time). But as they say in the gym, consistency is what gets results.

So while creators are always grateful for your help, if you want to make a difference then you need to start making these kinds of behaviors a habit. You don't have to do it on every post, or leave some kind of boilerplate commentary on everything a creator you like puts out, but try to regularly boost up those whose work you like. The more often you do it, the more often it gets seen, and the better it looks to the algorithm... and even more importantly, the more other people are going to see it, and get a chance to do the same.

Lastly, I Have a New(ish) Release!

Before I sign off today, I wanted to let folks know that my novel Old Soldiers is getting a re-release with a sexy new cover, and an inclusion of the original short story Heart of The Myrmidon that inspired the whole thing! I'll likely to a more involved blog on that in the near future, but if you're interested (or just want to help me look good to my new publisher), go preorder your copy of Old Soldiers today!

It's definitely worth a read if you haven't checked it out yet!

Support The Literary Mercenary

For folks who just want to do their part to help keep me making more content, please subscribe/follow me in these locations:

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Rumble Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects! You can also check out my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary for free audio dramas!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Beware of Ambiguous Antecedents in Your Writing

While they appear to be a term a lot of folks are railing against these days, any writer can tell you that pronouns are one of the best pieces of language ever invented. After all, even if it would be an accurate recounting of a scene, nothing that feels more stilted or unnatural than saying a character's name over and over again. However, pronouns come with their own set of risks, one of which always seems to catch writers off-guard...

The ambiguous antecedent.

He squeezed blood from the stone! Wait... which he again?

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! To be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, make sure you check out my Vocal archive for several hundred other articles about geek ephemera, weird history, writing, and more!

Nouns, Pronouns, and Antecedents

As Writers points out, there are some basic grammatical rules we're all aware of, even if we may not know the official terms for them. Generally speaking, when you're writing a story, you will have a noun, and then once that noun has been stated, you'll use a pronoun for it later. The original noun is the antecedent, meaning that the pronoun is connected to it.

Jeff stared at the read out on the monitor, sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The "his" in this case clearly refers to Jeff, making Jeff the antecedent. Pretty basic stuff, right?

The problem you'll run into when you're a writer is that you'll often have multiple characters with the same pronouns in a given scene. This means that, rather than having direct lines between the pronoun and its antecedent, you might have readers scratching their heads wondering which he, she, or they you're referring to, and that can quickly cause them to lose track of the narrative. Whether it's a rapid back-and-forth between a cop and a criminal in an interrogation room, or an action scene with a squad of black ops soldiers, too much confusion between the noun and the pronoun referring to it can end up with chaos on the page.

The Cimmerian slew them all.

A tip I would recommend is something that a lot of us do without even thinking about it, but I usually refer to it as the Conan solution to this issue of ambiguity. In short, whenever you run into a situation where there might be confusion as to who a pronoun is referring to, replace it with some defining description of the character in question so that the audience can follow a clear through line of what is happening in a scene. Whether it's referring to a specific aspect of a character like a notable physical feature, or even referring to them by their job, the idea is that whenever there could be confusion, you clear that up as quickly and efficiently as you can.

"Hey, come look at this," Jeff said to Crawford. The federal agent grunted, and walked over to the terminal. The computer tech pointed at the image on the screen, and grinned.

Here we have two characters interacting as part of the narrative. Rather than simply relying on readers to figure out a pronoun, though, we ensure that we use something descriptive to refer to each of the two men separately, making sure that the reader has a clear image of who is doing what in the situation.

It's a fairly simple thing, but it's an area I've seen my share of writers develop a confusion with. So I thought I'd do my part this week to offer a bit of my own technique, and hope that it helps!

