I Like Writing, So…

It’s time to change direction

After joining Medium one year ago and submitting my first article six months after, it is time to recalibrate and take a slight change in direction.

Modifying your writing/publishing direction can be risky, but risk-taking can be healthy. You won’t know if you don't try.

Some writers are punching out articles daily. In some cases, multiple articles a day. For me, that is not a sustainable pace.

Life interferes every so often, so I have found it best to maintain a fair amount of flexibility in my writing schedule.

Some writers are compelled to routinely share their views, read, clap, followers, and earnings counts.

I have no need or desire to “share my numbers”. They are what they are. Top writers, top followers, and top earnings are not what I came here to achieve. If I get the opportunity to publish and make a couple of bucks on top of that, I’m good with that.

The numbers I have achieved to date have given me the information I was in pursuit of when I joined Medium.

We all know that Medium is an immensely powerful platform. This is the place for new writers and writers looking for exposure on a larger scale than previously experienced.

I feel fortunate and humbled to be having this writing experience.

Given the responses to the material I have submitted for publication, I have a great sense of accomplishment.

I like writing. I found Medium as a mechanism to gauge acceptance of the material I was producing. The last six months of publishing articles have given me a sense of what that looks like.

However, it’s time to slightly recalibrate and transition to a combination of shorter-term weekly/biweekly article publishing and a longer-term short story/book form of publishing.

As powerful as Medium is for daily article publishing, I see some untapped reserve potential for the long run.

Considering the above, I am embarking on an ambitious initiative, testing the ability to leverage Medium further as a publishing platform.

I am inspired by others who have gone beyond publishing daily content. Some appear to have some success.

The Night Stand project started several years ago as a simple still-life photography project that morphed into a short film and then a book, all of the same name.

Medium has presented me with an appealing platform to publish the collective project as one publication.

Ambitious? Yes! But why not?

The Night Stand is a new Medium publication that currently contains the introduction to the story, a link to the short film script, a link to the short film itself, and a link to the book's first chapter.

I will soon start publishing the balance of the book on a per-chapter basis. The script, short film, and the first chapter will remain outside the Medium paywall.

The remainder of the book will reside within the Medium paywall.

I am well aware of the challenge at hand, but challenges always cultivate creativity.

Feedback is always welcome.