In His October Update, Buster Benson Gave Us the Most Honest and Truthful Statement We’ve Ever Gotten about Earnings from a Medium Pooh Bah

Maybe We Should Listen to Him

Buster Benson just released the October Partner Program Update.

There was one sentence that jumped out at me:

Our recommendation is that the Partner Program is considered a supplement, rather than a replacement, to a consistent and predictable full-time income.

When I first read that statement, I laughed out loud. Why? Because it is so effing true. And because no Medium pooh-bah has ever spelled it out that honestly and frankly before.

After many years of reading obfuscating blather from Medium higher-ups about how much money we can expect to make here, for the very first time, a Medium bigwig was actually telling it like it is. (Thanks, Buster! You might have been stating the obvious, but it needed to be said.)

In case there are any doubts, here’s a translation:

Attention writers! You can’t make a living on this platform.

I’ve been on Medium since February 2019 and I’m here to say that you can take that statement to the bank. (Irony alert!) Despite what you may have read in all of those I Make Zillions of Dollars a Day on Medium stories, although there are a few folks making big money on Medium, most of us aren’t and never will.

Which is to say that people like Tim Denning are the exception, not the rule.

And that earning enough as a Medium writer to consistently pay the rent, for 99% of us, is the dream, not the reality.

If you want to keep chasing that dream? Go right ahead! But don’t say that Buster didn’t warn you.

Here’s another translation:

Attention writers! Stop whining about all the money you aren’t making here.

Or, to put it yet another way?

Medium doesn’t owe us a living.

In the many years that I’ve been here, the folks who run this circus have never stopped tinkering with the payment algorithm. As a result my earnings have soared and then plummeted. And then soared. And then plummeted again. One month they’re in the stratosphere! The next, they’re in the toilet.

It’s not that the quality of my stories varied. I’m a pro. I’ve written for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, I’ve been on The Today Show, on Morning Edition and in 16 Chicken Soup for the Soul Collections.

But as the folks that run this platform continue to try to build this particular plane as they fly it, sometimes Medium values the kind of stories I write. Other times? Not so much.

I eventually realized that I wasn’t going to be able to make a living writing on Medium. I decided to stick around anyway. I love the sense of community, the absence of trolls, and the ease with which I can reach readers who enjoy and engage with my work. I also love the fact that my Medium writing drives traffic to the gig that does pay the rent, my work as a writing coach, book doctor and editor-for-hire:

The fact that I can earn a living with my editing means that I can choose to write on Medium for the fun of it and not for the money.

Your financial situation may be very different. You may have joined Medium because you need to earn good money with your stories. And your work may be absolutely terrific. You could well be the next Jane Austen or the next Dickens or the next Hemingway.

But even if you are? Take my advice. When Buster Benson tells you honestly and clearly that you aren’t going to make a living on Medium?

Believe him.

Writing Coach Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, can help you improve and publish your work. Drop her a line at [email protected]. (That’s Ros with an “s,” not a “z.”)