avatarAllison Cecile

Summary

Allison, an engineer and writer, embarks on a 30-day challenge to submit one article per day to different Medium publications, sharing her journey, growth, and reflections on writing.

Abstract

Allison, who previously flirted with writing on Medium but didn't fully commit, decides to take on a 30-day challenge inspired by David Majister. She publicly announces her commitment to submit one new article to a different Medium publication each day, despite starting in the middle of the month. Allison's motivation stems from her childhood dream of becoming a writer, and she sets clear goals for follower count and earnings. Throughout the challenge, she explores various topics and writing styles, documents her successes and rule-breaking moments, and reflects on the importance of feedback and persistence in writing.

Opinions

  • Allison believes in second chances and the importance of challenging oneself, as evidenced by her return to Medium.
  • She values the impact of childhood dreams, acknowledging that while she's not ready to write a book, she can start with stories.
  • Allison is goal-oriented, initially aiming for 200 followers and 5 in earnings, but quickly adjusting her financial goal to 15 after early success.
  • She views writing and publishing as a journey of growth, emphasizing the significance of exploring different writing styles and topics.
  • Allison is open about her struggles with commitment and her strategy of not announcing her challenge initially to avoid embarrassment if she failed.
  • She demonstrates adaptability and a willingness to bend the rules of the challenge when necessary, such as submitting multiple articles to the same publication.
  • Allison appreciates the value of constructive feedback and actively seeks it to improve her writing.
  • She reflects on the challenges of writing, including the difficulty of the craft and the need to balance it with her day job.
  • Allison's writing suggests a playful and self-deprecating sense of humor, as seen in her articles and her interactions with publications.

I’m Submitting 30 Articles to 30 Publications in 30 Days

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Okay, David Majister, I see your 30-day challenge and I’m ready to accept.

Yes, I’m well aware that I’m writing this in the middle of the month but I can explain.

See, this is my second attempt on Medium. I flirted with Medium once before, but the sparks weren’t there. However, I believe in second chances so, here I am.

I was going along my own 30-day challenge and, breaking the rule in every self-help book I’ve ever read, I was doing it quietly. Just a solo trekker stealthily making my way through.

I didn’t announce it to anyone so it wouldn’t be embarrassing if I failed. I didn’t commit to a writing buddy because I don’t know other writers “in real life” (a dumb excuse and I know it). But honestly, it’s because I wanted a fire exit backdoor that wouldn’t alarm if I quit halfway through.

I shouldn’t half-ass this and I definitely shouldn’t prepare excuses for myself in advance.

When I stumbled across this 30-day challenge, it spoke to me. It caught me halfway thru my sleuthing and dared me to come clean. So here’s my 30-day challenge.

My “Why”

I don’t have my “why” for life and I doubt I’ll ever find it. But I do have my “why” for writing at least.

As a kid, I was a bookworm. I loved reading, and I was always carrying a book around with me.

I would regularly be begging my mom to take me to the library and a good day at the mall meant I could crawl into the reading canoe at Chapters, and voraciously read as many books as I could while my mom shopped. It was rarely easy to find a series of books in chronological order at the local library so to see them all laid out so beautifully at a book store was a treat for me.

The flip side to being a bookworm is that I’d always dreamed of one day writing a book.

But like so many who put down their childhood dreams, I put down mine too when faced with the reality of … well, life? Growing up? The realization that writing is hard?

While I’m far from ready to write a full book (and I have no idea what this book would even be about), I can at least start small. I can put one foot in front of another and start writing stories.

But writing is only one part of the equation. Then there’s publishing and then — eek — hopefully, working with an editor for feedback to improve.

My Starting Point

I can only measure my success if I’ve got a clear starting point, right?

Well, I ended March with 0 followers and I made $0.01 USD.

You don’t need to feel sorry for me. In fact, I love that I can now say I’ve been paid a penny for my thoughts and it even inspired me to write an article by that same name.

I rather look at it as there’s nowhere to go but up.

I would love to end the month off with 200 followers. I can’t even put that as a percent improvement since I can’t divide by zero, but let’s shoot for 200 followers.

I originally set my monetary goal at $5 USD. If I made enough from my writing to pay for my subscription, then I would be happy. Well, I passed that on Day 11 so, assuming I stay on a linear course to how I’ve been doing, let’s aim for $15 USD.

Sure, $15 isn’t a lot of money and it’s definitely not enough for me to quit my day job. But $15 would be a 1500x improvement over the $0.01 I started with! It’s all a matter of perspective.

But more important than the monetary impact or even the growth in followers, I’m looking forward to challenging myself as a writer. Both in terms of exploring different writing styles and topics, but also the challenge of seeing if this is something I can truly stick to. I’m afraid I’ve been a bit of a flight risk at times.

Let’s Begin

As directed by Challenge Master David Majister, I’ll try to follow his rules (but sometimes rules are meant to bent):

  • Submit to any publication.
  • Submit one new article each day.
  • Submissions can be anything
  • Every new submission must be to a different publication

I’ll also list my articles here as they get published.

Big thanks in advance to everyone who helps hold me accountable for this, and I’m excited about this challenge!

Let The Submissions Begin!

Day 1: United States of Race

Day 2: Freethinkr

Day 3: Resonates

Day 4: Illumination

Day 5: Open Letter To

Day 6: Written From The Heart

BONUS — double submission to “Open Letters To” because I was inspired

Day 7: The Ascent

BONUS — double submission to Resonates

Day 8: Rule break #1 with a double submission to United States of Race; I’ll have to make up for this later!

Day 9: A classic Allison move … who misses the boat and has to introduce themselves on About Me on Day 9 instead of Day 1?!

Day 10: Amplifies

Day 11: Better Marketing

Day 12: Scribe

BONUS — double post to Scribe because that was required in my new writer request

Day 13: Feedium

Day 14: MuddyUm

Day 15: Writers’ Blokke

Day 16: The Masterpiece

Day 17: Be Unique

Day 18: The Haven

Day 19: The POM

Day 20: The Post-Grad Survival Guide — This is the publication that inspired my article on Day 5! I finally made it in!

Day 21: Freelancer’s Hub

Day 22: Unwritten Journal

Day 23: Inspired Writer

Day 24: The Venting Machine

BONUS — MuddUm

Day 25 — The Pink

BONUS —Resonates

Day 26 — Write Like A Girl

Day 27 — Advice to Younger Self

BONUS — Write To Inspire to make up for my previous rule break

Day 28 — Thoughts and Ideas

BONUS — Age of Empathy (to compensate for my rule break on Day 8)

Day 29 — Lighthouse

Day 30 — Story Second Chances

BONUS — A second story for Feedium

Writing
Writing Challenge
Productivity
Creativity
Inspiration
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarBarack Obama
My Statement on President Biden’s Announcement

Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me. Today, we’ve also been…

3 min read
avatarRebecca Anne Nguyen
I Am An Unpublished Manuscript Dying For Your Tender Caress

You know you want me on top…of your TBR pile.

4 min read
avatarGabriel Klingman
4 Easy Ways New Writers Get More Reads

You Get 0 Reads When You Write About Topics (do this instead)

3 min read
avatarMichelle Teheux
We Could Learn a Lot About Sex From the Dutch

My Dutch relative’s views shocked me, but I immediately realized she was right

6 min read
avatarAsad Message
I Thought Earning Money on LinkedIn was a Joke Until I Made $171.61

I earned $171.61 a month on LinkedIn by publishing articles. Here’s how you can steal the exact strategy.

4 min read
avatarSuzanna Quintana
The Professor Who Taught Me the Secret Behind the Art of Writing

One book and everything changed

5 min read