I Wrote My First $10 Story!

Does that mean I can write 5 $10 per day and make a living out of it? No.

I’m stoked. I wrote a story in about an hour and made $10 out of it?

The minimum wage in Greece is 3.5 euros ($4.14) per hour. That means that I’m around 2.5x more efficient.

So, with around 3 stories per day of the same value, I can make the minimum wage in 3 hours of work.

Uhmmm, yes and no.

I have to hold my horses, and so do you.

Success isn't always repeatable. The recipe that made your story stand out one time, won’t make it stand out twice.

Okay, success happens for a reason. It’s a combination of the right things at the right time.

What are those things? We will take a look at them soon enough.

There are two kinds of people. Those who will write the one hit that compares to 100 other stories, and others that consistently have a base.

Guess what. I’m trying to be the second one. Of course, I won’t say no to doing the first thing as well, but consistency is the key.

And I’m finally beginning to be consistent.

I want to teach you why and how.

First, the base.

Many of the writers here are aware of the rewards that Medium offers for top writers.

I wrote with that in mind, for July. There are bills to be paid and this will be a huge benefit for me if I make it even at the $100 mark.

But I’m aiming for the $500 one.

My base, for me, is my minimum earnings for a story in July.

As of now, it’s $1.76.

This became my lowest amount possible. I won’t accept anything less than that. My quality is high, and it should reflect in my earnings.

I reached the top writer in Ideas. More than proud of that, because my new base is true of high quality.

All of my articles are full of ideas, full of information, full of insights.

My writing “skyscraper” has a solid structure beneath.

What’s your base?

What will you set as your bare minimum?

Questions that you should answer right away.

The limit

The sky is the limit. That’s for sure. I wish my skyscraper will end taller than the tallest building in the world.

But there are steps in between.

You gotta acknowledge the fact that Rome wasn't built in a day.

New highs, new celebrations.

For me, this is my first celebration. My first big milestone.

A $10 story. A story that I wrote in an hour tops. A story that touches everyone that reads it and everyone can relate to.

The story? I’m sure you can relate if you haven't already.

The lessons learned (most useful part)

Okay. A story was made. A story became successful.

Do you copy the same story, with a different body?

No.

You do something better. You analyze.

You analyze the success behind it. You apply the lessons learned to your next stories. Not the body. The lessons.

My analysis showed some key elements of success.

A combination of variables that maybe I found by luck.

Maybe I found from muscle memory of posting stories here for a year.

Timing

Timing is crucial for success. You may post when Americans are asleep. You may post when Europeans and Asians are at work.

I post when it’s early morning for America and late night for Australia.

That’s my strategy. Having both readers awake. Potential Americans will read my piece when they are eating breakfast and potential Australians will read it in bed, before sleep.

All others in between are awake as well.

I try to touch every person at the right time.

Niche

You need the right audience (the write audience). Writing about the rewards of Medium had me look for people of the same niche.

Writing about small writers that didn't get the rewards had me look for the right publication.

And here I come, on this very publication. There are many small writers trying to stand their ground. And there’s me, giving a piece exactly for them.

Guess what. Win-win.

The right words

the right words consist of two things. The title and the body.

My story is all highlighted. I don't know if I was indeed 100% perfect with the choice of wording, but I’m proud. I’m proud that I hit a nerve.

Writing is about nerve-hitting. It’s about making someone agree so much, or disagree as much. Creating any kind of emotion in your writing means that you are doing something correctly.

My title made people click on that story. It made their nerve vibrate at the reading of my words. And that’s my win.

A three-part recipe that will make you stand out, at the right time.

Final thoughts

I may am a slow ship when starting. But when I start, there’s no coming back.

This story is about celebration. I celebrate my success.

To celebrate it, I’m giving away my insights on why and how did that happen.

Why I made $10 by writing.

And how you can do it as well.

To be honest, you will do better than me. I’m confident of this. There are plenty of writers like you that hit the right nerves.

I only hope that you will gain something from me and apply it to your next masterpiece.