30 in 30 Challenge Update

Some Wins and Losses

I decided to try the 30 in thirty challenge in June. It was one part a huge success and one part a huge failure. I published 17 articles in thirty days. Not thirty. The goal was thirty. But, I’m not too stressed about it. Every day that I write an article is another chance to attempt 30 articles in 30 days.

The month prior I published 28 in 30 and I wasn’t even trying to hit 30 in 30. So I wonder if the pressure of the challenge worked against me? Sometimes a big goal can be a deterrent. I’m not sure. What I am certain of is that the30 in 30 challenge month was emotionally stressful. So that may have impacted my ability to write What I also know changed is that I stopped trying to come up with ten ideas every morning. I need to restart that habit and see if it helps spark my writing creativity each day. I think the ten article idea is probably a great way to help keep articles flowing.

The good? The good is I wrote 17 articles. Right off the bat, two articles were curated under mental health. I was on a dry spell for curation. Two back to back felt pretty great. Though I’ve never wanted to be a niche writer, writing about mental health seems to work well for me. I think having two curated in a row, really helped my income. It quadrupled for the month even though I did not hit my goa My Medium income quadrupled and it still will not fill my gas tank. I have not hit my Medium goal for replacing my newspaper reporter income. This goal was created when I faced a Covid-19 layoff. I was not sure my small-town paper would survive. So I set a monetary goal for myself. My newspaper income is small, not a livable income, so I felt like it was attainable here. I knew from reading many, “how to earn income articles,” that it may take forever to reach. But I knew if I kept plugging away at it, eventually, I would get there. I’m not there. I’m not even close. But I’m showing improvement. So, if I’m persistent, I know I’ll make it.

I did have another win from writing on Medium. I was offered a freelance job. I received a freelance payment for writing a press release. I’m also working on submitting pitches on the topic to magazines. Hopefully, within a month or two, I’ll have landed the opportunity to write an article for a magazine. Even though it’s not income directly from Medium, it’s income from my effort here. And one article per month, plus my income from Medium will be very close to replacing my newspaper reporter income. My newspaper job is back. It’s not urgent that I replace it, but who doesn’t want to earn more money? I have big financial goals I want to achieve in life so, I’m just going to keep trying. Why not?

All in all, I fell short of 30 in 30. But I quadrupled my Medium income (actual dollars not change) I had two articles curated during the challenge and I landed a freelance job. So My 30 in 30 challenge was somewhat a success. I see forward momentum as a positive so I’m happy. I planned on grinding it out here like I do in an endurance race. I never expect to place. My goal is to finish. Slow and steady. I’ll get there. One day, if I’ wobbling and stumbling in front of the finish line, I will get there. When I do, I’m celebrating with everyone here who has witnessed my painfully slow progress.