Summary

An aspiring writer shares their journey from assisting a family member with content creation to discovering Medium, embracing writing courses, and developing a personal writing strategy that emphasizes repurposing content, collaboration, and writing at a personalized pace.

Abstract

The author recounts their evolution from helping their husband with his fishing charter business content to pursuing their own writing dreams on Medium. Initially overwhelmed by the wealth of knowledge and content on the platform, they embraced online writing courses, particularly one by Tom Kuegler. The writer transitioned from consuming content to actively contributing, celebrating each published article as a victory, regardless of curation. They advocate for a balanced approach to writing, suggesting that even one article a week is worth celebrating, especially for those who write alongside other responsibilities. The author emphasizes the importance of repurposing content, collaboration, and genuine sharing as means to enhance one's writing and reach, and reflects on the joy and personal growth that writing on Medium has brought them.

Opinions

The author values continuous learning and self-improvement, as evidenced by their enthusiasm for online courses and Medium's content.
They believe in the power of collaboration and giving credit to other creators, viewing it as a way to build and strengthen relationships.
The writer encourages new authors to focus on writing regularly and not to be discouraged by the pressure to be curated or to write every day.
They suggest that the frequency of writing should align with one's personal capacity and life obligations, advocating for a non-judgmental approach to personal writing goals.
The author sees writing on Medium as a fulfilling experience that evokes feelings of happiness, accomplishment, creativity, and wisdom.
They recommend writing in a way that is true to oneself and brings the most joy, rather than strictly adhering to external advice or expectations.

Are You Living The Writer Dream?

Yes, another article with writing tips, but hear me out.

Did you dream of being a writer? Or stumble on it?

For me, it was something growing inside. A little seed was planted years ago when I started helping my husband, Ryan Good Karma Sportfishing, with his content. When we started his business, he didn’t know what to say. It was like talking to a brick wall. He would freeze up and stare at me when someone called him for a charter. I helped him figure out what to say to clients, what to write for newsletters, his website, and how to start his podcast.

I did it all with love and had total confidence that he would catch on. We all start somewhere, right? Now, I am his editor, but he is good to go! He barely remembers what it was like starting out ten years ago. And that’s fine!

Until this past February, I had never heard of Medium but wanted to be a writer. Imagine my delight when my writing coach told me about the platform and strongly suggested giving it a shot. At first, I felt like a kid in a candy store because I love knowledge, and I love to learn. For $5 a month, I had access to all this incredible content! It was inspiring from the get-go because I felt there was so much opportunity.

It was fun to read, clap, comment, and follow. It was cool picking my topics of interest and then bookmarking them when I wasn’t able to read them right away. I quickly consumed all that I could.

Then I started writing. I strongly believe in online courses. I cannot count how many I have taken over the past few years. I just signed up for another one today. So, after Googling what tags were the most popular to use, I stumbled upon an article by Tom Kuegler and began to follow him. Tom offers a helpful and easy to follow Medium Mastery Course. Perfect timing. How lucky was I that I discovered Tom and his course. Let the writing begin!

And let me say this first….there are a ton (shall I say shitload) of articles about writing on Medium, but I wanted to document my journey, and maybe someone else will benefit from a thought process or share the same experience. So here we go…

It’s time to quit consuming and start writing.

I read and read and read, BUT I also started. I was excited and proud to post my first article, Dreaming Big with Barbie, on February 20th. I took the photo myself of my nieces Barbie’s and was so happy to share that short but sweet story.

I had heard so much about being curated. It seemed as if folks were living and dying about being curated. Weeks went by, and I wasn’t curated.

Do I suck at writing? Do I care what others think? Am I a leader or a follower?

I had to work my own Jedi mindset magic and not focus on it.

I had to focus on moving forward and writing more.

In early April, I moved on from thinking about curation and focused on finding publications that fit my vibe and what I wanted to write about. My new mindset worked! I found six publications that I felt were a good fit for my writing. I focused on publications first, and then if someone also curates my story, it’s the icing on the cake.

How often should we write?

There are a lot of articles that also mention how often you should write. It is often suggested five times a week, or some even say daily. I feel the folks that say daily must be full-time writers. At this moment, I am not a full-time writer. I am a sales rep, success coach, public speaker, and I work alongside my husband with his business. So, writing to me is more in my passion project bucket. Writing is something I love and make room for, but sometimes I do miss a day or two or three as I just didn’t get to it.

I feel guilty. I feel like I left my small bi-polar dog Miracle at home all day and wasn’t able to play with her. It’s been tough dealing with that guilt, mainly because I do wish to write more and build an audience, but it is what it is for the moment.

My average was four times a week. Last week it was two articles.

We should celebrate even if it’s one article a week.

That’s what I say.

Let’s celebrate what we do accomplish v/s what we didn’t.

My tip on how to make the best use of your content.

Repurpose! Share! I am a natural collaborator (more on that in another article). I love to share just as much as I love learning.

Last week I wrote an article in which I referenced two recent podcast guests. Their content fit perfectly with the message of my article. Giving them credit with links in the article was an excellent way to say thank you for being a guest. I then shared that to LI and tagged them both. Both commented and thanked me. Collaborating and sharing aids in further developing a relationship.

That post was one of my most viewed posts in quite a while. LI is a great platform but is overrun with people trying to sell you something without building a connection. It’s not always the easiest to get a well thought out comment and genuine engagement.

This authentic share resulted in some excellent traction that made me happy.

How does writing on Medium make me feel?

A few emotions off the top of my head are: happy, accomplished, collaborative, creative, and wiser.

You can knock yourself out with all the goodies, freebies, and stories on how to write, but at the end of the day- you need to write in a manner that’s best for you and what makes you feel the happiest!