Is Medium a Blogging Platform or Reputable Publisher?

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ly worn on me. But this is the nature of the platform — you must keep cranking out prose if you want your work read.I still try to wrap my head around how some writers can produce 4–5 pieces per day, almost every day, twelve months a year. Which got me thinking… maybe I was looking at Medium all the wrong way?<h2 id="f677">To blog, or not to blog</h2>When I joined Medium, I was coming from an offline world. While I’ve been involved with the Internet for over twenty years, I still enjoy reading my publications in paper form (at least the ones that still exist). From TIME, Businessweek, Bloomberg, Inc, Entrepreneur, The New Yorker, The Economist, HBR, Fast Company, and more, I’ve spent many an hour(s) plopped on the couch reading magazines each Sunday so much that it was almost an addiction that my wife hated.This was my bar for what and how I wanted to write when I joined Medium.With naïveté in hand, I wanted to write intelligent articles that could only be found on this platform with other gifted writers.I viewed Medium as a reputable publisher; after all, there are some bestselling authors on this platform. And while some may not equate “bestselling” with being a good writer, that measure was certainly good enough for me.…there is simply not enough hours in my day to ever make me a top author on this platform under the current structure.What I didn’t realize or fully appreciate was the hours of research, editing, and just simply collecting your thoughts to make a good article. One that didn’t read like you just vomited every idea on paper.Keeping this mindset made me very slow in putting out

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new articles each month. Yes… I said, month, not weekly. My pace was proof that you would never hit 100 followers if you didn’t develop a mindset to output your work weekly. The dirty secret is that I still don’t, and that’s okay.As much as I enjoy writing, there are simply not enough hours in my day to ever make me a top author on this platform under the current structure.What I have done is change my mindset to think of it more as another blogging site. And frankly, if you see authors cranking out 50 articles per month, they cannot all be stories that move you.As I’ve switched to thinking of Medium as more of a blogging platform to publicly document my thoughts, it’s become easier (and less stressful) to try and stamp out new stories regularly. I’m not a robot, and I’m not hiring a staff in India to write articles for me; I’m simply one (already overworked) guy who likes putting his thoughts on paper.By treating Medium as a personal blog, I’ve removed the weight of having to spend days editing every article. There is less burden for me to constantly write about one and only one topic. If I have nothing that inspires me on a certain day, I’m free to take the day off — there is no deadline screaming, “I need your story by 5 o’clock!”Some blogs have made people rich; mine probably won’t, but writing for Medium shouldn’t induce a panic attack. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more have reprogrammed us to value quantity over quality — l hope we can all bring the fun back into writing.Read more viewpoints from me and other great writers on Medium — <a href="https://stpchg.com/membership">Become a Member Today</a>!</article></body>

How you answer may predict your longevity

I do a lot of reading… a lot. So much that I sometimes spend more time looking for something new to read than actually reading. It’s not that I’m a know-it-all, but I don’t like wasting time on topics that have been well-covered many times over. Writing about Medium on Medium is one of those topics, so I have largely avoided reading and writing about Medium since joining the platform over a year ago. As I reflect back on crossing my 100 followers, I hope I can impart some wisdom on those just starting.

While many writers can spend their days talking about the algorithm, and the vision of Ev Williams, I have really tried to just stick with the basics — writing more consistently. It seems with all the dissertations about finding success on Medium, it really comes down to those three words. Sure, there is engagement, following other writers, and leaving comments, but at the end of the day, you need to write… a lot.

So, here I am in December, which will probably be my lowest output in months. I am not a full-time writer; I work six days a week for 10–11 hours each day. Finding the time to write every single week has definitely worn on me. But this is the nature of the platform — you must keep cranking out prose if you want your work read.

I still try to wrap my head around how some writers can produce 4–5 pieces per day, almost every day, twelve months a year. Which got me thinking… maybe I was looking at Medium all the wrong way?

To blog, or not to blog

When I joined Medium, I was coming from an offline world. While I’ve been involved with the Internet for over twenty years, I still enjoy reading my publications in paper form (at least the ones that still exist). From TIME, Businessweek, Bloomberg, Inc, Entrepreneur, The New Yorker, The Economist, HBR, Fast Company, and more, I’ve spent many an hour(s) plopped on the couch reading magazines each Sunday so much that it was almost an addiction that my wife hated.

This was my bar for what and how I wanted to write when I joined Medium.

With naïveté in hand, I wanted to write intelligent articles that could only be found on this platform with other gifted writers.

I viewed Medium as a reputable publisher; after all, there are some bestselling authors on this platform. And while some may not equate “bestselling” with being a good writer, that measure was certainly good enough for me.

…there is simply not enough hours in my day to ever make me a top author on this platform under the current structure.

What I didn’t realize or fully appreciate was the hours of research, editing, and just simply collecting your thoughts to make a good article. One that didn’t read like you just vomited every idea on paper.

Keeping this mindset made me very slow in putting out new articles each month. Yes… I said, month, not weekly. My pace was proof that you would never hit 100 followers if you didn’t develop a mindset to output your work weekly. The dirty secret is that I still don’t, and that’s okay.

As much as I enjoy writing, there are simply not enough hours in my day to ever make me a top author on this platform under the current structure.

What I have done is change my mindset to think of it more as another blogging site. And frankly, if you see authors cranking out 50 articles per month, they cannot all be stories that move you.

As I’ve switched to thinking of Medium as more of a blogging platform to publicly document my thoughts, it’s become easier (and less stressful) to try and stamp out new stories regularly. I’m not a robot, and I’m not hiring a staff in India to write articles for me; I’m simply one (already overworked) guy who likes putting his thoughts on paper.

By treating Medium as a personal blog, I’ve removed the weight of having to spend days editing every article. There is less burden for me to constantly write about one and only one topic. If I have nothing that inspires me on a certain day, I’m free to take the day off — there is no deadline screaming, “I need your story by 5 o’clock!”

Some blogs have made people rich; mine probably won’t, but writing for Medium shouldn’t induce a panic attack. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more have reprogrammed us to value quantity over quality — l hope we can all bring the fun back into writing.

Read more viewpoints from me and other great writers on Medium — Become a Member Today!