How I Made 40,000 Pennies My First Year On Medium
Translated as: 80 lattes, 40 books or 1 car payment
It seems to be the trend to write about your experience after a year on Medium.
Mine has been one of ups and downs.
I didn’t reach my goal of making $100 a month. It feels like I’m slowly climbing up a hill covered with honey. My feet keep getting stuck in one spot and it takes forever to move a few inches higher.
But I am building a steady following, with over 1.2 thousand at the time of this writing.
That might not seem like much to some of you, but to this writer who was always chosen last to play on a sports team during PE, it is a big deal.
As Sally Field’s said, “You like me, right now, you like me.”
I have a 25% curation rate. Which isn’t a big deal. I’d rather leave all thoughts and energy about curation to the scientists working on a cure for the Covid-19.
My guru was Roz Warren, answering my newbie questions and introducing me to the ins and outs of the site.
Susan Brearley, founder of Muddyum, took me aboard her pirate ship and has been a great influence providing writing prompts and late night walks on the plank.
Brian Rowe has been an inspiration, pushing me to challenge myself daily. Does this guy ever sleep?
And for a split second I was a top writer in Satire. That came and went like a shooting star. But for that brief moment I was famous (in my own mind.)
The first half of my year was spent rushing around as a Gruber driver, and writing whenever I had a spare moment.
The last few months have been spent like all of you, in Lockdown, with all the time in the world to write.
Did I write everyday? NO!
Some days I wrote for hours and hours. And then some days, not so much. The minutes, the hours, the days, the months, flew by. And here we are, nearing the middle of 2020.
I’ve read terrific articles, clapped thousands of times, and highlighted my favorite sections, too many to list here.
I haven’t gotten wealthy dollar-wise, but I’ve made friends, some which I hope will last forever.
So, I’d say it’s been a good experience. I won’t be leaving anytime soon.
I hope your experience is a good one, too.
Thanks for reading!
