42 Lessons I Learned After Publishing 42 Medium Stories in January

Wisdom from the trenches of a productive writer

I don’t necessarily think my way of publishing is the right way, but it’s my way. I can’t imagine writing a different way. I write a lot, because I’ve got a lot to say.

I like to get my message out in bulk.

Maybe I’m the Costco (a US warehouse-type, big box store) version of a scribe.

If I’ve got a superpower, it’s the ability to get my message on paper quickly. I pre-write my stories in my head, which helps, and somehow I can think and type at the same time.

My writing is far from perfect.

I’m not going for perfect. I like to help others.

If you caught me in person, I stumble for words, but on paper everything makes sense to me.

I’m a grinder.

I write through sheer willpower. I don’t have any special talents beyond the no-writer’s block thing, so I move my agenda forward by force instead.

Lat month I wrote 42 stories. It’s not my highest month, but I pushed a lot of content. Some people read it. And I learned a lot.

In a minute I’ll share what I learned, but before we get there, I want to make a statement about writing. There’s no right or wrong path. Every writer comes to her finish line a different way.

There’s no magic desk or pencil.

Where one template might work for you, it feels like pure hell for the next person. So, take what I say through your own experience. Maybe you get one tidbit from these 42 lessons. Maybe ten. Maybe nothing.

When you write a lot you earn the opportunity to amplify both your wins and failures.

Keep reading.

I’ve got both.

My 42 lessons of January

Each of my 42 stories taught me an important lesson about writing. Some took a few hours, some took less than 30 minutes.

My earnings aren’t great, due to my curation ban, but my tribe-building is better than ever. This is the process I use. For the long-game. It may not be the process for you.

Every story is different.

Here are 42 things I learned from those 42 stories:

