Could You Make a Career Out of Medium? — Part 1

Others have done it, but is it still possible?

Medium has many writers who use Medium to earn an income that is sufficient to support themselves. That is what I call making Medium your career. If you can support yourself with what you make from Medium, that is a pretty good gig.

Some of these Medium writers earn as much as six figures a year. It took some of them years to become that successful on Medium, while others unexpectedly experienced success rapidly.

They share that experiences in their stories. Some even offer courses, books, and newsletters, among other items filled with their formula for success.

I have read many of their stories, taken courses, read their books and newsletters, and even listened to their webinars. I immersed myself into all things about making money on Medium for about a year before I finally published my first story on Medium. That is likely why I write about Medium as frequently as I do.

In the nearly three months that I have been writing on Medium, my focus has not been on making money. Instead, I have been focused on being the best writer I can be and on being authentic. That is what is most important to me. I want to serve the reader.

I have also been trying to figure out what to write about. I finally decided that I will only write about stories that both interest me and serve the reader. I can’t write about topics that don’t interest me. I’m not a good enough writer to fake that I care when I really don’t give a diddly.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been writing as regularly as I need to. A few times, my stats weren’t where I thought they should be; it upset me; I got depressed about it and didn’t write for a while. Yes, I know I’m not supposed to fixate on my stats, but I did. I messed up. Mea culpa, mea culpa.

I had to put myself on a time-out with respect to checking my stats to prevent this from happening again. Checking your stats can be risky if you have OCD with addictive tendencies like I do.

My first two months of writing on Medium resulted in less than $40. Clearly, I am not one of the writers who has made a career out of Medium.

Even though my reason for writing on Medium was not to make money, I certainly wouldn’t mind collecting some serious coin while producing some good stories that readers enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But could I turn Medium into a career if I wanted to? Could you?

This question has been eating away at me continually for nearly a week now. The question has crossed my mind before, but recently, I can’t seem to stop thinking about it.

I guess all I need to do is follow those Medium career writers’ advice, and I should start making money more reliably. But, no, it’s not that simple.

See, times have changed on Medium since those writers started to make big money. To put it simply, now we have a “more relational” Medium.

Frankly, I do not know what that is supposed to mean. Still, I know that coinciding with the start of this “more relational” Medium, even some of those writers who have made a career out of Medium have experienced a decrease in their number of readers and reduced income. Even they are having a challenging time with the “more relational” Medium.

As a newbie, I feel that there isn’t any applicable guidance for earning money on Medium now other than writing a lot, writing well, writing what the reader wants, and good luck. It seems to be every writer for themselves on the “more relational” Medium.

By the way, that phrase reminds me of “alternative facts.” If I could ask Ev Williams one question, I would ask that he please explain to Medium writers the definition of this “more relational” Medium of which he speaks. Inquiring minds want to know. I’ll move on.

The only consistent thing at Medium is continual change, and more of it is on the way given the recent announcement made by Ev Williams. For that reason alone, it is essential to have a backup plan if I am going to pursue making earnings from my writing on Medium as a more significant part of my life.

Further, I could wake up one morning, and poof, Medium is gone forever. I must be prepared to pivot.

Those who know how to shift will be able to continue to pay their bills. I must be able to earn enough money from Medium to support myself and have a viable replacement for those earnings should they decrease or disappear or never even happen.

That’s a lot of balls to keep in the air, and I’m not a professionally trained juggler.

It occurred to me I have wanted an answer to a question that only each of us can provide for ourselves. The question: am I capable of turning Medium into a career?

I want one writer who makes the big bucks to come up to me and tell me how easy it is and that I can make tons of money in no time because I’m good enough and intelligent enough, and people like my writing — not going to happen. There is no handholding when it comes to making big money on Medium.

Whether I can turn Medium into a career is determined by how much I am able and willing to put into it. To make Medium a career, it has to be at the top of my list of priorities. If I can’t devote significant and substantial time to it, it will yield no significant nor substantial results.

And whether wanting to make money off of writing makes me a sell-out is something that will be determined by the passing of time. If my writing quality and my commitment to the reader decline during my attempt to make substantial money, I would say that makes me a sell-out. I never want that to happen.

Your quality of writing and commitment to the reader is up to you, as well. I say that if you can maintain a high quality of writing, a commitment to the writer, and earn enough money to pay your bills, that is a career.

So, yes, I think you could turn Medium into a career if you wanted to. You need to put your quality of writing and the reader before the money, though. If you will make your writing quality and the reader your priorities, I say, dare to try. If you want to make Medium your career, make an informed decision and give it a go.

I’m going to follow my advice and see where it takes me concerning turning Medium into a potential career. I am optimistic that the amount of money that I am making will at least increase. Whether it will increase to the extent that I could support myself is unknown at this point. Let’s see what happens.

I am your guinea pig. I am going to share my journey with you.

I will update you regularly concerning my progress, challenges, and experiences. You can learn from my mistakes and successes.

My official start date for this project will be April 1. Yes, I know that is April Fool’s Day. Good thing I don’t believe in omens. I guess I had better sage my computer, just in case.

I consider myself a regular person. If I can turn the “more relational” Medium into a career, anyone can do the same or better. I hope you will join me.

You can read part two of this series by clicking here.

Could You Make a Career Out of Medium? — Part Two

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Linda Kowalchek is a work in progress and a member of the typewriter generation. She spends her time with her husband and her rescue cats, waiting for golf balls to crash through their windows. PSA: Don’t live next to a golf course.