I Don’t Even Know What the Hell I’m Doing On Medium Anymore

An update.

After trudging through my lowest month on Medium in more than 2 years, I finally saw my views explode recently.

You might think that’s very exciting, and for a minute there, it was.

But then reality set in.

I had one story go a bit viral.

Unfortunately, it was a “rant” story, so, it’s hardly my best work. And although it’s been cool to see it come up in Google, the reality is that the 32K+ views on that piece are about 90% external.

In terms of paying the bills, this story is definitely not doing it. Plus, it wasn’t curated, which means the shelf-life is pretty short.

So, sure. For a brief minute, I was hopeful that “the old Medium” was back. The one I knew how to work with pretty easily. The one that always felt adaptable.

Unfortunately, for me, for now, that Medium is gone.

Lately, I’ve had more people reach out and ask for help. A lot of folks would like writing coaching specifically for Medium, and some have offered to pay. I try to offer advice and suggestions wherever I can but I have consistently declined all offers for paid coaching.

On the one hand, I know that seems stupid, particularly since Medium isn’t going as well for me as it used to and I could really use the money. But honestly? I’m not comfortable making money by offering writing advice — especially right now.

That feels sort of gross and predatory to me. When I make money, I want to feel like I really earned it. Like I’ve offered something truly valuable. And with Medium running the way that it is right now, I feel like my advice would be inadequate or possibly even depressing.

The truth is that I really don’t know how to write anything that does well on Medium these days. In the past, I was usually comfortable adapting to the platform and riding the highs and lows accordingly. As I did that, however, I also learned how to write stories I love that readers could really relate to.

I grew pretty comfortable with just doing my thing.

Today, I’m not convinced that I can adapt as well as I used to. And that’s partly because I really know what I like to write about. I know what I’m good at. In the past, I’ve always striven to hit that sweet spot where my passions, talents, and Medium reader’s interests verge.

For the most part, when I check out what’s popular on Medium, most of it isn’t in my wheelhouse. And the type of writing that is in my wheelhouse, and that my readers respond really well to — lately for whatever reason, just doesn’t seem to pick up speed. This means that the stories that a year ago (or even a few months ago) would have pretty easily hit $1K now fizzle out much, much lower.

All I can really do is experiment. I might try shorter pieces. More pieces. New topics. Publications.

The point is that everything is really just up in the air, and sometimes, it’s going to suck. That’s sort of par for the course with writing for a living though — sometimes it does suck.

Personally? I’ll probably have to get over my aversion to side hustles and restart my Patreon. (Or something like it.) I’ll have to put certain goals on hold and try to create a more long-term plan if it looks like Medium can no longer work as the main hub for my writing.

I’ll likely need to make harder decisions as well.

This Friday is my daughter’s 7th birthday and I’ve still got a lot to do to have everything ready. I’m trying to make it really special since it’s her second birthday since the pandemic hit last year. So far, I think we’ve managed to avoid a lot of the depression and anxiety that other kids have had to face. Like most parents, I’m just trying to help her feel secure and joyful despite current events.

We’re having an American Girl tea party, and I sort of lucked out because I bought some special AG stuff back in 2019 — on sale! — that have been sitting in my closet for an older birthday. I figure seven in a pandemic counts, plus this stuff will go nicely with the tea party theme:

My plan is to have it all set up when I pick her up from school on Friday, plus the other decorations like a pretty rose backdrop and tea party-styled birthday banner. The whole thing is a little bit (or, as I like to say, a lotta bit) daunting too, since it means taking time away from writing… and also wondering how that will impact the rest of my month and the rest of my earnings.

There’s no way to know except to simply do it. It’s sort of the same thing about getting started with writing at all. You just try and keep going.

Believe it or not, this story is not intended to be some depressing, Debbie Downer thing. I don’t mean to deter anyone from writing on Medium and I’ve yet to throw in the towel myself.

I’m just going to be honest, though, that lately, I often feel like I’m starting over from (near) scratch and that’s been disheartening.

Even so, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than writing, you know? I still believe in my future as a writer even though I feel sort of stuck these days. I still can’t picture anything else I’d rather do since there’s a huge mental health benefit to doing what I do.

I want to be really clear, though, that I honestly don’t know what the hell I’m doing on Medium these days. But I don’t believe that many people do.

While I’ve heard all sorts of theories and speculations about what’s been happening on the platform, I’m still not ready to “go with” any of those reports.

Ultimately, I’m here to hone my voice, build my audience, and sort my shit out as a writer. I’m not interested in going back to the days of wishing I would just write for a living, but every writer is different about that. Some people flourish more with a day job.

I don’t.

I am most comfortable writing about the issues that move me in hopes that they will be relatable for others too. I’m pretty confident about my purpose in showing up and writing about my journey and various issues I’m exploring, so, that makes it easier to commit to this path too.

If anybody tells you they know exactly what’s happening at Medium, take it with a grain of salt. They may think they know, and that’s it.

And in the meantime, if you’re looking for advice about how to succeed on Medium in these very unusual times, my best advice is this:

• Experiment
• Hone your voice
• Don’t take yourself too seriously
• Keep showing up because consistency pays off
• Invest in writing what you actually believe in rather than simply pandering to current trends

Try to understand that adaptability is the most important thing you can do to survive any platform, but your adaptation won’t always come fast or easily. I don’t believe in the notion that all creatives must struggle to make a living, but at the same time, I don’t believe that any of us are above struggling either.

In the meantime, take care, and I’ll certainly let you know if I run into any new and helpful information about making it on Medium.