8 Simple Ways to Survive as a New Writer in the Medium

How do you find the strength to keep writing

I know Medium is full of thousands of stories like this. But since everyone has a different story and path, and I decided to, I wrote my story.

It’s been 4 months since I joined the medium partner program. During these 3 months, I wrote 12 articles and earned about $19. I could write more. But first, I understood the process. And not that easy to get rid of my perfectionist character.

Honestly, in the first two months, I had a hard time because English was not my native language. And understanding the functioning of this platform and getting into publications was much more complicated than writing. I am not new to writing like other writers. I’ve been writing for years. But I started all over again.

When I entered Medium, my first goal was to create a rewriting perspective for myself. So, I examined the formats of the articles of the most-read publications.

I am adding to 7 significant publications as an author. But mostly, I keep being rejected. This situation was painful at first. Getting rejected now helps me to write better.

If I hadn’t gotten the first rejection, I wouldn’t have improved. After I rearranged my article and sent it to another publication, my writing received curation. I only had 3 articles when I experienced this.

Then I want to write what I learned in my 4-month sped up adventure in the Medium.

1- Learn to make peace with rejection

I know this feeling is not something we can handle easily. It wasn’t for me either. After graduation, I continued to write articles in my native language. And wherever I applied, my articles accept and published. So I had no experience of being rejected.

It was like that until I entered the Medium.

I’ve experienced being rejected many times on Medium. It was very uncomfortable at first. I constantly looked through the articles I wrote and tried to find where I went wrong. Sometimes I felt I was not a talented writer and even fooled myself.

But no matter how well I write, the problem was not in my writing. I realized this again in the middle of a night when a rejection shook me. My article didn’t meet the conditions the editor wanted. But it could have been in line with another publication’s policy.

Every time they rejected my articles, I learned:

When my writing rejects, I can look at the editor’s note and go back to the article and have time to edit it, which shows me where I went wrong.
I can catch new perspectives in every article I write.
Being rejected does not mean that the article is incomplete or garbage. It is to ask what else this article needs.
Keep writing even if you reject it. You cannot expect success in 1 day.
The way to write well in the Medium is to fail. The more you get rejected, the better you work to be.

2- Curation is important but not essential

The first articles I came across on this platform were about curating. And that scared me a little. Because you know that get curated does not depend on a specific rule.

I think that’s precisely what makes the medium unusual — being unpredictable. While writing on this platform, it is necessary to be open to all kinds of surprises.

Anything can happen. Your story can go viral; the rules may change; you can increase your monthly income. All this will happen if you understand Medium’s language.

I remember thinking about curation all night. I asked myself, would you like to continue even if you’ve never gotten curation mail?

My inner voice replied, yes. I write because I love to write. And inspiration only helps me when I don’t have high expectations from what I’m writing. Your goal should be to create transparent and beneficial writing. Because when you do these, the rewards will come automatically.

3- Read the publications’ expectations well

If your goal is to dig deep and publish in influential publications from the beginning, the place you should check out is the publications’ submission guides.

Each publication has a submission page where it publishes expectations from new authors. There is a must-do and don’ts paragraph here. If your article has one item in the don’t section, rejected it because this is a situation that does not comply with the publication’s policy.

Even if you write a suitable article for all articles of submission guides, your article may not enter. In such cases, it is best to review the pieces in the publication. For new writers, I recommend the phrase imitate until you succeed. What you will imitate will not be content. You will look at the published topics and brainstorm.

After the first month in Medium

Congratulations, if you’ve passed your first month on Medium, you’ve crossed a critical threshold. The first month is the most painful month for an author on this platform. Significantly, your statistics did not rise even though you post regularly, but if you still stay here after 1 month, go ahead. It’s time to find a place for yourself on this ship.

4- Build your publication

One of the best investments you can make here is to open a separate publication. Yes, large publications with a large audience create broader opportunities for your posts, but it’s best to have a publication of your own at first. Please think of it as an investment.

