How I Became a Medium Sherpa
Are You a Newbie? I’m Here to Help
One by one, my writer pals (and a bunch of my would-be writer pals) usually get around to asking me about Medium.
“Is it easy?” they’ll ask.
“Yes!” I’ll respond.
“Is it fun?”
“You bet!”
“Can I make good money on Medium?”
“Nope! Absolutely not! That won’t happen.”
“But,” I tell them, “if you join the platform and start writing, you’ll definitely make more money than if you hadn’t.”
After which they usually ask, “How do I start?”
Which is how I became an unofficial, unpaid Medium Sherpa, which is to say that several times a week I help folks set up an account here and start writing.
I walk them through the basic stuff that takes hours to puzzle out on your own but just minutes to master if you’ve got a good teacher, like how to publish a story in a ready-for-Curation format, how to make sure your work is behind the paywall, how to create a Friend Link and how to submit your work to publications.
Not to mention responding to zillions of other small queries like “What’s with the cowbell and the cog at the top of the page?” and “Who the hell is Roy and why does he look like that?”
Today I helped a professional musician who has previously only written essays for his friends get acclimated. Before that I got a former New York Times columnist up and running. I’ve helped countless friends and family members get started.
What do I get out of it?
(1) It’s fun to help your friends.
(2) I enjoy being an expert. Showing a Newbie around makes me appreciate how much I’ve learned since I joined the platform back in February 2019.
(3) Having my writing pals here gives me (and you) more good writing to enjoy. (For instance? Check out Joyce Wadler.)
(4) Best of all? I post something new every day, and today being a Medium Sherpa gave me a topic to write about.
Are you a Medium Sherpa too? Should Medium put us Sherpas on the payroll in addition to Curators? Absolutely! Get on it, Ev Williams.
Writing Coach and Medium Sherpa Roz Warren writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, has been in 13 Chicken Soup for the Soul collections, and is the author of Just Another Day At Your Local Public Library. Drop her a line at [email protected].
