Everything You Really Need to Know To Get You Through Your First 30 Days on Medium

And the reason why some people don’t make it this far.

“A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” ― Thomas Mann, Essays of Three Decades

The Moment You Publish Your First Story

Congratulations, you’ve just clicked “publish” for the very first time.

Now what?

Well, you wait and see how many people read your story.

Umm, doesn’t that feel like a bit of an anti-climax?

It is amigo.

Oh, I get it. You were looking for a Golden Globes-equivalent as you step onto the red carpet, greeted with flashing cameras and hugs and kisses?

Sorry pal, you’ve got the wrong profession.

Sure, I’ll admit that it’s immensely disheartening when you see your story generate a mere 5 views and 3 reads. You thought you’d be an overnight success and yet you are stuck at home refreshing your ‘stats’ page every hour wondering why your story has gained zero traction.

But let me ask you this.

Do you really think the whole world was watching when Usain Bolt completed his first-ever 100-metre race?

I don’t think so.

So relax my friend. You’ve only just begun. The first step takes guts. But it won’t get you far enough to complete the race.

Here’s what else you need to know.

Choose Your Audience Wisely

You are probably about to ignore what I’m about to tell you.

In fact, I bet you’ve already done this.

I bet you’ve already shared your stories on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and maybe LinkedIn if you are feeling brave.

Who wouldn’t want the world to see just how awesome you are?

Your first post gets a good amount of likes. You feel reassured.

Your second post interests a handful. Somewhat disappointing but manageable.

Your third post struggles to get a single like. Not even one!

And yes, I’ve been there.

So let me cut to the chase and tell you that outside of Medium, very few actually care about what you write (unless of course, you have a blog in which case, hats off to you).

Most people don’t have the time to read your stories. All it takes is a gentle swipe for their interests to switch to a dog playing the piano while singing. Yes, I said dog.

What matters most is your audience on Medium.

These are the people who have actually paid to read your work.

And sure, there might only be a handful of them when you start, but it’s nearly impossible to build an audience with just one story. Unless you’ve made it big already, in which case, why are you still reading this?

And you certainly can’t build an audience by trying to please those who aren’t interested in reading your stories.

Ever since I stopped sharing my work outside of Medium (except for the occasional WhatsApp message to my immediate family), my following has grown. Not by much. But by enough for me to take notice.

Maybe my stories are getting better. Maybe the universe is rewarding me for identifying what really matters.

Or maybe there’s some algorithm I’m not aware of. Who knows?

The point is this. If you spend your time with the right people, the right people will spend their time with you.

So You Want To Grow Your Readership?

This brings me on to my next point.

You’ve probably come across the fact that you can submit your work to a publication; some run by Medium’s own editors, some run by other writers.

And you may have also realised that Medium’s editors will often curate your work for further distribution based on the 5 tags you select when click publish. (By the way, make sure you use all 5 tags otherwise you are ruining your chances of getting noticed).

Now don’t get me wrong. The publications and tags you choose are absolutely crucial if you want to grow your readership.

But don’t make the mistake I did.

Don’t spend hours and hours researching publications and trying to find the tags that have the most followers, hoping you strike gold.

You simply run the risk of forgetting about why you joined Medium in the first place.

Publications and tagging are like the ‘icing on the cake.’ So spend your time baking a good cake. You can work always on the icing later.

Whatever You Do, Don’t Make This Error

When I first started writing, now just over a few months ago, my mind was filled with hundreds of ideas for my next story.

And so if I wasn’t writing, I was thinking about writing. And if I wasn’t thinking about writing, I was reading about how to improve my writing.

Slowly but surely, I became desperate. Desperate to write about every thought that came to mind. Desperate to click publish and move on to the next one. Desperate to build a name for myself in the space of a few days.

Soon enough, it became mentally exhausting.

I needed a break.

My early experiences taught me a very important lesson around the risks of trying to grow too quickly whenever you start anything new.

Don’t try to rush towards the end when you’ve only just started. If you really want your writing to last, it’s important to progress sustainably.

It’s easy to forget about the hours and hours of practice that are needed to transform yourself from a novice to a natural.

So don’t overwhelm yourself with the idea of trying to be brilliant from day one.

Allow the eagerness of your passions to take its natural course. Allow your body and mind some time away from writing to refresh your thoughts.

You’ll end up feeling more determined than ever before.

Always remember that writing was never meant to be easy. So try not to make it harder by creating too much pressure for yourself.

A Final Thought

There is a lot to take on board when you first start writing.

And as overwhelming as it may be, it’s important to reflect on why you took that first step.

And that my friends, is because you want to write.

Nothing more, nothing less.