An investment where your pennies can be turned into hundreds of dollars when you write every day. And if you can be hardworking, creative, and patient enough, The Medium will no longer be an additional income for you. It will turn into a full-time job.

5- Before writing, examine the titles of other articles

After determining my articles’ subject, I will only read the title for a while because people do that. They see your article’s title without going down to the body and decide what to read within 3 seconds. I know that this is a little ruthless. But we cannot change. This is how we all perceive it. The only thing we can change is to write unique and creative titles.

After my first month on Medium, I created a content notebook for myself. I wrote the top authors’ recommendations and the titles of their most-read articles in this content notebook. I also examined the publications that match the topics I wrote and noted the headline samples every week. Writing the subject headlines inspired me. Also, my title notebook was a driving force for me to write.

I have also been following the successful writers who have gained momentum in the Medium. Not every person may choose a role model, but everyone wants to examine what they have done before. That’s why following successful writers is a key source of insight for your articles. Thank you to Ayodeji Awosika, Shannon Ashley, and Zulie Rane for inspiring me on my medium journey.

6- Tell your story

I think we all have an inspiring story. It only matters how we explain this. I should write mostly research-based action articles because my personal story was of no interest to anyone. When I did a short research in the Medium, I saw that people like stories of success or failure that inspire.

When will our story be interesting?

It becomes a life lesson when the story we tell turns into an experience.
People should be able to understand the conclusions you draw from their experience.
How did you go from problem X to solution Y?
Your life story should differ from your blog post.

I mean that if what you extracted from your experiences, how you dealt with events draws the reader’s attention, then this is storytelling. Your storytelling can change people’s lives.

After the first 3 months on Medium

This chapter is a phase I am also in. Now that you have overcome the first learning phase, you know the platform better. You may have been able to get into major publications and have your income higher than a few dollars. No matter what happens. The main road starts now.

7- Always stay up to date

You know how often Medium changes. And now it changes again. Here, one of the most fundamental things for us writers is to embrace change and keep up with it. Keeping up-to-date is also part of this job.

Keeping your information and methods up to date can change the course of everything. Also, before you write an article, make sure that your idea includes actionable steps. I also make this mistake a lot. Your opinion may be unique and meaningful to you, but it will benefit others.

8- Be focused on improving yourself

Anything can be part of your authoring process. But never give up. If you give up, you will end everything. You miss opportunities, but if you keep going, you collect gifts and meeting new people, albeit slowly. It was the same in my story. There were many people on this platform whose stories I read and inspired. The common trait of the people I inspire by was a single sentence.

If I did it, you would too.

Here is the trick. We all start writing empty-handed. But those who are successful never stop chasing how to develop this business. Successful writers solve the algorithm, create quality content, and do it regularly.

There are so many brilliant ideas on Medium that you can improve yourself. Get them and put them into practice. And remember that each post has its policy. No matter how well you wrote your article. You cannot send the same text everywhere.

Final Thoughts

I wrote such an article to share what I have learned in a short time, like 4 months on this platform. I have always been a writer all my life. And I think I’ve learned to heal my frustrations and collect the rewards along the way.

Not only in the Medium, but in all areas of life, what we always need is perseverance and continuity. I have the determination, and I am trying to maintain my continuity right now.

When no one gives you that impulse, fire yourself. Make your way without waiting to be successful on this platform. What I wanted to do with writing was to inspire even one person from an early age. Now, as I get older, I tell myself, “I want to live by writing.”

The Medium will be one platform where you experience everything for the first time. Here you will learn and develop. But first, there is a document you need to sign with yourself.

Everything can be difficult initially, but if I have enough patience and pursue my passion for writing, I can succeed.

Write this down and read it every time you give up. It was a tactic that worked for me too. I hope you will be successful as well.

Finally, thank you, Michelle Loucadoux, for inspiring me to write my story.