Am I a “Hobbyist” Writer?
What is a professional writer?
I really need to note that Medium was built for hobbyist writers who wrote for free and they are still the majority of our writers, so I don’t think we need debate deaths of social platforms. Someone writing less because the pay doesn’t work for them isn’t the death of the platform.
These words are from the comments of the angry poem of 🌬️Mitch:
Yes, true. I am a “hobbyist” writer. I have never published a book.
I have written several but in my native language. (The fact is that I tried to publish one of them but it is another story.)
But another fact is that I have been writing for a decade. Yes, absolutely unprofessionally, on online platforms. But consistently.
To be honest, when I came here, on Medium, I never thought I would earn even a dollar.
The main problem is not the money or that they are less. Yes, this fact is leading to a drop in the motivation. But, I am stubborn and also love writing. So, I decided to publish this month as consistently as I published in August and September.
As a result, I’ve earned about 20% of the amounts I gained in the previous two months.
Maybe I started to write worse? Because, as the CEO said:
The factors that go into your payment include a lot of unpredictable behaviors that change day-to-day: what people publish, what they read, how much they read, how much they interact.
Maybe suddenly I became a not-so-good writer. Maybe I’ve chosen not-so-attractive topics. Definitely, the problem is the writer, not the platform.
I had an intriguing discussion with Kaouther here:
She said:
From my stories, I noticed that all stories with comments get cents. Stories without comments reap good profits. I think there is something about interaction, likes and comments. I think Meduim punishes stories that get interaction. I do not know why! But this is what I noticed from my stories.
I don’t know if it is true because my last poem — the same, about the Holy Grail :) — has many comments, claps, and highlights, too. And good stats.
And earned the biggest sum this month:
I was truly surprised this morning.
And I agree that writing for money is not shameful as Carlo Zeno says here:
I am making my conclusions and they’re that number of reads is probably more important now. See these stats:
Almost the same stats as the above poem but 1/2 earnings. The difference is the reading ratio. Is this the clue to the mystery?
Do you see any logic?
Do you think certain topics earn less? Or creative writing is not so popular?
Because if we talk about a niche, this is my niche.
So, my conclusion is that I am an unprofessional hobbyist writer. I love writing and do write almost every day. If I have a niche — it is poetry and fiction. This art is in my heart. This art nourishes my soul and makes my mind fly.
So, friends — I cannot quit my hobby. It is a light in these gloomy times.
And I love the Medium community.
I’ll finish this post with the lovely poem of my friend Thom about friendship A man leading a simple life:
Some things are more important than others.
Stay inspired.
I will try to write better. :)
Thanks to
for publishing my hobbyist writing. :)
