Change from 100 followers to 100 published stories
How to find happiness as a newbie-writer on Medium — Magic wonders of life, a reflection
“In my hands the means… In my heart the will.” Tsugumi Ohba, in Death Note
The challenge
How do you get 100 followers by December? And be happy as a newbie-writer doing so? I don’t know about you, but to me, it sounded like trying to get 100% on a final exam for which I didn’t know the subject… How the heck am I going to accomplish that?
When I read the new rules of the eligibility to the Medium partner program, I felt overwhelmed. For an unknown writer like me, 100 followers were more than I have ever dreamed of. Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to let that challenge phase me out!
As any stressed-out student starting to study the day before the exam, I started to binge read everything I could find on the subject, like how to get 100 followers in less than 24 hours, leave a comment here to get 11 followers, etc. getting obsessed with it, drafting technique summaries, making marketing plans…
I couldn't help but judging myself: “Arg, if I can’t even meet that threshold, I’m not even worth being recognized by Medium as a writer! I don’t want to give up that sweet dream of flourishing as a writer so soon after having a taste of it! But really now, what did you expect of yourself, wanna-be writer?”
The knockout
That was until my partner knocked me out of my freezy: “Hey stop. If you can’t reach 100 followers, then what’s the big deal? What is there to worry about?”
I stopped to pounder. Yes, I agreed, but it was a big deal for a newbie writer like me. It was an important milestone that I want, that I need to reach.
“Okay, but why and how do you want to reach it? Do you really want to use some kind of techniques to get to that goal or be recognized for your writing?”
Frankly, I do think that using marketing techniques is a valuable skill set to master, but really deep down, more than anything else, I wanted my writing, my stories, to be recognized for their own worth. So, with that in mind, how to tack this challenge?
The happier path of the soon-to-be writer
What is the most important? To write. What can I control in this situation? I can’t control whether people like or be interested in what I am writing, or not. But I can write and share. That is the one step that I have absolute control over. It is the keystone step of any aspiring writer.
So I decided to change my goal of acquiring 100 followers to publish 100 stories by December. This challenge is entirely in my capabilities, empowering me, making me happy as a writer! It will make me grow and evolve, no matter what happens, with 100 followers or not by coming December.
And you, what is your happy path as a writer? How can you be kinder to yourself and your budding dreams? What twist can you give to the challenges that you encounter to make you grow on your own path?
P.S.: If you liked my writing, please don’t forget to follow me and look forward to the upcoming publications ☺