WRITING CHALLENGE

I Took a 30-Day Pub Challenge and This is How It Went

Yes, a challenge.

I read this challenge post by a writer I am following here on Medium, and decided, well, why not? Let’s do this. Challenge accepted. This is my full report on efforts vs earnings for the month of March, 2021, a month where many were reporting their lowest earnings ever on the platform.

Here’s the challenge post by David Majister:

Where I Started for the Challenge

February 2021

Beginning stats: see feature image Earnings in February: $93.36 Posted stories in February:

• 16 stories
• Total publications I posted in for the month: 4

Total curations in February:

• Poems: 4 posted,1 was selected, curation rate 25%
• articles: 9 posted, 6 were chosen for distribution, curation rate of 66%
• newsletters: 3, N/A, however 2 were chosen for distribution (?)
• shortform: None

Follower count as of March 1: 3,888

Goals for March Earnings: $250.00 Followers: up by 250

Publish at least 30 stories in at least 30 DIFFERENT publications.

Now…here’s what I did for March. I will post my earnings, new follower count, and numbers of stories/publications at the bottom. I’ll also analyze the curation selections so you can see what is getting curated. If you are looking to increase your own curation rate, you may want to take a look at those articles and poems that were selected for distribution. The links have been included for all articles and publications.

1. Title: My Downstairs Neighbor Is Ruining My New Apartment Publication: Self-published, approached by The Startup to add to a new pub: Curious Genre: Personal essay Chosen for Distribution: Yes
2. Title: Caroline Knows Publication: The Lark Genre: fiction Chosen for Distribution: Yes
3. Title: POMprompt # 23 — Breathe — Release — Celebrate Publication: The POM Genre: poetry Chosen for Distribution: Yes
4. Title: Working from Home and Getting Things Done Publication: short form posted to my wall Genre: short form Chosen for Distribution: N/A
5. Title: Female-Directed ‘Land’ With Robin Wright; A Single Woman’s Review Publication: Atta Girl Genre: movie review / article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
6. Title: Etch Me Upon the Glass Publication: Scrittura Genre: poetry Chosen for Distribution: no (but I think it should have been)
7. Title: I Finally Ordered DNA Testing Publication: The Narrative Genre: article Chosen for Distribution: no
8. Title: Ode to Loves Lost Publication: Fiddleheads & Floss Poetry Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: No
9. Title: The Abstract Is Absent Here Publication: Scuzzbucket Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: No (I was actually surprised this one was not chosen. I thought it interesting, personal, daring enough.)
10. Title: The Steep Cost of Setting Boundaries Publication: P.S. I Love You Genre: article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
11. Title: A Reminder About a POMprompt Rule Many Are Getting Wrong Publication: The POM Genre: Newsletter Chosen for Distribution: N/A
12. Title: Netflix’s Doctor Foster is the jaw-dropping binge watch I needed this weekend. Publication: posted to my wall Genre: short form Chosen for Distribution: N/A
13. Title: I Got Curious Publication: Fiddleheads & Floss Poetry Genre: Newsletter Chosen for Distribution: Yes (???)
14. Title: A Poem and a 2-Line Poetry Prompt #3 Publication: Publishing Well Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: No
15. Title: A Poem and a 2-Line Poetry Prompt Publication: Blue Insights Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: Yes
16. Title: Poetry Can Teach Us Much About Self-Love Publication: Illumination (rejected by multiple pubs — bigger ones like The Ascent etc. — then was chosen for distribution in multiple topics.) Genre: Poetry article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
17. Title: Morning Blooms in Birdsong Publication: Weeds & Wildflowers Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: NO (grrrr.)
18. Title: The Quirky Habits of List-Making Publication: The Partnered Pen This one was also rejected by multiple pubs — bigger ones like The Ascent etc. — then was chosen for distribution in multiple topics.) Genre: Article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
19. Title: These Shared Walls Publication: Contemplate Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: Yes
20. Title: To My Future Friend Publication: Chalkboard Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: No
21. Title: It’s Not Your Job to Fix Broken People Publication: P.S. I Love You Genre: article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
22. Title: A Poem and a 2-Line Poetry Prompt #2 Publication: Sky Collection Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: No
23. Title: The INFJ Guide to Self-Marketing Publication: An Idea! Genre: article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
24. Title: The Home Beneath Me Publication: Woodworkers of the World Unite!!! Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: No
25. Title: A Warning for Writers (Highest earner of the month) Publication: The POM Genre: article Chosen for Distribution: No
26. Title: The POM Newsletter: A Warning for Our Writers Publication: The POM Genre: Newsletter Chosen for Distribution: N/A
27. Title: POMprompt #24 — Take Me on a Journey Publication: The POM Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: No
28. Title: The Yin & Yang Of Relationships Publication: Heart Affairs Genre: article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
29. Title: Concentric Circles Publication: Scrittura Genre: Poetry Chosen for Distribution: Yes
30. Title: Newsletter: Fiddleheads & Floss Would Like Your 2 Cents Publication: Fiddleheads & Floss Poetry Genre: Newsletter Chosen for Distribution: No
31. Title: In Response to a New Trick — and to Curation Surprises Publication: From the Library Genre: Article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
32. Title: Busting Those Fake Friends Requests Publication: Data Driven Investor Genre: Article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
33. Title: Critical Ways to Impress Your Freelance Clients Publication: The Writing Cooperative Genre: Article Chosen for Distribution: Yes
34. Title: Captain’s Log: The ‘Medium’ Island Publication: MuddyUm Genre: Fiction Chosen for Distribution: No (This one was chosen fro distribution, then it reverted back to NOT chosen.)
35. Title: A Month Long Writing Challenge Publication: The POM Genre: Article Chosen for Distribution: Yes

