15 Reasons Why I Am Taking a Sabbatical From Medium*

• *15 more or less — because my life has become unmanageable, and I am powerless over writing.

Today is March 10. My last article was published on February 28, and my next one won’t be posted until after April 15.

So, for at least six weeks, I am on hiatus from this clusterfuck.

Oh, I’m sure I’ll do some writing. But it is not going to be at the expense of everything else in my life.

I have said this before, and I’ll say it again: there are too many articles about Medium on Medium. And here I am writing another one.

I always thought we were here to write stories of interest to the general public, the external subscribers to Medium.

But many writers are solely here to write stories about Medium targeted to Medium writers — like this one.

How can we grow our subscription base if this is what writers do?

Often, these articles are met with great success and earn a lot of money for their authors.

But is this writing?

Since I’m tired of seeing stories about what I should be doing from the know-it-alls, particularly those of you who have been on the platform less than three months, I’m walking away for the time being. You’re making all of the money that real writers should be making. But we’re reading them, so…

I rarely have time to read and react to others’ writing, so I plan to do that during this period.

One piece of advice I’ve read is that you should write in bullet points for better readability. I thought that was more for corporate writing, but if that’s what you say, that’s how I’ll write. The return of the listicle!

Now, I have to end this so that I can get ready for my part-time gig job, which was going to be Medium.

Please don’t leave; I’ll BRB in three or four hours!

Reasons Why I’m Taking A Sabbatical

1. Unlike many on Medium who write for the pure joy of writing, I need the money. Given my financial liabilities, Medium is getting me nowhere near my goals. There was a time when it did. But don’t get me wrong — I still love to write.
2. There have been no boosts. Some of it may be my subject matter as of late, and some may be because some of the publications I write for don’t Boost. Maybe I need to improve my writing skills.
3. Now that we have “Friends of Medium,” go back to the old curation method where we all had a fighting chance of being distributed. This way we’ll make more money. (Or is the point to keep us from making more money?)
4. Lack of views and reads. Since “curation” ended, most of my stories go nowhere. I used to have views in the five figures. Now it’s three if I’m lucky.
5. There are too many meta-Medium articles (like this!)... While there may be some standard processes for success, we are all individual writers and speak a different language. Why write if you’re going to sound like everyone else? Hello AI!
6. With meta-Medium articles, it’s the same thing over and over. In a previous rant, I suggested that these articles have their own place on Medium and not in the main feed. How often do I have to say that the public does not want to read about our bickering and how-to’s?
7. The algorithm extinguishes stories that don’t immediately take off. Stories have no chance if they’re not distributed.
8. The playing field is not level. Those who self-publish can publish as many stories as they want every day. Most publications have a one-story-a-day cap, and some have more. But editors and publication owners seem able to do whatever they want. This activity dilutes the pool of money. (At the same time, given that they get little to no remuneration for their jobs, I respect them.)
9. If Medium writers are going to recycle their material, they should do a better job of disguising it. Remember, some of us have been here for five years or longer. Most readers will remember a story you posted two years ago. I read a story the other day that was nearly identical to the original. That shouldn’t be happening.
10. It seems like the “Stats” page used to have a lot more on it. Or at least we had more raw data and could do the math ourselves.
11. Analogous to many other aspects of life, 80% of your responses come from 20% of your followers. You can’t possibly foster strong relationships if your follower numbers are in the thousands. Follow-for-follow is hogwash. Write good material, and the followers will…follow!
12. In addition to the meta-Medium articles where the reader whines (like me), some think that after being on the forum for three months, they’ve unlocked the key to the universe. Just don’t. Three months does not constitute a test run on Medium. Don’t look back until you’ve been on for a year. Anything can happen in a day around here.

I think I’ll stop at a dozen. You get my drift. If life isn’t fair, Medium is less fair. It’s subjective, which is hard to influence. I wouldn’t say it’s formulaic, as there are some exceptions, but most of the articles that get boosted seem to have something to do with technology or self-help. The former is not a good niche where you can spill your guts (unless your computer just crashed). While self-help books are a dime a dozen, I can see the merit in many self-help articles. But I can’t write them, as I’m the one who usually needs help. Personal essays don’t seem to capture as many Boosts.

15 Things I Will Do Instead of Writing Medium Articles

• Taxes. The less money you make, the harder it is to do taxes. A little income comes from a lot of sources. Why do they even bother to tax people who make less than $30,000 a year? This return is going to be a nightmare. There are so many 1099’s with letters that follow.
• I’ll hike the mountains at our doorstep and take day trips in this beautiful state.
• I’ve lost friends since being on Medium. I will see what I can rekindle and where I can make new ones. I’m also still single because all I ever do is writing-related.
• Declutter my office, because a cluttered mind can’t write well. Stacks and stacks of files and paper need to be trashed. I don’t need my divorce papers from 1998. She can’t get me anymore because, unfortunately, she passed last year.
• It’s time to plan my garden and get as much planted as possible by April 15.
• Finally, I’ll join the gym down the street. Since my Medicare plan pays for it, why am I not going already?
• I will take the time to plan healthy meals and eat well. I don’t eat fast food, just a lot of processed foods and sweets. Now, why have I saved all of those recipes?

I nearly lost myself in Medium. I cannot let that happen again. There has to be a balance.

• I will read the books and magazines that have been piling up. Perhaps I will find some inspiration there, even though I have started about seventy-five manuscripts.
• Rather than working from monthly budgets, I’ll plan quarterly budgets, where I’ll see more progress in paying off my bills.
• Engage in activities that might lead me to a significant other. I always say I will do this or that, but I never do it because of the pressure to write.
• I’ll increase my visits to my mom, who lives 500 miles away, to once a month. She’s 92 and has many issues. Next up: I plan to drive her to see the total solar eclipse near where she lives.
• I purchased a new bookcase from Amazon two years ago that still needs to be assembled. Why haven’t I done it? Because of writing.
• Clean my oven and scour the bathtub.
• One of my favorite activities is trip planning. I doubt I will take a substantive vacation this year, as this year is all about catching up financially, but I love to dream about the places I will go.
• I will also research the local media landscape for opportunities to write about the city where I live. Print media is dying but not dead. I’d love to be a columnist.
• And believe it or not, I’ll probably read some of those stories on becoming a better writer. I know I can be better.

Maybe something will have changed in six weeks. I really hope this will be a permanent gig, but if it’s not paying off, I have no choice but to move on.

See ya after tax day!

More from Arthur Keith:

Author’s Note: The following story was published in 2022. She did not win the Oscar, but tonight, she is up for her 15th nomination for “Flamin’ Hot” from the motion picture The Fire Inside. And she did not win. Again.

Author’s Note: I have a 300-story back catalog of articles dealing with subjects I like to write about, and there’s a piece of me in each one. I hope you’ll find something that piques your interest. Subjects include aviation, music, geography, gardening, pop culture, LGBTQ culture, The Colorado River, The Southwest, the Megadrought, and my late son. It’s worth $5/month or $50/year to read stories from all the great writers on Medium.com. Consider it like your own feature magazine!