avatarBrenda Mahler

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Abstract

/figcaption></figure><p id="15a7">Since they always were, I assumed they always would be. But you know what they say about people who assume. It makes an ASS out of U and ME = ASSUME. The “Meter your story” box was not checked so I made no money for most of my stories during the month of April and I was riding a great rollercoaster. My states were climbing.</p><ul><li>24 published stories</li><li>217 fans</li><li>A story with 846 views and a 56% read ratio</li><li>5 stories with a read ratio above 50%</li><li>A story with 532 reads</li></ul><p id="d52f">As mentioned, I am not getting rich but the pennies were building up — I thought. Then my rollercoaster not only dipped but flew off the tracks. At the end of the month when I looked at the Medium Partner Program page, only stories from prior to April made money. A total of $59.70 was deposited into my account in May, much less than my usual earnings.</p><p id="8158">Yes, it felt good to know that old stories could garner that much attention, but I didn’t get paid for my work. Was it my fault? Maybe a little. However, when the system changes shouldn’t we be notified? Medium failed me.</p><p id="1a51">When I realized I earned no money for the month of April, I figured out why and then wrote this article for others. This is a simple strategy to check that your stories are metered and a tutorial on how to change them if they are not.</p><div id="dcb5" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/do-this-now-know-if-a-story-is-metered-589a1df08bb6"> <div> <div> <h2>Do This NOW! Know if a Story is Metered</h2> <div><h3>The star tells you if you are making money — or not</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*7mnGUGk0w4v7eFz7QyJfTg.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h1 id="bcfd">Two things you can do</h1><ol><li>Check the “Meter your story” box every time prior to selecting publish. In fact, double and triple check it.</li><li>In your free time, read a couple of my stories to help me make up the lost income from April.</li></ol><p id="d4e2"><b>Enjoy humor?</b></p><div id="7fd9" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/apparently-there-is-a-dress-code-when-traveling-5db2d5e04a7c">

Options

  <div>
          <div>
            <h2>Apparently, There is a Dress Code When Traveling</h2>
            <div><h3>My husband’s communication skills are epic failures, but I love him anyway</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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        </div>
      </a>
    </div><p id="f1fc"><b>How about humor with a dog in the story?</b></p><div id="84d3" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://readmedium.com/dog-behaviors-husband-should-never-imitate-841f495085e2">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>My Husband’s Attempts at Doggy Style Failed</h2>
            <div><h3>Men should not imitate dogs’ behaviors</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*EWojkmXy4hdWoC4fFdX0hw.jpeg)"></div>
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        </div>
      </a>
    </div><p id="da11"><b>Need inspiration?</b></p><div id="5da2" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://writingcooperative.com/writers-expose-ourselves-a99ca3e96ce4">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>Writers Expose Ourselves</h2>
            <div><h3>Over time, writing becomes easier and provides great rewards</h3></div>
            <div><p>writingcooperative.com</p></div>
          </div>
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            <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*a0qWSb2kR-nUX-jz)"></div>
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      </a>
    </div><p id="17d7"><b>Want a glimpse of true love?</b></p><div id="895b" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-identify-forever-love-7e2fe4c58c40">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>How to Identify Forever Love</h2>
            <div><h3>Marriage is difficult; showing love should be easy</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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      </a>
    </div></article></body>

Medium, Who Changed My Stories to Unmetered?

I feel cheated! No, I was cheated!!

Photo by micheile dot com on Unsplash

Writing on Medium will probably never get me rich, but it does provide benefits. Readers nourish my passion and allow me to grow as a writer. The pennies, dimes and quarters add up to pay for the coffee that keeps me awake. Together the emotional and financial support push me to the computer and provide inspiration to hit the keys.

I love to check my stats. It’s a daily behavior that reminds me of a rollercoaster ride. They go up filling me with anticipation of what will happen and then plummet down causing my stomach to sink, leaving me feeling sick. However, I do not check my earnings on the Medium Partner Program page as often. I have simply accepted if the stats are good, money is building. When I do finally check the balance, the total is a pleasant surprise.

The balance brought pleasure until April 0f 2022

In April the results didn’t bring joy; instead I was devasted. Let me provide a little background. I have written on Medium for almost four years. My process for submitting follows a set pattern: add article to a publication, select tags, and publish. Medium writers know the process and it never changes. In fact, over time it has become inherent behavior that one can perform almost subconsciously.

After the first couple hundred article, I stopped even looking at the checked boxes under the tags and went directly to the publish button.

Image from Medium’s publish page

However, writers beware!

Those little boxes under the tags are not always checked. In fact, in April they were not checked. Why? I don’t know. They should look like the image below.

Image from Medium’s publish page

Since they always were, I assumed they always would be. But you know what they say about people who assume. It makes an ASS out of U and ME = ASSUME. The “Meter your story” box was not checked so I made no money for most of my stories during the month of April and I was riding a great rollercoaster. My states were climbing.

  • 24 published stories
  • 217 fans
  • A story with 846 views and a 56% read ratio
  • 5 stories with a read ratio above 50%
  • A story with 532 reads

As mentioned, I am not getting rich but the pennies were building up — I thought. Then my rollercoaster not only dipped but flew off the tracks. At the end of the month when I looked at the Medium Partner Program page, only stories from prior to April made money. A total of $59.70 was deposited into my account in May, much less than my usual earnings.

Yes, it felt good to know that old stories could garner that much attention, but I didn’t get paid for my work. Was it my fault? Maybe a little. However, when the system changes shouldn’t we be notified? Medium failed me.

When I realized I earned no money for the month of April, I figured out why and then wrote this article for others. This is a simple strategy to check that your stories are metered and a tutorial on how to change them if they are not.

Two things you can do

  1. Check the “Meter your story” box every time prior to selecting publish. In fact, double and triple check it.
  2. In your free time, read a couple of my stories to help me make up the lost income from April.

Enjoy humor?

How about humor with a dog in the story?

Need inspiration?

Want a glimpse of true love?

Medium
Money
Writing On Medium
How To
Writing
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