10 Reasons Why it Makes Sense to Write on Medium

#2 and #3 are my favorite.

I am writing for over half a year on Medium now, I am and slowly becoming aware of the reasons why I like sharing my writing here.

Every writer on Medium has her or his own reasons, and some might be common for many, others might be unique for each of us.

Here are mine. A note: these might not be all that are true for me, but at least those I can think of now. And another note: I tried to put them in some order, but they are not in the order of importance. They are all hugely important to me. And I will guess I am not alone in this feeling.

1. Finding or reconfirming one’s niche and interests

I started writing on Medium one day after a consultant for entrepreneurs in Aalborg asked me the following question, “Have you thought of writing on Medium?” He asked me that because he saw that I already had a considerable amount of content (mainly in the form of books), which could help me establish myself as a writer and find an audience on Medium.

So I came already with a topic, and it was Self-Gamification, an approach I defined to grasp how we can turn life into fun games.

Following the advice and example of many successful writers, I started writing on several different topics, including those that didn’t have to do with Self-Gamification. But I often found myself going back to writing about turning various projects, activities, and life, in general, into fun games. That is reflected by the fact that I was a top writer in Books only briefly, but I still hold this title for Gaming and Ideas, which I got as early as the first full month of my writing on Medium.

Writing and publishing on Medium helped me see that clearly. And looking into my notes with ideas for stories to share here show that those on other topics often remain untouched, when those related to a gameful approach to anything get written and published.

Thus, writing here can help reveal your interests as well as your target audience because it will be them, who’ll be reading, applauding, highlighting, and commenting on your story.

2. A game platform and game creation system

I have written a story on that aspect already, so I won’t take too much of your time to discuss this here again. I will just say a few words below.

But here is the whole story:

While turning life into fun games, I discover again and again how many parallels there are between games and real-life projects and activities, especially because when you look at the main components of each, you will find that they are the same.

Contemplating a little further helped me realize that Medium wasn’t a single game, but an entire game platform because you can write here for yourself (publishing it under your name/on your profile), for your publication, an external one, or one of those owned by Medium, and you can also aim for your articles be distributed to a wider audience than solely to your followers.

Besides, just like Roblox, Medium is also a game creation system. Each writer on Medium plays their writing game differently. Some write and publish frequently (every day or even several times a day), others only a few times a week or even a month.

Some write short articles (there are even publications requiring short pieces), others write ten-minute and longer stories. And some try both of these options and anything in between. Choosing topics to write and how your writing voice sounds, are also the aspects of your very personal game on Medium.

And last but not least, and probably the most important, you can (and should) adjust the design of your “Writing on Medium” game continually, or at least regularly. That would ensure that you, as the designer of your life’s games (including the bit of it on Medium), satisfy the wishes and the needs of your player, yourself.

For example, I generally tried to post or submit five articles every week. There were weeks in which I published more and in others less. Trying to keep this rule rigid and put the pressure on me (which I did and do sometimes, but fortunately stop when I become aware of it) prevents that I enjoy this writing game. For the article you are reading now, I took more than one day to finish, which will probably result in less than five pieces this week since I combined the writing of this story with several other things I wanted and needed to do.

3. Stepping out of the “writer’s loneliness”

Many writers perceive writing as a lonely job, even if, in truth, it never is. It is more like playing a game in a single-player mode when it also has the multiplayer one.

Medium doesn’t really have a single-player mode. At least not after you have published your piece or submitted it to a publication different from yours.

I joined Medium in the middle of the social isolation era of the COVID-19 pandemic. I started missing my friends from the local writers club. Somehow, none of us felt enticed to have or organize online meetings.

Medium felt for me right from the start as such an online club. I have never been a member of such a big and agile writers’ community before.

At the end of every day, I now feel like I communicated with my colleagues and friends through reading other people’s writing (which feels like they are talking to me), commenting on their stories, writing new stories myself (= talking to my readers), smiling at the claps, feeling grateful while seeing in the stats that people read my stories, enjoying reading the highlighted bits, and responding to those who commented on my posts. Such an interaction is highly social, even if most of it occurs through a screen and a keyboard.

4. Gathering material for a future book

In June, I published my fifth book this year and seventeenth in total. I already had a couple of projects, which I started, but I wasn’t quite sure which to pursue next. Then somewhere in August, I noticed that I kept writing on one particular topic: the subconscious mind and its gameful and playful nature.

A little later, I realized that I wanted to compile a book out of this material. I restructured, revised, and partially rewrote the stories I published on Medium. While I was working on the book, I discovered the missing bits of the puzzle that my book made, wrote those, and published them on Medium. Writing this book was a beautiful adventure.

If you are curious, this book's working title, is Gameful Mind: Solve the Puzzle of Your Enigmatic Subconscious. The book is now being professionally edited. This book’s adventure felt like solving a puzzle, so adding the word “puzzle” into its subtitle felt appropriate.

5. Making progress on a book’s manuscript

The more we want something, the bigger the fear of both failure and success, and what either of them might mean.

Overwhelming fear might be one of the reasons for the existence of many great but unfinished manuscripts. I learned that sharing my writing even before the first version of my manuscript is done is not only not bad but it, in fact, can even help me finishing writing the book.

It happened to me with my first book when I sent it to my niece and a friend chapter by chapter in multiple versions until the story was told.

Then a few years later, I blogged a book posting a chapter each week. Since then, I did it for several books on my blog.

And recently, as I mentioned above, I finished revising the book Gameful Mind, which (you could say) I blogged on Medium.

