Here’s What I Learned After Publishing 50 Articles on Medium
Can’t wait for another 50
I just reached my first milestone: 50 articles on Medium.
If you know me, you know I’m no stranger to Medium. In the past, I’ve started and quit. Then, I started again and quit. But as you know: all good things come in threes. This time I came to stay.
Here’s what I learned after publishing 50 articles.
Make writing a fun habit
If you like writing, awesome.
But it isn’t enough. I’ve always liked writing but didn’t make it work. Not because I was tired of coming up with ideas, but because I was writing, when “I felt like it.”
That’s not the right place to start.
If you want to write for fun, write whenever and wherever you feel like it. But if you wish to inspire people and even earn money from it, you need consistency.
Yes, by now you probably hate this word.
I get it. But it’s true.
You need to make writing a habit. For that, follow the principle of W. Somerset Maugham:
“I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
Make writing part of your daily routine.
I write every morning at 07:45 am.
Just like you can train your body to work out at a certain time, you can train your brain to write at a specific time.
Engaging with the community matters
We are in the digital age.
Although I’m a strong advocate of Digital Minimalism, I can’t overlook the fact of how important engagement is. It’s key.
Nicolas Cole makes an essential distinction between legacy and online writers.
Legacy writers go to a cabin in the woods, write for 2 months straight, and shortly before they starve, they think they come back with the Next Great American Novel.
Online writers write and publish on the internet. They check the feedback they get, improve on it, and repeat the entire process.
Who’s better suited for nowadays hectic world?
Online writers are. They have feedback loops with which they can improve ad-hoc. That’s what you need.
The best way to get there is through engagement and becoming part of the community. Seeing how your words resonate with people. Start reaching out, and leave constructive feedback, or your opinion/story.
Don’t treat writing as teaching. Treat writing as studying.
Quality comes from quantity
We all know: quality is more important than quantity.
And it still holds true. But without quantity, you can’t reach quality.
Or: If you never write, you can’t improve.
For me, this was hard to accept. I believed the more I learned, the better I got — beforehand. I thought I’d step on stage prepared. But I was wrong.
Look at Eve Arnold, Tim Denning, Ajodeji Awosika, Zulie Rane, and all the others. At some point, they all swallowed their egos and started writing and publishing more.
And that’s what made them successful writers.
They weren’t too good to write. Instead, they were patient, loved writing itself, and followed through.
All of this means you should start right now. Not tomorrow, not as soon as you have a MacBook or moved to a different city. Don’t keep wasting your time.
Start here and now.
Writing 50 articles on Medium has taught me it’s easier than expected if you:
- make writing fun
- engage with your community
- write more to get better
Thanks for reading.
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