QUEERLY TRANS
81 Ways To Say Thank You, This Trans Girl Is So Appreciative
This is like a dream!
What Just Happened?
I recently struck Medium gold. I am a rags to riches story. I have written just shy of 100 articles, I hope that each one is a bit more well-written than the last. One of my collaborators and one of my amazing editors told me that I am getting better. I don’t see it particularly. I am very appreciative of the recent attention that our story received. I’m not here to talk about that story. It’s doing fine on its own merits. I’m here to talk about my favorite part of the Medium experience: the comments section.
I get the responses that I solicit
I talk about milk toast issues mostly. I have a reasonably easy transition. I purposefully avoid divisive issues. There are many writers that are way better at advocacy than I could ever be. I’ll leave that to them. I am here for fluff, just barely provocative. I wrote an article about how wonderful cis allies can be, and it was well-received. I am glad that these wonderful people drove my trans story to over 2000 reads. That’s a huge deal for me.
It’s all about the comments
I love, love, love my readers, but I feel a special connection with my commenters. Those people who took the time to write the most amazing messages imaginable. I learned from wonderful writers, like Carol Burt and Thief, how important interaction with the writer could be. I caught myself writing and waiting for those two, among others, to respond. I am so lucky that they read almost everything I’ve ever written. That is so amazing!
My article was read a decent amount, and that is super cool, but it received 80 responses! I think my replies to these responses are more important than the story itself. I make a point to reply to every single response. I have always done this, and I will always do this. I love those people so much. I sometimes have to be creative; I don’t feel comfortable with my own success. I have, however, managed to write 79 or so replies specific to the response I received. I also follow every responder and try to find some work of theirs that I like. I try to read at least one of their articles and respond to them genuinely. I’m new to writing, and I’m so grateful to Medium for the opportunity. What a ride! Thank you to all 2000 of you, and a deep thank you to the 80 souls who took the time to comment on my piece. I appreciate you so much.
Love, Kitty