I Made $0.73 on My First Week on Medium

Summary

The author made $0.73 in their first week on Medium, a significant amount to them because of the passion and enjoyment they found in writing, despite the modest financial return.

Abstract

The author shares their experience of earning a mere $0.73 during their initial week on Medium, emphasizing the personal value of this small sum. Despite having a well-paying job and a comfortable life, the author found immense joy and fulfillment in writing for Medium, which they discovered through a YouTube video by Shelby Church. This joy contrasted sharply with the monotony of their day job, as the author poured hours into writing, editing, and refining their articles, all of which they loved. The author's passion for writing dates back to their childhood, inspired by authors like J. K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, and Medium provided a platform to potentially turn this passion into a career. The emotional journey of writing and the subsequent earnings, though meager, represented a significant personal achievement and a step towards a dream.

Opinions

The author values the intrinsic joy of writing over the financial gain, finding the process of creating content on Medium deeply fulfilling.
They express a sense of accomplishment from earning money through their passion, regardless of the amount.
The author compares the love for writing to the less enjoyable experience of their day job, highlighting the contrast between work done for passion and work done for pay.
They are inspired by the possibility of transitioning from writing as a hobby to writing as a career, with Medium as a potential catalyst for this change.
The author's initial encounter with Medium through a YouTube video is portrayed as a pivotal moment, leading to a significant personal decision to start writing on the platform.
Despite the modest earnings, the author is optimistic about future prospects on Medium, although they acknowledge that their second week did not yield better financial results.

I Made $0.73 on My First Week on Medium

73 cents. I can officially buy an iPhone on Wish. Oh…wait, shipping is $29. Never mind.

To most people, 73 cents doesn’t mean much. But to me, it meant the world.

Not because I’m poor or homeless.

I’m lucky enough to have a job, and a roof over my head. So… why do I care so much about 73 cents? I make $18 an hour at my day job. And I’d poured 6 solid hours of blood, sweat, and tears into these articles.

The difference was I’d loved every single moment of it. From writing to editing to reading it aloud in my room and smiling cockily at my own work. (Yes, I did that)

My Medium adventure first started when I stumbled across a YouTube video by Shelby Church titled Making Money Online Writing for Medium… Is It Worth Your Time?

Well, I had no idea what Medium was. But making money online didn’t seem too bad. And, quite frankly, in the middle of a nationwide lockdown, my time wasn’t worth much. So… I made one of the best decisions of my life.

And I clicked the video.

Wow! That was my first reaction. I love writing. I have ever since I started high school. So…this was game-changing. I poured over hundreds of articles about writing on Medium for hours on end.

And finally, I plucked up the courage to write one. It was about a cool story I’d heard a while back. And I thought, why not get some research done, and write about it. So… on July 9th, 2020, I officially published How the US Government Nearly Made A Trillion Dollar Coin.

Writing has always been a passion for me, a dream, an ambition. Ever since I first laid eyes on that copy of Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers back in 3rd grade, I’d been hooked. J. K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, Conn Iggulden. I was a hardcore bookworm. And then, as most writers do, I made the transition from reader to writer.

Why? I wanted to write like that. I wanted to take people through a rollercoaster of emotions; make them laugh, make them cry, make them smile. I felt a desire to open out and show my emotions. And with Medium, I could.

So… when I first saw the money I had made, I realized that I could turn writing from a hobby into a career. And that moment was incredible. I laughed. I cried. I smiled. Ironically, Medium took me through the rollercoaster of emotions I aimed to take my readers through.

That was my first week on Medium. And hopefully, my second will be even better. Update: It wasn’t.