Support The Literary Mercenary

For folks who just want to do their part to help keep me making more content, please subscribe/follow me in these locations:

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Rumble Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Errors, Editing, and The Bottom Line in Publishing

This past weekend I experienced a bit of an oops moment in one of my latest publications. The TTRPG supplement 100 Gangsters, Gun Molls, and Goons came out from Azukail Games for the Call of Cthulhu RPG, and it details a list of characters to add to the town of Arkham for players who want to explore the use and effect of organized crime in the city during the Roaring 20s when campaigns in the core continuity are set. I wrote it partially because I've always liked the idea of the mob going to war with the mythos, but also because there seemed to be an uptick of players who were trying out this particular game.

However, someone pointed out a rather glaring flaw in my original. You see, a gun moll is a slang term used to describe a woman who was a gangster, typically as the partner of a mob boss or gang leader. But for some reason I was certain that it was spelled "mal" and not "moll"... as such, an edit was necessary to the document.

I expected better of you.

Rather than just try to bury that (admittedly embarrassing) mistake, though, I wanted to try to use it as a teachable moment. Because there are a lot of misconceptions about editing in the publishing industry as a whole, and I think this makes a good jumping off point to talk about them.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more!

Perfect is The Enemy of Done

There's a meme I've come across several times that explains the best way for an author to find spelling mistakes and editing errors is to go through their manuscript a dozen times, publish it, and then to open to a random page once they have a hard copy in their hands. If you've ever published a book (or even a short story) then you know just how true this is. Sometimes, very rarely, the layers of editing will catch all the mistakes, weed them out, and leave a perfect, pristine product... but that's far from the norm.

And as with a lot of stuff in the publishing industry, it has far more to do with time and money than it does with talent and skill.

As is often the case, sadly.

As a for-instance, when I write a TTRPG supplement, there's typically a 3-step process. First, I write it by hand. Then I type up what I've written, proofreading and editing as I go. Then, once it's been typed, I review it for edits and further changes. Once I've finished that, I send it in to my publisher, who handles layout, art, etc., and puts it up for sale.

Now, Azukail Games is a relatively small publisher, and there isn't an on-staff editor. Nor, for that matter, is an editor contracted to go over every supplement that gets turned in. The reason for that is first, that would add a lot of time to the process (probably a week or more, at least). Secondly, editors aren't free. An average supplement should sell about 50 copies at the low end of things, to 100 copies in the initial release (which won't rack up to much more than $100 or so in initial profits for the publisher), with occasional copies being sold down the line as the catalog grows.

Adding extra time to every release, and spending far more than a given supplement is likely to make in sales to give it a pass by an independent editor doesn't make for a good business strategy. As such, it's a step that usually gets left out of things... however, even companies who can afford editors still have issues with their books and releases.

Gonna name a name here...

Not to call out anyone specifically, or to throw shade on folks who worked hard on their books, but White Wolf had quite a reputation for this during the hey day of the World of Darkness. While the games were very popular, a lot of players often criticized them for errors in the glossary, spelling mistakes, or rules that didn't quite seem to match up in examples in different sections. And the constant refrain was always, "Would it have killed them to give it one more editorial pass?"

And the answer is, actually, yes. It probably would have.

We tend to think that bigger publishing companies (Wizards of The Coast, Paizo, White Wolf/Onyx Path, etc.) have gads of spare funds just lying around, but that really isn't the case. They're already paying for artists, designers, layout, printing, shipping, and initial editing, along with many more costs on tight deadlines, so they probably can't afford an extra round of edits just to be sure that products are perfect. Because that extra round of edits might eat deeply enough into the spare time and profit margin for the release that it won't make enough money to justify the next release, and sustain the company.

Or, at the very least, it will increase the amount of books that the project needs to sell in order to break even, and justify the release of future content.

Would the extra edits catch some spelling mistakes, and align the numbers in the guide? Sure, it could, but when you look at the raw numbers (both the extra costs of additional editing passes, and how many typos and errors slip through the process on average even with those extra passes) it just isn't worth it to your bottom line.

Digital Tools Help (But Sometimes It Still Isn't Worth It)

Let's back up a moment and look at the mistake I made in my latest TTRPG supplement. If it had been released back in the 90s as a hard copy, and that spelling error had survived through editing to be released as a product sold in game stores, the publisher would not have recalled the supplements and released a corrected version. If it was released with a mistake, it would be left in the wild to sink or swim on its own... if it did well enough to justify a second print run, then the mistake would be fixed, but more likely it would just go down as a flawed product, a victim of a single (albeit major) error. Or perhaps a collector's edition, if it did well enough to justify more being printed.

But in the digital age, and the age of print-on-demand, we have the ability to fix errors as we see them, or as they get reported to us. In fact it was less than a day between the mistake in that title being reported, and the text and cover being fixed by the publisher. If someone points out a mistake in a blog or article like this, I can just go in and fix it with minimal sweat. Even if someone finds errors in a book of mine like my short story collection The Rejects, I can update the text of the manuscript, re-submit it to Amazon for approval, and the new version will appear in 24 hours or so, no muss, no fuss.

Even with all these options and tools on-hand, though, there is still a single, deciding factor when it comes to fixing errors in your work... how much that effort is likely to improve your bottom line.

Consider the video for my short audio drama Whispered Words Sharpen Knives, which is taken from my supplement 100 Rumors to Hear at The Freehold for Changeling: The Lost. While the title appears to the right of the display image in this video, it's extremely dark due to something going wrong with the applied filter. The text was supposed was be white on a black background... but by the time I caught that mistake, it was already published on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (which, if you haven't subscribed yet, please consider doing so).

So while it is certainly within my power to fix the video, resubmit it to the publisher, and then have them reupload it to fix one error, it doesn't really feel worth the effort to to do... especially because the title of the video appears directly below it any time it's displayed on YouTube or linked on social media, so folks can still see what it is, and determine if they want to click it.

If there was an outcry from regular viewers to fix the video, it could certainly be done. However, with only 79 views at time of writing, it isn't exactly something being seen by a huge number of fresh eyes. There aren't a string of comments requesting the edit to be made, nor is it something that a lot of folks are being turned off by. Even though the channel isn't monetized (though we're hoping to change that in the near future), that kind of outcry from the viewers would warrant the edit being made... but if no one is noticing, the effort it would take to fix the mistake could better be spent making new content.

And those are really the three lessons I want people to take away from this. First, that no matter how hard you try, or how many times you look, it's always possible for mistakes to slip through your editing net. Secondly, that there is always some form of editorial, but even putting your manuscript in the hands of a professional is no guarantee that they're going to catch everything. And, thirdly, mistakes are not the end of the world in the digital age of publishing... you can usually fix them quickly, and efficiently, if the mistake is serious enough to warrant doing so.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects! You can also check out my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary for free audio dramas!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Authors, Don't Skip The Best Parts of Your Story

As authors, we have a tendency of getting tunnel vision on the parts of the story we really like. This can mean that we blitz through supporting scenes, expecting that we'll go back and fix them in editorial, but it can also mean that we end up not putting things that should be in the spotlight on full display for our readers to enjoy.

And this can really hamstring your book, and make it a lot less interesting to read overall.

Yeah, yeah, love scene, whatever... I want to talk about thermodynamics!

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! To be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, make sure you check out my Vocal archive for several hundred other articles about geek ephemera, weird history, writing, and more!

The Epic, Thrilling Conclusion (That We Don't See)

Have you ever read the Sparhawk novels by David Eddings? These two trilogies of books follow a group of church knights, their witch tutor, and various other characters on their adventures to save cursed queens, overcome dark magic, deal with dissident usurpers, and a slew of other great deeds. While the scale of this book series can get kind of epic, the narrative tends to stay personal, and even grounded around our party of main characters.

However, there is a particular section in these books that always rubbed me wrong as a reader, and which nearly stopped me from finishing them. To set the scene, our heroes have had a large force following them for some time, and it's been a point of serious drama as they try to stay one step ahead of their pursuers. Finally, exhausted and with no other options, they turn as one, and charge toward their pursuing enemy.

Then the chapter ends. In the next chapter the battle is over, our heroes won, and now we're moving on to the next part of the plot.

Yes it was very exciting. Anyway, moving on...

This fight was something that drove a large portion of the drama for this particular book. Our heroes were seriously outmatched, and they were running scared for chapter after chapter because strength of arms wouldn't carry them through. Then, exhausted and out of options, they finally turn and fight... and then when we see them again they're all in one piece, and carrying on like nothing happened. We didn't lose anyone to death or capture, no one appears to be gravely injured, and if my memory recalls even their horses made it through in one piece.

Skipping this battle scene undid so many things that had been set up. For one thing, it sucked all the tension out of the story up to that point. If our protagonists did that well after running and hiding for so long, why didn't they take on their foes when they were fresh and strong? If writing a large-scale battle scene was too difficult, why not write several small battle scenes over time to keep the tension, and make it clear that our heroes were being worn down (as we see in films like John Wick)? Why not use a clever plan like destroying a bridge, setting an ambush, or doing something else that allowed our heroes to progress, without denying us the sight of this battle that had been brewing all book?

These are the kinds of issues you run into when you skip important parts of your story, or you leave pivotal moments to happen off-screen.

Whether two characters are finally going to have an emotional reunion after a lot of bad blood, your detective catches the bad guy, a former villain joins with the protagonists, or your struggling wizard's apprentice finally gets their magic to flow, these are pivotal moments that can really give your readers a lot of catharsis. So skipping over them, and relegating them to post-action reports or hand-waving them away can really have a negative impact on your overall story.

What will draw the eye and the heart alike?

Lastly, if you're making decisions about what to focus on in your story, compare what scenes you're glossing over, and which ones you're lingering on. Evaluate this decision, and ask some of your beta readers for their opinions. Because it's possible that you might want to have another knock-down, drag out brawl, but your readers might find it gratuitous when you've already got so many in your story. You might want to get into the mechanics of time travel, or the specs of the starship the story takes place on, but if that's being done at the sacrifice of other aspects that are more central to the story, then those are the things you should be cutting. If you don't need to include long descriptions of cooking because they're getting in the way of your private eye solving his current case, then focus more on fact-finding and less on how to make a perfect quiche.

Writing a book isn't like making a movie. Because while there's time, energy, and creativity that goes into adding scenes, you don't have the same kind of budget filmmakers do. Don't scrimp on something if you can avoid it, because it may wind up being a part of your book that really needed the breathing room to grow!

Support The Literary Mercenary

For folks who just want to do their part to help keep me making more content, please subscribe/follow me in these locations:

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Rumble Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Trying Out Rumble as a Platform For My Audio Dramas (Join Me, Won't You?)

Folks who've been following my work for the past year have probably come across some of the audio dramas I've been making. Most of them are smaller things that only last a few minutes, such as Shining Armor, my story about mech pilots fighting genetically-engineered dragons, or Russian Roulette, a dark little drama about a former hitman taking a deal with a devil to avoid dying, and to get revenge on his former boss. Those appear on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (which you should definitely go follow), but I've wanted to do something bigger, and more involved for a while.

And while I've had a few false starts, I figured that I'd try it over on Rumble. So if what I'm saying in today's post sounds interesting, consider following me at The Literary Mercenary, or signing up using my referral code.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more!

Seeking Alternatives To YouTube

This isn't the first time I've talked about this issue, but I'll sum it up for those who haven't seen me touch on this before. In short, while YouTube is the biggest, most dominant platform on the market, it has a pretty high bar for a lot of folks to actually make money. Until you have 1,000 subscribers, and 4,000 hours of watched content in the past year (or roughly 11.5 hours of watched content every, single day for 365 days), you're not going to see a single cent of the money your content makes. And make no mistake, it is making money, because there's still ads on it... it's just that YouTube puts that money right in their pocket.

Now, making a living off of YouTube even after you're monetized ain't easy either. With so many people using ad blockers, you basically need to drag down hundreds of thousands of views a month just to pay your rent if you're depending on ad revenue. But that steep cliff on top of working for months (or years) just to be allowed to start getting paid is like running a race, but starting several laps behind just to get to the starting line.

However, on top of all of that, YouTube uses Google AdSense to pay its creators. I am not allowed on Google AdSense, so even if I managed to jump through all of those hoops, I'd get nowhere because I couldn't be paid.

And that's... not great.

I've been looking for an alternative platform for a while, and while they do exist, most of them came with other challenges that were deal breakers for me. Some only allowed you to get tipped by viewers, or to sell access to your content, rather than letting you get paid by ad views, meaning that if your audience was broke they couldn't help you pay your bills so you could keep making stuff. Others promised to pay you, but only in cryptocurrency. Last Fall I gave DailyMotion a try, and while it had a much gentler bar of entry, the site turned off a lot of folks due to glitches, format, inability to turn off autoplay, and so on.

It was thanks to A Vox in The Void (who has dramatized several of my Warhammer 40K stories) that I found out about Rumble at all.

In short, YouTube was labeling some of the channel's work as for mature audiences only, but there seemed to be no real rhyme or reason for this decision. Particularly the short story Fangs Out, which is basically Top Gun but with orks, which didn't have any objectionable content... particularly when compared to some of the other, more grotesque stories on the channel that were left alone. Frustrated by the situation, Paul decided to put some of his work over on Rumble to try it out, and I figured I'd do the same just to see what sort of results I'd get. Also, while you're there, follow A Vox in The Void's Rumble page!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

So, what does Rumble have going for it as a platform for creators?

First off, there's no monetization hoops to jump through. Right out of the gate, your work can start paying you. Once it's reviewed, it gets a Monetization stamp (this can take a few hours or a few days, depending on), and then your traffic starts generating you income. No hoops to jump through, no subscriber count you need to hit, no "proving" you're a real creator, just hit the ground running. Secondly, Rumble is not an exclusive platform. So if you already have a YouTube account, or even a DailyMotion one, you can keep your content on multiple platforms without too much issue. This was an issue for DailyMotion, as YouTube is not an option if your content is hosted on DM, or vice versa.

There is another side to this equation, though.

Chances are that if you're reading this you probably haven't heard of Rumble. YouTube is the biggest game in town, and a lot of folks don't seek out other platforms, assuming that if you're worth watching/listening to that you'll be on the big stage. So you're drawing from a smaller pool of people, and you aren't going to have those algorithms working for you to shuffle people onto your page, holding them face down in your content. For newer and smaller creators, you probably won't be able to tell the difference. However, Rumble is also tougher to market in a lot of places, as some sites have it banned, and even where it is allowed there aren't the large, heavily-populated groups like you'll find for YouTube creators.

So if YouTube isn't an option for you, Rumble might be worth checking out. If you're on YouTube, but either are having trouble getting monetized, or you are monetized and want to double dip, it might be worth trying.

What about the big, dangerous shape in the room?

There is something of an elephant in the room... literally, in this case.

In the interest of full disclosure, Rumble is a platform that lots of people have come to because YouTube was censoring them. Some of those creators, like A Vox in The Void, were just dealing with the difficulties of what words can be said, what topics can be discussed, etc., and those things being inconsistent in a way that hurts their bottom line. However, there are no few creators on Rumble who appear to have been actively kicked off of YouTube, and they were looking for somewhere else to go. Many of these folks are very right wing, and a lot of them wind up on the front page of the site.

You can't always choose the company you keep, and YouTube certainly has its own problems with right wing figures, conspiracies, etc. But when the pond is smaller, the sharks are more visible.

I felt that was worth mentioning, particularly knowing my audience.

Again, if you're looking for an alternative to YouTube, my experiment with the platform has yielded positive results so far. If you want to check out my content, follow me at The Literary Mercenary. And if you want to give it a try yourself, sign up through my referral link so we can both keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

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