I’m Going Through a Rough Patch On Medium

But I’ve been writing about success on Medium for so long that I forgot how to write about the struggle

I don’t write too many stories about the Medium Partner Program these days, mostly because I’ve wanted to figure out where I stand on the whole earnings system change that took place at the end of October. Well, it’s a new year, and we’ve had two full months with those changes.

So, what do I think?

Man, I wish I knew.

The truth is that I’m having a hard time forming an educated opinion about the earnings system because that isn’t the only thing that’s changed on Medium lately. There’s been another algorithm change to the way Medium shows users stories, and I’ll be honest… it has not been a great change for me.

Strangely enough, now that everyone’s home pages have shifted to reflect more of the people they follow (and way less of the Medium publications), my stats have seemed to be in a free-fall.

Success and engagement on Medium are always relative, but for me, I’ve seen a sweeping decline in all of my numbers. Regardless of how much I publish, there’s this hump I struggle to overcome to raise my views, though when I publish less, those numbers just plummet further.

Maybe I’m Struggling Because I Quit Writing So Much About Medium and Writing Success

While I’m still not convinced that writing about the MPP these days is “worth it” in a monetary sense, I have to admit I used to write way more success and tips stories that got good traction.

Lately, I have little interest in writing those pieces at all because I don’t have much to say on such issues. I still feel like I need to watch how things work out.

And Then There Was That Whole Republishing Thing

I used to do a lot of republishing. It was a good way to breathe new life into old pieces that were no longer doing much. And it was a good way to keep putting my work out there for new eyes that missed it months or a year earlier.

Now that Medium explicitly doesn’t allow republishing, I don’t do it. To be honest, I haven’t even tried rewriting an old piece until it’s no longer recognizable to the original because I don’t trust that my rewrites will be substantial enough.

At first, I thought this rule wouldn’t bug me much since nobody is allowed to republish anymore. I was under the impression that views might actually increase without a bunch of republishing within the community. But I might have been wrong about that, and that’s OK.

I Don’t Know How Long I’ll Continue to Make a Full-Time Income on Medium

Of course, this is something I have always had no knowledge about. 2019 thoroughly exceeded my expectations about what was possible as a full-time writer, despite my last couple of months being weird.

In the month of December 2019, I still earned more than I made the year before. Though not significantly more. I did, however, write significantly more than in December 2018.

Last January, I saw a dip in earnings, and I expect to see another dip this month, too. Personally, I feel that January is an especially “crowded” month with new writers on the platform plus a swarm of resolutions to write more regularly.

There’s that part of me that worries about my stats continuing to free-fall until I have to find something to replace my income from Medium. There’s no way to know if that’s going to happen until it actually does.

It Feels Like I Forgot How to Write About the Struggle

You know, there’s this part of me that feels deeply ashamed to even admit that I’m not doing as well on Medium anymore. I can’t help but imagine every writer on the platform who has ever been nasty to me and told me I was going to fail rubbing their hands together gleefully as if I’m about to finally get my comeuppance.

Other things people have said to me also have a tendency to replay in my ears, like those who have flippantly said I’ll always be fine because I have a lot of followers. Or the friends who have said this new payment model was going to be great for me.

Naturally, I wonder if my previous success was just a fluke.

I have to remind myself that um, ahem, it’s not all about me. Most folks have better things to do than to get gleeful about my falling stats.

And other folks are doing really well under the new system, so it’s nice to see them shine.

I’m Not Sure What Medium Is Doing With Their In-House Publications Anymore

To be honest, this one actually boggles my mind. I’m hearing from a lot of folks that the engagement on their articles in the Medium-owned pubs has been pretty dismal compared to where they used to be.

If that continues to be the case, indie writers will feel less inclined to try to publish in these spots, unless Medium offers everyone a guarantee to house their stories with them.

I have mixed feelings about what it means if the big Medium-owned publications officially become less desirable to most of us.

And I’m wondering if that latest algorithm change wasn’t a bit of an over-correction.

Curation Still Matters, but It Often Doesn’t Offer Much of an Early Boost

Toward the end of 2018, most of my curated stories promptly got a thousand views. And I had between 3K and 4K followers back then.

These days, I continue to get most of my stories curated and I now have almost 22K followers. Yet, it is often a slow crawl to just 200 views. I wish I was joking.

For the most part, the early boost from curation doesn’t exist anymore. At least, I’m not seeing it. But I’m still seeing old curated stories come back into play and add $50 to $200 each month, so I wouldn’t call that nothing.

The Hardest Thing for Me About Medium Right Now Is That It Feels Like I’m Relearning the Whole Thing

And to be perfectly honest, my confidence has taken a hit. I have to remind myself that results don’t tell the whole story. My story in Elemental didn’t come with a guarantee, and it pretty much paid peanuts for such a newsworthy piece on autism since it has only had 1.5K views and 550 reads.

It feels like I am finding my footing all over again, and that voice of self-doubt keeps popping up to remind me that I was never that great and all of my worst fears could still come true.

I Never Used to Worry About My Views on Medium

If there’s one thing I don’t like about the changes to Medium, it’s that. I used to focus on my writing and never even pay attention to how many people saw each piece. Views felt like the ultimate vanity number, because who can really control that?

These days, I’m clocking in around 200K views per 30 days compared to my previous 300K-450K. Sometimes, it feels like I’m being “throttled,” or limited to a certain amount of eyeballs.

But I know that any change that feels negative is going to be hard. So, you know, I’m telling myself, “suck it up, buttercup.”

This Is One of Those Opportunities Where I Get to Practice What I Preach

Seriously. I often say that we need to be willing to get through the rough patches because success isn’t a straight, onward and upward line.

It takes detours. I am hardly the first writer to see a decline. I know what matters most won’t be my January or February earnings but how I deal with my setbacks instead.

I intend to keep writing, growing, and learning, even when it’s hard. I intend to keep supporting my daughter with my writing here at home.

I Wrote This Story for Anyone Else Who Feels a Little Down and Out

Again, the new earnings model is still new, and the Medium algorithms will keep changing. Some folks are really happy with their trajectory on Medium right now, and that might make it hard to admit that you don’t feel so hot yourself.

As somebody who has had $10K months on Medium for showing up and writing and just doing what I love, I do battle inner shame to say that this feels hard for me right now. This might not be the year of growth that I hoped for.

And sure, I definitely feel bad about that. I’m like any other writer. I compare myself to other writers. I look at the folks ahead of me and wonder how to get there too.

I don’t know how you’re feeling about your place on the platform these days, but I do want to assure you that it’s not all roses for anybody.

Here’s to the Bright Side

I will say that I quit my job in December 2018 to focus on Medium full-time, and I still don’t regret it. I may be earning less money than a few months ago for the same amount of work, but I’m still doing better than with my old job.

I may need to shake things up and get out of my comfort zone. But again, that doesn’t need to be a bad thing. It’s my choice whether or not I see it as an opportunity.

And I know what I choose.