Summary

The article discusses the challenges and lessons learned by a new writer on Medium, emphasizing the subjectivity of story appreciation and the importance of managing expectations to maintain mental well-being while pursuing writing success.

Abstract

The author shares their personal experience of investing significant time into an article they believed would be successful on Medium, only to face rejection from editors and disappointing viewership. Through this experience, the author distills two key lessons: first, that the perception of a story's quality is highly subjective and should not be taken personally when met with rejection; and second, that emulating others' successful strategies does not guarantee similar outcomes. The article advises new writers to focus on mastering the craft of writing for personal growth and satisfaction rather than for immediate success or external validation. It suggests that success in writing is more dependent on skill mastery than luck and encourages writers to write for the love of the craft, finding reward in the act of writing itself.

Opinions

The author believes that quality in writing is subjective and what may be considered epic by one may be seen as average by another.
Rejection from editors or a lack of reader engagement should not be taken personally, as it is a reflection of subjective tastes.
The article suggests that writers should not expect the same level of success as others by simply replicating their methods, as individuality in audience, style, word choice, and the writers themselves plays a significant role.
The author emphasizes the importance of working hard without becoming overly attached to specific outcomes, as unmet expectations can lead to disappointment and even depression.
Success on Medium is seen as more dependent on a writer's mastery of their craft over time rather than sheer luck or immediate gains.

2 Last Lessons Before You Quit Writing on Medium

A private letter to new writers.

It took roughly 6–8 hours before I could finish the article. And my thought was that Medium will definitely curate it.

As I got to the editing phase and giving it a final touch, I had to drop the bar a little.

“… None of us can predict whether an article will be curated or not. No writer can really put a finger on what gets a story curated.”

“So, I’m going to take my mind off whatever wants to happen. Of it’s curated, fine; if it didn’t get curated, fine.

“And… I think the article will still have, at least, 500 views even if Medium curation team refuses to pick it up.”

Then it was time to publish or submit the article. I submitted it to one of the biggest publications here on Medium.

“Finally”!… (Sigh).

24 hours later and…

No feedback from the editors. It was unusual.

“How come?… How can anyone one leap over such an epic article?”

Lesson #1: A good story is subjective. What you see as epic another may see as average.

We are all different and so we are bound to see things differently.

So don’t be amazed when editors and readers ignore your epic drafts or send you a private note that it didn’t meet their standard. Or it’s not what they want at the moment.

Always remember: Quality is subjective. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

If you understand this, you’ll rarely take rejections personally.

I pulled the unpublished draft from the publication. This is because if they do not edit after 24 hours and your article, it means it wasn’t accepted. I knew the rules and so I needed to take action before it stays longer in vain.

Considering the sacrifices I made to put this article together, I felt terrible. And I felt that bad because the article didn’t even impress editors of the publication to give it a chance to live.

At that point I lost hope that the article wasn’t going to have the 500 views I was expecting.

I then submitted it to another publication. A smaller one this time.

Some hours later I checked back and noticed the editor of the publication has changed the size of the feature image. I became excited. My hope went up again.

A few hours later after I finished the movie, Edge of Tomorrow, I checked backed and discovered they have published it. And it read, published “4 hours ago”.

“Great!”

I hurriedly went to the stat and to my greatest surprise …

“What?”

“You mean after copying the headline formula of one of the most read content on the internet, this is what I get?”

“I can’t believe this!”

I went to bed that night sad and discouraged.

“Why is Medium not fair to me? Why will they just not want me to be happy for once?!… Why, why, why..?!’’

Lesson #2: That it worked for others doesn’t mean it will work for you.

In other words, what took others there won’t take you there.

The audience is not the same. No two writers can have the same audience to read their works.
The style is not the same. No two writers can connect to their audience the same way.
The word choice is not the same. No two writers can discuss the same topic using the same words.
The writers are not the same. Each one is unique. You’re different from your favorite writers.

So don’t expect the same outcome. It could be better or worse. But It can never be the same.

Failing is discouraging.

It’s discouraging to work so hard to get nothing for the effort and time

That’s the major reason a lot of new writers quit writing on Medium too early.

The truth is, there’s is an attitude to working hard on Medium that can keep you hanging on until your dream success hit you unexpected.

Here’s it: You have to learn how to work hard without losing your mind at the outcome.

How to Work Hard Without Losing Your Mind

As a new writer, you have to work hard if you want to be successful in Medium.

But be you must beware of the attitude to working hard that makes your contemporaries lose their mind and quit.

If you push too hard on life and expect her to reward your effort with massive success, you may lose your mind and quit.

Why?

When you don’t get the success that corresponds with your expectations, you will lose your mind.

That’s how I got depressed after a certain publication rejected my work three times I’m a row.

For about 3 days I couldn’t do anything useful with my life. Life was just miserable and cruel to me.

And I was contemplating a quit.

You don’t want that to happen to you. Do you?

So work hard but prevent yourself from expecting so much.

People don’t lose their mind for spending 20 hours working on an article or a project. They lose their mind when their expectations are too large that success looks so insignificant when it comes.

My advice is that you work hard not intending to be successful — especially in the beginning- but to learn and master the craft.

You don’t have absolute control over your success on Medium. But you do over how much better a writer you become.

And if you gain mastery of your craft, you can determine whatever volume of outcome you desire. It’s just a matter of time.

Success in the blogging world is more mastery dependent than luck dependent.

If you want to succeed as a writer, don’t focus on succeeding; rather focus on mastering writing content that millions of people want to read. And as you gain that mastery, the success you desire will submit itself to you.

Learning is the path to success.

Forget those trying to impress you with “ How I Made $ 6,000 in a Single Month.” It’s only a clever way some writers advertise themselves on Medium. ( Since Medium prohibits writers from advertising on this platform.)

The only way not to lose your mind is to work very hard and be moderate in your expectations. Writing for the love of the craft and not for the gain it can offer.

That’s the path to finding fulfillment and satisfaction as a writer.

Conclusion.

Writing is its own reward.

When you do it for love, it is rewarding even if no one has seen it or commend your effort.

But when you do it for what you hope to gain from people, forget it, you may get disappointed and suffer heartaches.

So don’t push too hard trying to impress anyone or be crown a king for your hard work. Just put your heart into it and create. Let the joy of having finished an article satisfy you and be at peace with the outcome.

Remember: Writing is its own reward. We write primarily because we are writers and writers do one thing: THEY WRITE.

Keep writing, dear friend. And let nothing — not even me — discourage you.

Let’s keep in touch for more helpful tips in this never-ending journey of writing

P.S. Remember to post a link to your article in the comments section. I will be more than glad to read it.