avatarDesiree Driesenaar

Summary

A writer shares their journey of becoming an inspiring writer on Medium, ranking #59 on a statistical list of inspiring writers, and reflects on the importance of finding one's unique voice, experimenting, and engaging with the community.

Abstract

The author, who has been writing on Medium for over a year, discusses their unexpected rise to #59 on a list of inspiring writers, despite their unconventional topics of environment, sustainable business models, human leadership, and nature. They emphasize the transformative impact of experimenting with different writing styles, the support received from the Medium community, and the joy of writing. The writer highlights their engagement with various publications and the significance of perseverance, connection, and giving back to the community. They also touch upon the financial aspect, noting their place among the top earners on the platform, while emphasizing that their main goal is influence rather than wealth. The article concludes with lessons learned about becoming an inspiring writer, including the importance of a unique voice, reading and commenting, giving back, connecting with others, and utilizing SEO and social media.

Opinions

  • The author values the unique and supportive community on Medium, which has been instrumental in their growth as a writer.
  • They believe in the power of experimentation and embracing one's individuality to find a writing voice that resonates with readers.
  • The writer suggests that success on Medium is not solely about financial gain but also about the influence and impact one has on others.
  • They express gratitude for the recognition by peers and the inspiration drawn from other writers on the platform.
  • The author emphasizes the importance of SEO and social media in increasing visibility and success of their stories.
  • They advocate for a culture of giving and support within the Medium community, suggesting that this approach leads to mutual success without the need for competition.
  • The writer is proud of their achievements on Medium, including their ranking and earnings, but maintains a focus on creating meaningful content and influencing change.

WRITING

I Just Became an Inspiring Writer. What? LOL!

I’m #59 on the statistical inspiring writers’ list. What? Haha! How did that happen?

Pippi Longstocking spoon puppets. Picture credit: wikimedia commons

Somewhat more than a year ago I started to experiment with Medium. It took me a bit of time to find my unique voice. But month after month I had more fun.

Writing, connecting, reading, responding, and writing some more.

My subject is not one of the popular ones on Medium. I write about the environment, about sustainable business models, about human leadership, and transition in society and economy, and about nature.

I’m not the most usual suspect to become an ‘inspiring writer statistically’, but just yesterday I found out that I list #59. Below the usual suspects who started much earlier on this platform and above many others. This platform has thousands, millions of writers. And I’m #59? How did that happen?

The list appears in this story by J.J. Pryor. By the way, he is a wizard with data and produces more valuable and funny lists for people who want to understand the platform.

Some of my favorite writers are mentioned here as well. Have you ever read #27 Sinem Günel, #36 Yael Wolfe, #37 George J. Ziogas, #55 Shin Jie Yong, #56 Paul Myers MBA, and #82 Bridget Webber? No? Try them! They are definitely worth your reading time.

I know many other writers want to be on the path of being successful on this platform. To be seen, to be read, to be recognized.

So here’s my story. With my own conclusions about how I came to be #59.

Do with it whatever you like.

Experimenting is Key

I‘m having so much fun writing now, it really changed my life! You must know, I have been a writer all my life, but never really found my voice. I wrote rational articles about complex technologies for my business jobs and in my free time, I wrote fiction.

And yes, I journaled for my own personal development, like a lot of you do too. But what is publishable? How do I express honestly who I am AND inspire my readers with it?

I didn’t know but I really wanted to find out.

So I experimented.

Medium is great for experimenting and finding your voice!

In March of this year, the publication Illumination was founded by Dr Mehmet Yildiz and this gave Medium another dimension for me. I met the most inspiring friends from very different walks of life, connected even more to many writers across the globe, read many stories every week, and had loads more fun.

I found my daring. And I found support. And I learned so much from the comments on my stories. I found out what spoke to people and what didn’t. I understood what touched them. And I felt what touched me.

And I internalized the knowledge in my heart and it found a way to my fingertips the next time I touched the keyboard. No rational analysis for me. Just flow and joy in the writing process.

Wow!

What a journey.

A few months ago someone inspired me to write some poetry. I had never done it before. But as Pippi Longstocking said:

“I have never done it before, so I think I can do it”

— Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking

So I went wild.

My rational knowledge, for instance about Fibonacci and the Golden Ratio, was expressed with emotion in my poetry. I found my own unique voice in many different stories. Writing about climate change and sustainability. Writing about feminine leadership. And writing about Gaia.

My journey continued.

Writing, connecting, reading, responding, and writing some more.

