Life Lessons
Here’s an Example of What a Good Story on Medium Can Do for Writers
A Lucrative Contract, a New Client, and a Soulmate Were Born Out of a Simple Yet Empowering Story.
It’s possible to create serendipity by pouring our hearts and souls into our stories. This is a real-life account to give writers a new perspective on how intangible gains can turn into tangible ones. Please share this empowering story with budding writers.
Last year one of my health articles went semi-viral on Medium. It received thousands of views and was one of the excellent performing stories. However, a few months later, a content development officer of a health insurance company approached me after reading the article and seeing the number of claps on it.
She mentioned they planned to create a 100-page e-book to include less-known ways of making the body insulin sensitive with practical tips. She asked whether I would be interested in urgently writing a proposal for the initiative. I wrote a lot about insulin resistance and sensitivity.
When I asked about the audience, she said the target audience would be their clients with metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes, prediabetes, and others with cardiovascular and neurodegenerative health risks.
This was music to my ears. I did not even think about the compensation. I wrote a proposal of about 1000 words for the scope of the e-book and the key points I planned to include for reasons. I sent it after two hours.
After submitting the proposal via email, the next day, the officer called me, saying their content management team liked the proposal, but they wanted to make it available for their campaign by the end of the month. She wanted to know whether I could make it ready in 20 days as they will publish and distribute it on the last day of the month.
At first, I was a little hesitant, but I did not decline it. After a few seconds of pause, she said, “Other people might do it, but they asked for a figure beyond our budget.” She confirmed that their budget was limited.
I did not ask about the figure as my concern was not money. I thought about what projects I might move to next month to squeeze this exciting initiative into my busy schedule in my new semi-retired professional life.
Since I was silent for a few seconds, she directly asked me whether there was any chance I could do it for 50K in 20 days. This was an unexpected figure for a small e-book, as the best I earned from my similar size e-books was under 15K.
She said, “I know our budget is very tight. But if you could do this favor for us, we will ask you to create more content at a higher rate in the future.”
When I told her this figure was not low, it was higher than I expected, and I’d be delighted to make it available by the deadline, she got surprised and asked me whether I was serious about it with an exclamation in her voice.
After a few minutes of chit-chat, I learned that other people asked for 100K or more, doubling their budget; therefore, she thought this amount could be very low for me, considering my research and writing background.
I remained honest with her and told her that 50K for a 100-page e-book was a relatively high fee in the market. Her confidence increased, and she called me daily for a few minutes to get an update to ensure the product would be ready by the 20th day of the month.
As I trusted her, I shared my daily drafts, which one of their editors further improved. The editor’s comments were so valuable that they helped me write the following chapters even faster. From the editor’s comments, I understood what type of language they wanted to use.
In addition, the editor asked many questions that prompted me to research and provide more relevant information. I quickly changed my style to their expectation.
In addition, they loved the citations from peer-reviewed journals and asked whether I could create an annotated bibliography with a few explanatory sentences for each citation. I agreed to do that as I enjoy creating bibliographies as the requirements of my research projects.
The content officer offered me to pay an extra 5K for the addendum. I rejected the offer as it would be part of the project. She was pleased and offered me to pay half of the money as her trust increased in my approach. I said no hurry for the payment. It would be fine after I submit the final chapter.
I created a structure for the book. I wrote around 2500 words daily. It is the average size of my daily stories on Medium. I always allocate around 45 minutes to write this amount of content.
I usually spend 15 minutes self-editing. Since I time myself for an hour, remove distractions, and work in a flow state, writing 2500 words in a day was a breeze. It did not add any stress.
I became a prolific writer after decades of experience using expressive writing for therapeutic purposes, professional content development, and writing books to make my living.
After two weeks, five days before the deadline, I submitted the entire content with a citation addendum of around 40,000 total words. They sent me a gratitude email showing their satisfaction with the product. It was a pleasant message which delighted me.
The next day, my wife said there was $55K in the account and wondered where that money came from. She did not know I had undertaken this initiative. I rarely discuss my work with my family members.
When I called the content officer the next day, she informed me that their editorial team decided to give me a 5K bonus as I delivered it earlier than expected and with additional content of 10 pages, including annotated citations. The money was not much, but their kindness really touched my heart and gave me a unique sense of joy.