I had much more feedback on this book's content on Medium than I had for my other books on my blog.

There might be many reasons for that. One of these may be that readers on Medium come with the mindset to search for great content on what interests them. In other words, they search for stories that pique their interest. When people search on the internet in general, they come with many different mindsets, often searching for specific information, frequently leaving your content unseen.

There is a bigger probability that you can find your target audience on Medium than on the World Wide Web unless you have a big audience already on the latter, which can then grow through word of mouth.

And this is where we come to the next reason why Medium is brilliant for authors.

6. (Indirectly) crowdfunding your book

You probably have heard of crowdfunding. Many authors use this approach to make their book projects a reality. After hearing about many brilliant and successful crowdfunding book campaigns, I tried this technique for one of my books. I didn’t manage to reach this campaign's target, but I did finish and publish the book afterward.

The work on this campaign helped me kick off writing my book and figuring out step by step what those who supported me and I wanted. A sense of happy obligation to put out content for my followers kept me going.

Medium generates this feeling of happy obligation innately, and you get paid for your efforts. So, in a way, you crowdfund the book you blog here on Medium. And you do it without having to search or convince people to join in your book’s campaign because they already pay for their membership here. Of course, it is different if the reader is not a Medium member, but they might quickly become members if they can’t wait to read more of what you do.

7. Make published books more visible

This one was a personal epiphany. Full disclosure: I have written and self-published eighteen books so far, and they don’t earn me a living yet. Some of these books don’t sell currently at all, and I have some days in a row with zero sales. Sometimes, things look more cheerful, and there are multiple sales on the same day and more in a week.

Shortly before I started to write on Medium, I stopped using paid marketing on Amazon because I was paying more than earning from it.

But something interesting happened while I was writing here on Medium. My book sales didn’t drop entirely to zero as I expected after stopping the paid marketing. Once in a while, there was a book sale or two. Then I noticed a pattern. Shortly after publishing a story on Medium with an excerpt from one of my books, there was a book sale.

It didn’t happen every time I shared excerpts from my books, but the pattern was certainly there. Plus, some of the readers, who follow my work on Medium, let me know in written conversation that they bought one or more of my books and/or subscribed to my mailing list.

That is amazing and a double-win for me as an author, as I hope it is for the readers.

I enjoy combining writing new stories that may result in a new book and sharing the books I wrote and published previously.

8. Getting feedback on your work

I must say, I was scared of getting feedback on Medium. I wanted it, very much so, but I fretted it. But so far, the only thing I can say is that I am hugely grateful for it and couldn’t wish for more support and encouragement from my fellow writers and readers. I also love the widely shared readiness among writers on Medium to reciprocate the support.

Through acting upon the encouragement by those who are successful here to return and give the gift of being cheered and supported further, I discovered many talented and inspiring authors and helpful resources in my work as a writer and entrepreneur.

9. Getting reassurance that you can earn money with your writing

I like reading articles about other people’s experiences on Medium. And many writers report the following feeling. It is undeniably gratifying to see that you get paid for your writing — however little. Especially when the amount on your Medium Partner Program page in the first month of your writing on Medium is different from zero.

In the consequent months, your “insatiable mind” (Credits for the term: Ariel & Shya Kane) will try to convince you that it is not enough, that others earn much more, or that nothing of what you write is of value.

When that happens (and it will), remind yourself of how you felt at that first moment you saw that you earn something with your writing. And then also bring to mind that your income on Medium is multidimensional. Besides money, you “earn” followers, views, reads, applause, feedback in the form of highlights and responses, subscribers for your mailing list, and you gain experience.

Another great thing (and this goes back to the item of crowdfunding) is that you don’t need to go and ask people to support you or pay before they get to your content. Your stories speak here for themselves. They catch the reader's attention with a compelling headline and picture and keep them involved as long as they enjoy it. And that can happen many times and also long after you have written and published those pieces.

Along with views, reads, claps, highlights, and responses, every cent you get testifies that you bring value to others and maybe even make their day.

10. Buying the lottery tickets in the ”writing viral content” and ”earning money online” lotteries

I often quote Ariel and Shya Kane — my dear friends and favorite writers on the living in the moment. Many of their ideas, phrases (like the one above), and analogies are simply amazing. Among their own beautiful pearls of wisdom, they quote different stories and anecdotes in their work as well, and I learned many great ideas and ancient jewels of wisdom from them.

In at least one of their books, they make a parallel between playing a lottery and how we engage in life. Before making the parallel, they told an anecdote, which I also discovered being told by Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love:

“There’s a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, ‘Dear saint — please, please, please…give me the grace to win the lottery.’ This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, ‘My son — please, please, please…buy a ticket.’”

Also, in life, we need to do something to play the game. Here on Medium, our lottery tickets are the stories we write and publish. But it is important to remember not to expect each article to bring a ton of views and money because,

“When you buy a lottery ticket, you don’t expect to win the pot each time. The important thing is playing the game.”

— Ariel and Shya Kane, How to Have A Match Made in Heaven: A Transformational Approach to Dating, Relating, and Marriage

Words in conclusion

You might come up with your own reasons why you write on Medium, and you probably should. It’s worthwhile to become aware of those reasons, and that each of us designs and plays our own very personal game, whatever this game might be.

I am glad I joined this amazing community on Medium, and I am looking forward to discovering what else is possible here.

Let’s enjoy the game!

Thank you for reading!

If you liked this article and the ones I referred to above, then you might also enjoy this one:

P.S. To stay in touch and keep updated on the possibilities of turning life into fun games offers, join my e-mail list, Optimist Writer.