@oldcatawba
The antenna will perform better for DX as a vertical. As above, have the coax come away from the wire at 90 degrees for as long as possible. Additionally, pull the antenna up so the bottom element is off the ground. Ideally, by 8-10 feet but anything will help, the ends of the dipole are high voltage points so it is best to have those away from the ground and people.
As an alternative, build or buy one of the End Fed antennas, where the coax matching unit attaches to the end of the wire. Then the antenna can be in vertical polarization and the coax can come off the bottom or the top. hth
73,
Rob