Earnings in March: $144.67 Posted stories in March: 35

• 4 of those 35 stories were newsletters (not MPP applicable)
• 2 of those 35 stories were short form (not MPP applicable)
• Therefor 6 are N/A and 29 are eligible for distribution.
• Of the remaining 29, 18 were chosen for distribution, distribution rate of 62.1%
• 11 of those stories were poems (not counting poetry-related works, only the actual poems) and 3 were chosen for distribution, a distribution rate of 27.27%
• For articles, 13 were chosen for distribution out of the 14 posted, a curation rate of 93% (The topics varied widely: personal essay, movie review, science, poetry articles, relationships, productivity, psychology, Medium, social media, work, freelance.)
• For the two fiction pieces, one was chosen, a rate of 50% (The other fiction piece this month was a humor piece about Medium. So far on Medium I have only had one of my previous fiction pieces NOT chosen for distribution and it happens to be one that I won an award for in 2004. Medium said nope to curation on that one. WTF medium?)
• One newsletter was chosen for distribution — a fluke? 2 were chosen in February.
• Total publications I posted in for the month: 24 (6 shy of what I set out to do, but still, quite an effort. At least 5 were new publications for me.)

Follower count as of March 1: 4,013 Earnings growth: A gain of $51.31 on MPP (36% growth) Follower growth: 125 new followers (3% growth)

Final thoughts:

• As you can see, selections for distribution are relatively high, but for my articles and not my poetry. I am currently the 2nd Top Writer poet and I have been in the top three for the better part of a year and a half now. I am not sure if I have ever been a “featured” poet on the topics page. I write for a variety of publications, in a variety of topics, and have a decent following. But clearly, curators prefer my article work, even if the articles are newsletters or poetry prompts and distribute my work in the poetry tag more often when I write about poetry than when I write actual poetry. I am trying not to take this personally.
• My income does not reflect my effort and rarely does. If I stop writing almost altogether, I still earn around $80–100 a month on residuals. But after a 2 year Medium effort — I feel my residuals should be higher for the body of work that I already have curated. To date, I have just shy of 900 stories posted here on Medium.
• Writing more often moderately increases followership and payout, but I do not see big jumps in income when I make big jumps in effort.
• Ultimately, writing on Medium is financially more of a burden on my time than it is a supportive income stream.

Having said all of this, I hope I gave you enough numbers to get your wheels turning about your own performance here on Medium. Let’s get real though — the numbers, I LOVE analyzing them, but is it why I am here on Medium? Absolutely not. I write here — and often call Medium my writer’s playground — because I LOVE medium. I love the people here. I love the writers here and the poets! It’s FUN for me to be here.

Do I get frustrated that my “glass ceiling” here seems to be LOW? Absolutely.

I’d love to be one of those few-thousand a month earners here and I feel I have worked hard enough over the last 2 years to have earned that. At this point, as I am working now as a full time writer and making my money elsewhere, I am here more for the game of it all. And also to provide supportive content, entertaining content, and to write the things that tug at my heart to be written. I offer a lot of encouragement and spend much of my time here supporting and uplifting other poets and creative writers on this platform. Also, I read here daily.

I lead the POMpoets proudly, operate a 2 poetry publications, and write regularly. Either one day MPP catches up with my efforts — or it doesn’t. To continue writing here, I have to be ok with the latter. (Honestly, I am really not ok with it, but I am willing to tolerate it in the hopes that some day, my work will begin earning more here.) In the meantime, I learn each day to improve my work on this platform.

Also, I did not meet my financial, followership, or posting goals for March, but I did my best. And that’s all I’ve got to give.

Thanks for reading my work! You, dear reader, are why I am still HERE!

For more stories by this author, follow her profile here and her publications here and here. And this is her latest poem!