10 lessons from my first 100 days on Medium

9. Be honest with your work

100 days of writing consistently on Medium! Wow! You gotta be kidding me!

A decision, which I took three months and ten days ago, has turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I know, what you guys are thinking but believe me, I’m not exaggerating. Not at all.

Yeah, it feels like that I’m making a big deal out of it and acting like I’ve free-soloed El-Capitan or have conquered something. Well, the truth is, it certainly is a big deal for me. Obviously, you guys don’t feel the same as a lot of you have been on this platform for several years and in that context, three months and ten days are nothing. However, for me, it’s a lot.

To put things in perspective, before starting on Medium, I had never been a consistent writer. Even worse, I had never been a writer in the truest sense of the term before sharing my work on this platform.

Thus, when I started on Medium, I even put ‘aspiring’ in my bio to save myself from expectations and to ‘play safe’. Luckily, it didn’t take me long to realize that there is no such thing as an ‘aspiring writer’, either you’re a writer or you’re not; there is no in-between. And that was the moment that I decided to pull the trigger.

However, that’s not how it all started. So, let me give you guys a little flashback!

On the 12th of March, I wrote a piece and put it on my blog. I thought that this piece would get me views and it would be my first taste of success vis-a-vis writing. However, all it managed was about 50 some views.

So, I searched for ways to share it on different platforms so that it could get more eyes. As I was trying to savor my hunger for views, I got this idea to share it on Medium. I knew about Medium but I had never tried it. So, I made an account and used the ‘Import Story’ option to share my piece. This time, it didn’t even get a single view.

Confession time: The first view, that particular piece got on Medium was my own as I logged in from a different account and viewed that article.

Now, like every other frustrated writer, I had two options. Either to quit or keep working and improving my content so that it could get all the recognition, which I wanted.

Fortunately, I chose the latter.

Did I get as many views as I longed for? No, I didn’t. However, Medium gave me the opportunity to write, improve, and share my writings with others and helped me in getting the deserved recognition. And that’s why I’m writing this piece to show my gratitude and give back to this great community.

Now, there are thousands of writers on Medium — maybe millions — who are earning more than me and are getting more views than me. And to be honest, I’ve no problem with that.

However, the thing that makes me happy and proud is the fact that this 100-day journey on Medium transformed me from an ‘aspiring writer’ into a consistent and passionate writer.

I have already talked about all these things in detail in the following two pieces so, you can check them out as well.

Also, I don’t want to bore you guys with my Ted-Talk so, let’s jump into the things that you guys are looking for.

Stats and Earnings:

In the last 100 days on Medium, I have written 77 articles and through my pieces and responses, I’ve reached more than 8300 people as you can see from the following figure. Additionally, out of these 8300 people, 69% of the readers have liked my work and appreciated it as well.

Furthermore, from these 77 pieces, I have made about 34.78$ in total, averaging 0.44$ a piece. Again, for most of you, it’s nothing but for me, that’s a whole lot of money.

Achievements:

During my 100 days on Medium, there are a number of things, which I would like to mention as an achievement.

First off, I got Top Writer in Movies, and being a movie-geek and self-proclaimed movie critic, it was the ultimate recognition for me on this platform.

Also, the following two stories, related to movies and TV series ot curated in different topics. So, it also felt great.

Moreover, the following poem got curated in Poetry and it made me happy to such an extent that I can’t express. Interestingly, I had not tried poetry before starting on Medium so, to be able to finally get to the point, where Meidum curators felt that my work deserved recognition, it certainly felt like an achievement.

So, can my 100 days on Medium be categorized as a success, based on these stats and earning figures? Well, I’m leaving it to you because that’s a subjective conclusion.

Now, stats, earnings, and all such things are out of the way, let’s discuss what I’ve learned from these 100 days on Medium.

1. You’re not a celebrated writer so, don’t act like one

I don’t know why but most of the people, who start on Medium or any other platform, think that they don’t need to put hours to improve their work. They think of themselves as celebrated writers/content creators with no need to improve their content. As a result, they end up producing poor quality work and ultimately don’t get the recognition, they want.

For instance, when I wrote my first few pieces on Medium, I didn’t get much traction. I was confident that my work deserved more views and more recognition. But in reality, it didn’t.

It took me some time to realize but I finally got this that without improving the quality of my work, I would not get where I wanted to be. And that’s one of the most important things that I’ve learned from writing on Medium that irrespective of what you feel, you need to put hours and commit yourself to improve your work so that you can get the love and admiration, that you want.

2. Forget your niche: Experiment with your content

It’s an unpopular opinion but I don’t believe in sticking to one niche and limiting yourself. Especially if you’re a new writer, you don’t need to worry about your area of expertise, rather you need to experiment with your content to get a better sense of what you’re good at.

I mean, during my first 100 days on Medium, I have penned down my thoughts on an eclectic mix of topics including sports, TV, psychology, philosophy, and history. Moreover, I have also experimented a lot with different genres of writing and have tried poetry, micro-fiction, and short essays.

So, I would suggest you forget your niches and your target audience. Rather, give yourself the freedom to experiment and try different things.

3. Start contributing: Publications are looking for you

I have already emphasized it a lot in a number of articles but I think, it is needed to be said again.

You need to submit your work to publications because without publishing your work in publications, you cannot achieve the desired results.