When writing this small e-book, all my focus was on their clients who might gain valuable tips and improve their lives. As I suffered from metabolic syndrome in my younger years at the onset of type II diabetes, I understand the feelings of people with metabolic disorders.
My goal was to inform, educate, and inspire the readers with valuable content reflecting my experience, observations, and reviews. The 55K was a bonus that contributed to my home loan as the interest rates significantly increased in Australia, where I live.
My wife was worried about our mortgage recently. But she was delighted this amount covered the raised interest rates unexpectedly. We all were grateful for this serendipity.
The moral of this story is the beauty of serendipity. Who could have thought that a simple story on Medium would bring me a paying client for a topic close to my heart and pay the rising interest rates for my mortgage?
But the best part of the story unfolded after a month.
The content officer called me again with a cheerful voice. She said their clients loved the e-book and found it very helpful. One of their clients wanted to know about the author of the e-book, so she asked whether they might share my contact details.
I agreed to give my phone number and email as the person was a verified citizen of Australia. He was a 75-year-old retired academician who told me that it was the best content he had ever read about making the body insulin sensitive. Every word in the book resonated well with him.
For some reason, his voice with a sophisticated Australian accent sounded familiar. His name, Greg, created some subliminal sensations but did not give me any conscious clues during the phone call.
Coincidentally living in the same city, Greg wanted to have a coffee. I agreed, and we met. After a few minutes of chat about my background, he said, “oh my good lord, I know you so well.” But I wondered how he would have known me. Then he told me he was one of my thesis supervisors in the mid-1990s.
The golden memories brought sudden tears of joy to my eyes. As soon as Greg saw the tears, he hugged me so firmly that I felt a euphoric sensation. A lovely lady who was serving drinks to us gave me a tissue to dry my eyes, and she wanted to hug me too. It was a remarkable moment.
Greg always wanted to get in touch as my research was of great interest to him. I was also grateful for his selfless support on those days. But we lost contact details. We didn’t have mobile phones in those days, and my home number and email address changed after graduating from college. I also focussed less on academia and more on the corporate world in the last two decades.
Greg’s voice was the same, but he looked different after diabetes. He was a healthy and fit person when I saw him last time. I felt awful when he told me he gained extra 60 kilos and lost his wife because of colon cancer. He lives with his daughter and grandchildren in a house near the beach.
Finding a friend was a remarkable feeling for me. I wanted to help him recover from his diabetes. I told him stories of several friends who reversed their diabetes. He wanted to know more and invited my family and me to his home.
Greg said we were meant to meet as we had been soulmates for a long time. The term soulmate had a special meaning for me as he knew it.
He picked up that word in the text of my research dissertation in cognitive science when I explained how soulmates connected effortlessly despite their different backgrounds. This term was cemented in Greg’s memories as it was an unusual term in an academic text.
When I told this story to my family members, they said that story helped me to find a new client, earn money, and meet an old friend. They rhetorically asked, what else could we expect from a story on Medium?
Life is full of pleasant surprises if we open our minds, hearts, and souls generously, unconditionally, and without expectations.
I wanted to document and share this experience as a valuable life lesson for writers who pour their hearts and souls into their beautiful stories.
The key takeaway of this story for writers is to write our stories always keeping our readers in mind.
One of the great tools to achieve this goal is the innovative use of Design Thinking principles, which I documented in an article. I hope this approach helps you to create more compelling content for your readers and grow your audience with ease.
How Writers Can Attract More Readers by Using Design Thinking Principles
Generating passive income from writing might look simple, but it is not as easy as perceived. Yet, it is possible with the right mindset. If you are willing to work hard and smartly with an open mind and optimistic approach, you can create a successful passive income stream from your content. I guided in an article.
How to Write Content to Generate Steady Income
Enhance the Chance of Boosting By Enriching the Quality of Your Content with Practical Steps
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
Petechiae, ALS, Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorders, Anemia, Dysautonomia, cardiac output, and urinary track disorders.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients.
Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Based on my writing experience and observations, I documented findings and strategies that might help you amplify your voice, engage your audience, and achieve your desired outcomes in your writing journey.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on cellular, mitochondrial, metabolic, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
You might join my six publications on Medium as a writer by sending a request via this link. 25K writers contribute to my publications. You might find more information about my professional background.
