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Abstract

, there has been drama. Views and reads have been in the toilet, algorithm changes every other day, questions about transparency; it has always been something.</p><p id="9350">But the biggest issue I have had as a new writer on the platform is figuring out how much effort to put into Medium and how long to stick with it before I chuck the platform and move on.</p><p id="c436">It’s like having an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. On the one hand, I love writing, I love Medium, I have met amazing people here, and there’s nowhere else that I could have an experience like this. On the other hand, I look like an idiot when I’m excited that a story earned $7.49 for the month; my husband looks at me like I’m insane. And then he goes to work and busts his ass where he stands on his feet for ten hours building trucks.</p><p id="7a20">Meanwhile, I sit in a comfortable chair reading, writing, and interacting on Medium. I feel like a lazy free-loader. Combine that with the feeling that I’m shooting in the dark at a moving target. This is not a pleasant experience.</p><p id="723f">How long do you stay somewhere that you love but where you feel lost?</p><p id="23a1">Medium making the gesture that it did by rewarding high-caliber writers with some coin, and kind words gives me hope about my future on the platform. It provides me with the motivation that I was lacking and the incentive to stay focused.</p><p id="2e61">For the first time, I can see that the advice to “just keep writing” might pay off and that I’m not operating on blind faith.</p><p id="6e82">Ev Williams has said that we are moving in the direction of a <a href="https://ev.medium.com/medium-editorial-team-update-8679bcb9fe81">“more relational”</a> Medium. Is the bonus given to 1,000 writers all part of the “more relational” Medium we have been hearing about for months?</p><p id="d8f8">Medium specified in the monthly payment summary that these writers were receiving a bonus because their posts “received the most member reads, claps, and follows.” If your writing resonates with the reader, that will benefit Medium. In return, Medium will acknowledge your relationship with the reader by paying you a bonus. I can’t argue with that.</p><p id="0214">Everyone who writes on Medium has reason to be optimistic about the future.</p><p id="c06f">There are no guarantees in business, but I am hopeful that yesterda

Options

y was just the beginning of more great opportunities for writers on Medium soon.</p><p id="d024">For now, I am going to keep on writing. I hope you join me and do the same. The future looks bright.</p><p id="9181"><a href="http://lindakowalchek.ck.page">If you like stories like this, please join my email list.</a></p><p id="af7d"><i>Linda Kowalchek is a work in progress and a member of the typewriter generation. She spends her time with her husband and her rescue cats waiting for golf balls to crash through their windows. PSA: Don’t live next to a golf course.</i></p><div id="dadc" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/whats-happening-with-medium-f431fbe9b128"> <div> <div> <h2>What’s Happening With Medium?</h2> <div><h3>And what does it mean for you as a writer?</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*uEImESJuQA-lS76C5JrOag.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="f016" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/my-fourth-month-writing-on-medium-4e38ade8ffa2"> <div> <div> <h2>My Fourth Month Writing on Medium</h2> <div><h3>The delicate balance between writing and the rest of my life.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*FH2M4o9ndFMefYAjQWde_A.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="be9a" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/i-took-three-classes-about-making-big-money-on-medium-783b947d8f2"> <div> <div> <h2>I Took Three Classes About Making Big Money on Medium</h2> <div><h3>Here’s what none of them taught me.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*1eRhpO0DD0vEWMrh-neO0A.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Medium Rewarded 1,000 Writers With $500 This Month

That’s great news for all Medium writers!

This is almost as good as when Oprah said, “you get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car!”

Yesterday afternoon I saw story after story popping up on Medium by writers who received an extra $500 this month from Medium in addition to their monthly earnings.

They also received a note on their monthly payment summary stating that they were being recognized for making the “most impact on members this past month” and that Medium was “rewarding 1,000 writers with a $500 bonus.”

It further went on to say that they were being recognized “because the stories you published in April received the most member reads, claps, and follows.

The note concluded with “[i]t’s writers like you that make Medium and the Partner Program a living network of insightful thinking.”

Holy cow! This is like putting bacon on mac and cheese; it makes something that is already good even better.

Not only did 1,000 people get the money that they earned for their writing, but they got a $500 bonus, and a nice note. I’m a sucker for good manners, so that means a lot to me.

Now, I didn’t get a $500 bonus, but that’s okay with me because I didn’t earn one. I didn’t do what the well-deserving 1,000 people did. I could spend time explaining why that is, but it doesn’t matter. I didn’t earn a bonus and recognition. Period.

But to those very pleasantly surprised 1,000 people who are finally being recognized, congratulations on your success! You deserve it!

It’s incredible what recognition and money can do when it comes to morale and attitude. This gesture by Medium goes a long way to show me that they do appreciate the work that the writers do.

If you think I’m a sucker and I’m naïve, please keep that opinion to yourself. This is my hope-filled moment; please, don’t ruin it.

For as long as I have been writing on Medium, there has been drama. Views and reads have been in the toilet, algorithm changes every other day, questions about transparency; it has always been something.

But the biggest issue I have had as a new writer on the platform is figuring out how much effort to put into Medium and how long to stick with it before I chuck the platform and move on.

It’s like having an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. On the one hand, I love writing, I love Medium, I have met amazing people here, and there’s nowhere else that I could have an experience like this. On the other hand, I look like an idiot when I’m excited that a story earned $7.49 for the month; my husband looks at me like I’m insane. And then he goes to work and busts his ass where he stands on his feet for ten hours building trucks.

Meanwhile, I sit in a comfortable chair reading, writing, and interacting on Medium. I feel like a lazy free-loader. Combine that with the feeling that I’m shooting in the dark at a moving target. This is not a pleasant experience.

How long do you stay somewhere that you love but where you feel lost?

Medium making the gesture that it did by rewarding high-caliber writers with some coin, and kind words gives me hope about my future on the platform. It provides me with the motivation that I was lacking and the incentive to stay focused.

For the first time, I can see that the advice to “just keep writing” might pay off and that I’m not operating on blind faith.

Ev Williams has said that we are moving in the direction of a “more relational” Medium. Is the bonus given to 1,000 writers all part of the “more relational” Medium we have been hearing about for months?

Medium specified in the monthly payment summary that these writers were receiving a bonus because their posts “received the most member reads, claps, and follows.” If your writing resonates with the reader, that will benefit Medium. In return, Medium will acknowledge your relationship with the reader by paying you a bonus. I can’t argue with that.

Everyone who writes on Medium has reason to be optimistic about the future.

There are no guarantees in business, but I am hopeful that yesterday was just the beginning of more great opportunities for writers on Medium soon.

For now, I am going to keep on writing. I hope you join me and do the same. The future looks bright.

If you like stories like this, please join my email list.

Linda Kowalchek is a work in progress and a member of the typewriter generation. She spends her time with her husband and her rescue cats waiting for golf balls to crash through their windows. PSA: Don’t live next to a golf course.