So far, I have submitted my pieces in about 7–8 publications including Illumination, Live Your Life on Purpose, House of Haiku, and Epilogue. And these publications have surely helped me in reaching a greater audience.

Furthermore, I have also started my own publications, Sportsseeds, and Midnight Thoughts.

Shameless plug: Midnight Thoughts is looking for writers so, feel free to join this community of great poets and authors.

Once your work gets published in a publication, you will see the improvement in your stats, etc. So, don’t hesitate from submitting your work to publications.

4. Don’t hesitate: Share your work as much as you can

I hate to break it to you but believe me, your work will not get eyes automatically; you have to share your work with others so that it can be read and appreciated.

Also, don’t shy away from sharing your work in Facebook groups i.e Medium Mastery, Medium Magic, Medium Writers, etc. These groups consist of Medium writers, just like you, and if not much, these groups will certainly help you in getting more eyes for your content. So, keep sharing your content in these groups.

Furthermore, use Instagram and Snapchat to your advantage and let your friends know that you’re producing worth-reading content on Medium.

5. Stop: Looking at your stats every 10 seconds will not help you

‘Stop checking your stats every ten seconds!’ That’s from my inner being, who is actually tired of spending most of the time, checking stats, and deducting useless theories.

Looking at your stats will not help you because it is one of the most depressing and unhealthy activity and we need to save ourselves from it.

So, if you are going through the same issue, don’t worry. I have a solution for that. Instead of looking at your stats every ten seconds, start writing more content. Save all that time and use it for reading and writing more content.

Moreover, your stats don’t reflect your performance. It is quite often that the quality of your work and your stats don’t correlate. There are a number of variables, which play their part in finding more eyes for your content.

Thus, stop checking your stats. Just focus on writing quality content.

6. Don’t worry: You’ll get curated

Man! This curation jail is a real thing. Believe it or not, once you’re in this curation jail, nothing makes sense.

I mean, when I got to know about this curation thing, I used to check after every couple of minutes that whether my piece had been curated or not.

Nonetheless, after spending some time in this quagmire of curation, I realized that it wasn’t worthy of time. So, I stopped giving it attention and it benefitted me.

Also, if you’re writing quality work then — sooner or later — you’ll get curated. Believe me.

So, stop looking for curation and put all your energies in making better content, your articles will get curated, if not today then tomorrow. It is just a matter of time.

7. Consume quality content to produce quality work

The best thing about Medium is that it provides you with a variety of content and makes it easy for you to consume great content by either featuring pieces in Editor’s Pick or by distributing them in different topics.

Being arguably the greatest writing platform, Medium is the perfect place for you to read quality work and to learn from great writers.

So, instead of wasting your time on all these pieces ‘How to earn more’, ’10 steps to get more audience’, spend your time reading pieces, which can help you in improving your writing, enhancing your knowledge, and can benefit you in becoming a better writer.

Just focus on improving yourself as a writer and consume quality work, which can help you in this regard.

8. Seek the highest

If you have the faith that you’re a great writer and you’re committed enough to learn and improve your writing, believe me, Medium is the best place for you to excel.

Medium provides you with an opportunity to learn from your favorite writers and then try to replicate their quality.

Thus, seek the highest. Don’t ever think that you can’t write like your favorite writer. Respect and admiration aside, if you’re not writing with the mindset that you’re not going be as great as your idols, you will end up limiting yourself.

9. Be honest with your work

If you’re not honest with your work, you can’t achieve great heights. It’s as simple as it gets.

For a few days, forget that this ‘stat’ thing even exists. Forget that you can earn money from Medium. Write for yourself. Try to use Medium as an expressive outlet. Do it and, if not many folds, your work will show tremendous improvement.

Don’t write for the sake of writing. Write for the sake of educating yourself and your readers. Be honest with your writing.

Don’t write because you want to have views or you want to earn money, write with the purpose of imparting knowledge to others, and inspiring them to write better content.

10. Listen: Create to inspire and empower others

I would like to end this piece with this particular lesson that the objective of our writing should always be to inspire and empower others.

Although I learned this from my favorite YouTuber, Casey Neistat, yet by writing on Medium consistently, I actually got the chance to implement it.

According to Casey, content-creation is a three-tier process, it starts with creating something and ends with empowering or enabling others.

Now, writing on Medium also falls under the category of content creation and the same process applies to it as well.

The question is how a writer can inspire and empower others. Well, the easiest way to do that is to provide your readers with research-based, unbiased, and worth-reading pieces of writing.

Every writer should have this objective to inspire and empower the readers to get rid of their shackles and test their limits. Because unless your writing is motivating others to get out of their comfort zone and create something of their own, your content is not providing any value to your reader. Thus, write to inspire and empower others.

To conclude, in the last 100 days, I’ve learned countless things and have gotten the opportunity to explore both my self and the world around me through this sacred hobby of writing. Additionally, this 100-day journey has not only added value in my life but it has also expedited my evolution both as a person and as a professional. Therefore, I am excited and ready to explore further and to learn more.

Looking forward to many more years of writing on Medium.

Acknowledgments:

I want to take this moment and thank everyone, who supported me on this platform through their encouraging words and their never-ending support. Especially, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Chirag, and Kevin Buddaeus. Thank you all!

Out of 77, my personal favorite pieces: