You're welcome - these errors aren't made in isolation, but I would argue they're errors made by people who do well here. There are writers who arrive and who can bang out money-making-productivity-crap all over the place and make a bit of money gaming the algorithm.

People who come here to tell stories fall into the Simon and Garfunkel experience. They get buoyed up by a little bit of readership on a few small stories and then do a magnum opus.... but asking people to read 12 minutes of your writing is quite a big ask in the first instance - you have to build trust in your readership first.

I know my readers will likely get through a 9 minute sassy argument piece because they've read the shorter pieces. As you calibrate, think about the sweet spot being between 3 and 5 minutes until you're over 1K followers, then hit 4 -6 for the next 2K, then start experimenting with occasional longer pieces and see if the reader rate drops away.

As you build your reputation, you can take your writers with you on longer journeys. That piece will have its time - so keep it up and be prepared to re-write it in a few years time. The trick is sticking around until then. :o)