An Open Letter to The Supportive Medium Community
“Writing is like going to bed with a beautiful woman and afterwards she gets up, goes to her purse and gives me a handful of money.”
— Bukowski, on getting paid to write
I’m not writing this letter to get curated.
Heck, I’m not even writing it to rake in the views, although, for those who are reading this right now, it is my fondest hope that you will make it to the end.
Because there is an important message I would like to share.
A message of thanks.
This is a public thank you note to all Medium writers and readers, editors and creators. An open letter to convey my gratitude to this amazing platform it’s wonderfully supportive users.
I started writing on Medium in September last year, and between then and now, was a period of tremendous upheaval in my life.
I dealt with a breakup, a lawsuit, a new job and a pandemic that brought the entire world to a standstill.
Throughout this quarantine, all I have been doing is reading an obscene amount — and writing.
Writing, and to an extent Medium, since I do a large share of my writing on this platform, has always been a steadfast anchor in the storms of life.
My Medium Journey
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.”
– Tony Robbins
What first sparked my interest was stumbling upon Nicolas Cole’s articles.
He has a fast-paced writing style perfect for the internet, and his articles were pure gold.
I found a lot of value in his impassioned appeals for all artists to become entrepreneurs, to pay attention to personal branding and content marketing.
However, what especially touched me was his story. How he transformed from a skinny, World of Warcraft gamer to a bodybuilder and fitness model.
How he grew from an entry-level copywriter to eventually owning his own ghostwriting business, Digital Press.
These stories resonated with me.
When I first read those articles, I have already embarked on my own entrepreneurship journey, having started a business with $1000 and running it solely on my beat-up old iPhone.
I have always wanted to be a writer, though.
A novelist trailing the inimitable footsteps of my literary heroes — the likes of George .R.R Martin, Gaiman, King.
To be mentioned in the same breath as these giants would be unbelievable, the dream of dreams come true.
And I thought that Medium was a good place to begin. I wasn’t an exceptionally gifted writer by any means (I still am not), but I felt drawn being able to document my journey in a vulnerable, raw, real way.
And so I began writing on Medium, chasing lofty childhood dreams one article at a time.
Initially, I wanted nothing more from this platform than a chance to practise publicly. A chance to hone my craft while simultaneously building a solid fanbase.
And Medium gave me that — and more.
It gave me a community.
Medium’s Community is Incredibly Supportive
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”
— The Dalai Lama
Twitter thrives on sardonic irony. Facebook? Fake news and exposes. I like Instagram, but it’s a hotbed of narcissism. And it’s a popular running joke to never, ever look at the YouTube comment section.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a digital marketing manager, and I think social media is a tool for the greater good. I’ve also noticed users becoming nicer as these platforms become ever more ubiquitous and professional.
That being said, my experience with Medium has been unbelievably wonderful. It has been — quite literally, the single most positive social media platform I’ve ever participated in.
I’ve written dozens and dozens of articles since September 2019.
I’ve received plenty of insightful, positive comments, but I have never, ever been on the end of a spiteful one.
Not once! That is wild.
Moreover, I read articles here daily, leaving words of encouragement on those I find exceptionally brilliant or touching.
For the life of me, I can’t remember the last time I saw a negative response on other writer’s articles, either!
Here on Medium, social interactions are so cordial and supportive. As a Millenial used to the unchecked toxicity so rampant on the internet, it is a breath of fresh air. It leaves me in awe.
Part of the reason why is that Medium is so community-centric. Writers make money from readers, so they’re incentivized to be nice.
The clincher is many paying readers here also write their own articles. Medium has attracted and created an ecosystem of written word artists and connoisseurs. A supportive community who wants to see each other do well, who prop each other up and literally clap for one another.
A thing of beauty.
Inspiration from Both Writers & Readers
“As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.” ― Ernest Hemingway
I have my very own heroes here on Medium.
Entrepreneurial ones like the aforementioned Nicolas Cole. Scathing, hard-hitting and prolific self-improvement guru Ayodeji Awosika comes to mind. And John P. Weiss, he of the beautiful illustrations and soul-touching fables.
My Medium heroes give me something to aspire to. Something to aim towards. They make me want to write better, to ascend higher heights.
It cuts both ways. My readers inspire me as well.
At the time of writing, I have somewhere north of 700 followers. I average between 50–300 views every day.
That might be peanuts to most, but to me, those views mean a lot. It means that dozens, even hundreds of people, are reading what I have to say.
A humbling feeling, especially when some of them have flattering things to say about my work!
“I loved this Alvin.”
“What a powerful sentiment for letting toxicity go, while still wishing the best for people and having compassion for others. Thanks for this, Alvin.”
“I really enjoyed this article. You are correct about so called friends. We have to let go sometimes of people who drag us down with their negativity.”
These were responses to me best-performing article ever, The 2 Types Of “Friends” You Should Cut All Ties With.
Having heroes to look up to while simultaneously having readers who enjoy your work is at once humbling and empowering.
I am grateful for this amazing platform. Here, I can have the best of both worlds.
In Summary
“Writing is like going to bed with a beautiful woman and afterwards she gets up, goes to her purse and gives me a handful of money.”
— Bukowski, on getting paid to write
I am re-quoting Bukowski’s crass yet hilarious take on being paid to write.
In writing, as in life, champion complainers existed. Those who have not written anything of note, yet can be found on Facebook Groups grumbling about being stuck in “curation jail”, of not getting enough views, of not earning a living wage from writing on Medium. The last one makes me chuckle.
Last month, I made nearly $50 on Medium — my highest payout yet. I was so happy I felt like J.K Rowling!
And that should be the way.
Think about it, what other platform out there would pay you money to write about literally anything you wanted?
Don’t grumble. Celebrate the little wins. Have patience, for one day you might find out those little wins are not quite as little as you imagined them to be.
Practise gratitude. Support your fellow writers by giving them a read. Clap for their articles, even though we don’t make money from claps anymore. Do it for emotional support. Do it for the heck of it.
And one day, when you become a Top Writer, be sure to pay it forward.
I know I will.
Thanks for reading my story.