I found great publications that housed my non-native words, such as Polyglot Poetry by the inspiring editors Kevin Buddaeus and Salam Khan. I found supportive places for my poetry such as the POM by Christina M. Ward and Weeds & Wildflowers by Dennett.

And I kept on submitting to other publications, such as The Startup, Better Marketing, P.S. I Love You, and The Ascent. And although the latter two accepted me as a writer, they have not accepted one of my stories yet.

Not good enough (yet).

But I keep trying and experimenting and succeeding in other ways. Perseverance is my middle name.

Facts and Figures

So, let me share some facts with you for a full picture of what I’m talking about.

I started on Medium in May 2019.

I wrote 191 stories so far.

I have acquired 3.1K followers.

I reached 77.63K readers with my stories so far.

And in case you wonder about money, I am in the top 7–9% of earners who earn more than $100 a month. These things can be checked in Casey Botticello’s Blogging Guide. However, please don’t think I get rich by Medium alone because I never earned more than $187 a month on the platform (yet).

Still, I’m apparently more inspiring for other writers than Benjamin Hardy, PhD, the writer with the most followers (247K), who ended #86 on this list. Of course, he will be much more inspirational to readers than me, otherwise he wouldn’t have had such a huge following! But still…

So, it tells me I’m on my right path. I’m gaining influence. And that’s what I really want. For me no big money aim, my aim is a big influence!

My right livelihood, the money I earn to live my life, comes from my projects in real life. And Medium plays a great part in acquiring these meaningful projects and making a living.

Okay, so what about the #59?

What J.J. Pryor has done in his article is:

“Have you ever wondered which writers inspire other writers the most? That was my mission today, and here are the results! I measured the number of times an author is referenced or linked to within Medium itself. I then ranked them from the highest to lowest.” — J.J. Pior

And I see the results of what he has been measuring in my notifications.

Ashok Subramanian wrote about my poem and gave his view compared to the work of Sourabha Rao, a published author in India.

I love his analysis. He gives rational words to what flows out of my fingers in inspiration. And he makes me aware of the work of Sourabha. She writes about the environment as well. We now linked our profiles on LinkedIn and I will be following her. Thanks for this gift, Ashok!

Only today, I found another one in my notifications.

Tiny Life Moments is the publication founded by Keno Ogbo. She made this great, simple format for us to share our stories and learn our lessons for tiny moments in life.

And she gave me this artwork with a quote from one of my own stories.

Quote by author, artwork by Keno Ogbo.

Don’t you just love it? I do! Thanks Keno!

Lessons Learned

I share my stats and my lessons on Medium so all writers out there who have important stories to share can become successful and influential as well.

Here are the lessons I learned to become an inspiring writer.

  • Find your own unique writing voice. And in order to do that, you need to embrace all of you and experiment. Ask others for support. Use the fabulous editors of the many publications to become better writers
  • Read, read, read, and comment, comment, comment
  • Our success starts with giving. Honest, mindful giving. If we would all give on this platform there will be enough for all of us to take as well. Please realize that our reading will bring others income. And if many of us do that, we will all have an income. No competition needed. Just support!
  • For people who are focused on the money, I want to say: connection is all. And the more fun you have in your writing, the better people will recognize your value and read your work
  • Write often and increase your quality every time you publish a story
  • When you connect to others on Medium, be supportive. Leave comments, add your wisdom to a certain topic, and mention others in some of your stories as well. Mindfully, with relevance, and with respect for different opinions. There are gems to be found on Medium. Read a lot and find them!
  • Cross-link to other social media. I post one of my stories on LinkedIn every day. I post other people’s stories that I relate to as well. Whenever I read a sentence in another person’s story that touches me, I tweet about it. It’s so easy to do, just try it! Here is a screenshot. Go to a sentence and click on the little bird. It will take you directly to twitter.
Screenshot by author about how to tweet a sentence.
  • And there are many more social media to link to. Facebook, Instagram, Many Stories, Flipbook, Pinterest, Quora. Try them, and find out what works for you. And also here, please realize that social media are supposed to be social. So connect honestly. Share value. And relate to the people you meet. Just like in real life
  • SEO is important too. I just wrote a story about gaining influence on SEO with my second story. Written in July 2019. And this old story is read a lot now. Learn from these wonders of time and find your own way of applying this knowledge

Conclusion

Medium is no get-rich-quick-scheme. It is a platform for readers. And writers. And value. And influence. Everything is possible and unexpected things happen. They put their little heads around the corner of our writing and say: hey, you’re on this awesome list of inspiring writers.

Joehoe! I love it.

Glad to meet you here!

About the author

Writing
Success
Social Media
Future
Ideas
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