1. Writing daily is easier than not writing daily. I rarely feel like writing.
2. You can publish too many stories in one day (there are diminishing returns from the Medium algorithm)
3. Stick to the niche. When I strayed a little from the core group of people I serves, both my email subscribes and my reads suffered.
4. Work harder on your Medium titles. I phoned-in quite a few of them and my reads suffered because of it.
5. Bulk isn’t always better. This goes with number 4. I could’ve earned the same money with fewer, more-deliberate stories. Although that isn’t my nature, so I’ll probably never learn that lesson fully.
6. Phones are handy. I used my phone a lot, to get stories started, or add the final touches and get them published.
7. Fans are fan-tastic. I spent a little more time answering comments. I go through phases where I don’t read many of them, then I do. When I do I appreciate the positive feedback. It helps me keep writing more.
8. Get aggressive so they get the message. I use a third of my stories to grow my email list. The more aggressive I am, the faster my list grows (but you must have the right free offer).
9. Take a day off. I’m a daily writer, but I don’t publish daily on Medium. Many weekends I take a day or two off. My publishing thumb likes the occasional break. I only started taking breaks once I made the habit of daily writing permanent, however.
10. Everything is lead-gen. Most of my stories point to building my tribe away from Medium. Those stories which aren’t tribe-building never do as well as the ones that are.
11. Speak from personal experience. I try to be self-deprecating as much as possible and spend less time talking down to readers. I’m still working on that. No one wants to be spoken-down to.
12. Get moving. I exercise daily. We think best when we’re moving and we’re at our least-creative when we’re stagnant behind a desk.
13. Write the next story. I don’t dwell on the bombs. I used to delete them. Now, I just move to the next one and hope it’s better received.
14. We’re not brain surgeons. I don’t take myself too seriously. This also goes with number 13.
15. Look at the data. I constantly reflect on my stats page, looking for clues to help give the next story a boost.
16. Write more of what readers want and less of what they don’t. See number 15.
17. You won’t please most people. Write for your tribe. The rest don’t count and neither do their opinions about your work.
18. Use the power of trolls for motivation instead of harm. I now look at comments differently than I used to.
19. Use comments for story ideas. Instead of providing long answers in the comments, I write a full story. This helps more than one person.
20. Use email questions for story ideas. I do this all the time. I get emails from readers every day. Instead of replying with a custom answer, I’ll reply with a link to their inspired story. I want every word to work harder for me. If I make a long response to one person, those words only worked one time.
21. Change your oil regularly. I like to alter my attack frequently. I might change my language, change my approach to a story, or change the design. This helps keep the writing fresh when you type thousands of words a day.
22. Write in the morning. I’m useless at bed. I’ve tried writing before bed for years and I accomplish nothing. Now I force myself to get the writing done when I’m at my peak creative state.
23. Flow is important, but not a must. This goes back to the phone-writing. Sometimes distracted writing forces you to write faster and more-concise. Like when I write while in line at the grocery store.
24. Curation matters a lot. I miss being curated. I earned a lot more partner money when I did. If all you have is your Medium income, don’t get banned from curation.
25. Medium is still small. Don’t forget. The other big social platforms dwarf Medium in size. As long as the site doesn’t fold, we’re still getting started here. This is a tremendous opportunity for writers willing to put in the time.
26. Reflect and pivot. I reflect on my progress a lot. I look for mistakes and I change course when I’m being stupid. At least I try to be less-stupid the following month. I don’t always succeed. I find this reflection best-accomplished in a bullet-type journal. Weekly, Quarterly. Yearly. And five-yearly (whatever that’s called).
27. The world isn’t that big. I’ve got readers in 83 countries now. Some of these countries are supposedly political enemies of the US. Every one of these people are amazing humans. We all want basically the same thing, and I’m trying harder to see everyone as human and less as ‘us versus them.’
28. Sticking to resolutions is important. This year is huge for my family. Instead of ignoring my writing resolutions on January 3rd, I’m getting after my goals like an animal this year and I won’t back down. 2019 wasn’t a good year for me. I will never repeat it.
29. You don’t have to get it right. You only have to keep writing. When you write daily you get so many more opportunities to fail-forward than you do when you write occasionally.
30. Most of the writing out there is terrible. Which means there are still plenty of opportunities at the top. A lot of my writing is terrible.
31. If you don’t let them out-work you, you’ll never lose your audience’s attention. There will always be new, hungry, upcoming writers. Most will fizzle because they can’t handle the pace. Out-work everyone.
32. Don’t lie to yourself about your capacity to produce. Start with small goals you can accomplish on a regular basis and ratchet them up slowly. The brain will fight against any large change you throw at it. It’s part of our evolutionary protection.
33. Word count isn’t that important. Longer stories don’t earn you more money. Engagement does. Write a story readers want to read and they’ll read it. You’ll get paid.
34. The day of the week you publish, matters. Most weeks I get my lowest engagement on Fridays (although not always). Don’t assume readers will drop on the weekends. For many, these are our catch-up days to read. I try to publish almost every day.
35. Break grammar rules a lot. It makes ultra-grammarians sassy (it’s always fun to make purists sassy), cements your writing style, and engages readers when you write more as you speak.
36. Fail-forward. I write fast. I write a lot. I make a ton of mistakes, but I try my best to make each mistake once. This way I figure I can get them all out of the way faster. But if I make the same mistake twice, shame on me.
37. Tell the others. You’ve got to promote your own writing. Medium won’t do it for you, even if you have a lot of followers. Successful writers aren’t afraid to pull the cord and toot their own horns.
38. You are not your writing. You are a writer. You’re also a bunch of other stuff. Allow your writing to be judged independently of you as a person. I’ll save you a ton of disappointment when you get a scathing comment or fifty. Writing is a thing. You’re not a thing… unless you are, which is also cool.
39. There are more good people on Medium than other sites. This is why I’m all-in on Medium. I like to build a tribe of great people instead of mediocre people from one of those other sites. I have no facts to back this up, but it’s true.
40. The only thing consistent on Medium is inconsistency. I don’t depend on Medium for a steady income. I understand I could lose it all next month. Which is why I build my list so aggressively.
41. Making money while I sleep is awesome. Every writer can benefit from an automated sales process, a small course, and an email welcome sequence that builds great relationships with their best fans.
42. Email, email, email. Adding a call-to-action to every story has grown my email list and earned me a ton of money from my stories — completely outside the partner program earnings.

Build. Your. Tribe.

There’s no better time to build your tribe than before you need them. Once you realize you need an audience it’s too late.

You’ll seem desperate.

You’ll be stuck behind the cue ball.

List-building takes time.

If you’re a commercial writer on Medium, you need a list. Period. When you have an email list, you can sell your work automatically, while you sleep.

This gives you more time to practice your best work, while spending less time on Marketing.

…and I’ve got just the thing for you.

I hand-crafted (with my own hands) a free, 7-day, email masterclass called the Tribe 1K. I’ll show you how to get your first 1,000 (or your next 1,000) readers without spending a hot nickel on ads.

Whether you write five stories per day, or five per month, email is your insurance policy against invisibility.

Tap the link.

Guarantee your seat.

Past students include New York Times bestselling authors.

We’re waiting for you.

Enroll in my Email Masterclass. Get Your First 1,000 Subscribers

August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. As a self-appointed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indies how to make work that sells and how to sell more of that work once it’s created. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing, August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.