3 Things I learned after 6 months of Writing on Medium
Chasing the bag can crush your motivation to write
1. You need to have realistic expectations
It is very unlikely you will be able to quit your job and live off Medium earnings. Straight away that is anyway. And you may find that in the early stages, most of your articles will get a small viewership. This can be disheartening and may cause you to question whether it is worth it or not.
It is important to remember why you started and not get disengaged when that sweet moolah isn't rolling in and flowing like tap water.
2. Writing to make money causes you to write like everyone else, losing your identity as a writer
Writing about writing and making money online has actually made me not want to write anymore. I have fallen into the trap like 90% of other writers on Medium writing about writing. Hell, even this post is.
This catches most of us out sadly. Selling your soul to chase that bag and then not even getting that big of a bag has killed many keen writers over the years.
The ‘make money online’ and ‘how much I made writing this month’ articles tend to get some interest, but they don't make you enough money to make it worth it. In fact, the adverse effect of this is it crushed my desire to write.
Originally, I came on here to write about my experience in the corporate world, a few life lessons, and most importantly tongue-in-cheek satire pieces that I found funny. I have found that the last category is the only writing I actually enjoy.
Have even had people say I should only write these sorts of posts — and they are right!
Sadly, I have sold out, for not even much money! A few hundred bucks if that. I need to go back to writing about what I enjoy, even if it doesn’t pay me. Coz one day it might, and I will feel much better about it.
3. Some posts that you think were pretty rubbish can do better than you expected
I have found that certain pieces I didn't think were very good and nearly didn't post actually did quite well. It goes to show that you should not spend time writing one post and making it perfect. The trouble is, they say that quality is better than quantity. That is not necessarily the case on Medium.
I think once you are an established writer with a big following, you can spend time posting a few times a month and really make them deep and meaningful pieces.
For those just starting out, I think it is good to use each post as an experiment to see what tends to resonate with people the most. Just avoid writing about writing as it will make you lose interest in writing.
All in all 6 months of writing here (I took the whole of December off, so kinda) has been a worthwhile journey and one I have learned important lessons from.
Don't seek to be perfect, have realistic expectations, and don't chase the money as it will crush your interest in writing.
