Personal Writing Experience

My 3rd month writing (sort of) on Medium

My thoughts on my 3rd month

This is a disappointing summary to write. I’m sitting at my computer currently and not sure how to put my thoughts into words that will be easily understandable by others. I started off on Medium with a complete passion for writing and a motivation to do that as much as possible. I wrote for several hours every day and was thrilled to do so. I was churning out multiple stories per day and my views were steadily increasing. Then, around the middle of October, the bottom dropped out.

I completely neglected writing, and I quickly became unmotivated and couldn’t get in the right head space to sit down and write. I thought about it countless times, but when it came to acting on my thoughts and setting aside time to write, it just wasn’t happening. I can think of several reasons for this, whether it was due to working on developing a new career or the fact that it didn’t seem to matter how hard I worked on Medium; my earnings didn’t seem to be going anywhere. I know several other writers were facing disappointment with their earnings, so I at least knew I wasn’t the only one facing the struggle.

Life has a funny way of making us feel completely lost at times and desperately searching for a purpose. The most difficult periods can be when we are transitioning from one chapter to another. I personally have always struggled with the transition, and it can be especially difficult if the chapter changes before we are truly ready. In these moments, we can either choose denial or continue forward and work on crafting a thrilling next chapter. The beauty of it is that we are truly the author of our own story, and we have the power to write what is next.

The complexity of life is profound, and it’s honestly amazing how we can both be the writer of our own story while still simultaneously being a reader who is enthralled with what comes next. A lot is out of our control and can surprise us. This doesn’t mean we are powerless but rather empowered to write our story following the ongoings of things out of our control.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s truly special that we have so much power yet a touch of things that stay out of our control. This is the part that makes life so thrilling and unique to everyone. It can be hard to appreciate these facts when things are not playing out how we had hoped. It can quickly become frustrating and can leave us feeling bitter and disheartened.

I go on that tangent because I feel like it sums up what has been happening on Medium as of late. As literal writers on this platform, we can contribute and write whatever we want, and we also can completely control the amount of content we release. What we do not control, however, is how many people will view what we have written or the money it generates. This remains frustratingly outside of our control and, at times, can seem unfair and mysterious. I have read countless authors share a similar sentiment, and every one of them has the power to react to the change how they best see fit.

This is what sets apart those who have continued and those who have left the platform and pursued different endeavors. This is where I have become stuck the last month, and I don’t know how I want to write my next chapter.

Part of me feels motivated to continue and do my best writing on Medium; another part of me wants to pursue something different altogether and post on Medium less frequently. I don’t see myself currently completely giving up on writing on Medium, but it’s hard to fully know what the future holds.

This isn’t a decision I want to take lightly, and I also know that writing has been enjoyable. The fact that others get to read my thoughts is inspiring and a great motivator. I think this platform is unique in the voice it gives to authors to share long-form stories without needing any credentials or other professional accolades. Anyone can join up and start writing. I truly have been blessed to get over 1600 followers in my first 3 months, and I do hope for that to continue to grow.

With that being said, I’m also at a point where I need to assess how I’m using my time and cut out any usage that isn’t progressing my personal goals in an effective manner. This is where I need to decide what my next chapter will look like and what things I am going to place the most focus on.

On a different note, let me quickly assess how I progressed with the goals I laid out for my 3rd month on Medium. The goals were as follows.

1. Reach 2,000 followers.

2. Expand my newsletter and double the number of active subscribers.

3. Earn over $100 again. This is factoring in the instability of earnings lately.

4. Respond to every single comment on the stories I publish.

For the first goal, I did not come close to reaching it as I completely lost momentum with my writing and did not post nearly enough stories to reach enough new followers. I also was not nearly as engaged on the platform as I should have been, and this was reflected directly in the numbers.

Surprisingly, for the 2nd goal, I accomplished it and doubled the number of subscribers to my newsletter. With this being a rather new project, the number of subscribers is nothing mind-blowing, but it was cool to see progress be made despite my writing tapering off. I’m happy that I reached this goal, and it does show that my writing is impacting others enough for them to choose to receive it on a consistent basis.

My 3rd goal was not even close as my writing was nearly non-existent, and I was lucky to receive as many views as I did throughout the month. Earning $100 was not going to happen when I was lucky to crack the triple digits in views for a day due to my lack of writing skills. As you can see by the screenshots, my views dropped off a cliff once I stopped writing nearly as much. The abundance of articles I wrote over the past couple of months is what allowed me to still receive more views than I expected. Over 1,000 views in a week that I did not write surprised me and showed that content can still have a life past its initial release. My earnings for the month were $31.49, and I can say I’m actually really happy with that, all things considered.

Sadly, my 4th goal I did not meet as well because my engagement on Medium completely fell off, and I would go long stretches without being on the platform. I am not sure of the exact amount of comments I did not respond to, but it is safe to say that it was at least a few.

For my 4th month, I am taking a different perspective than months previous, and I am going to set goals that will be drastically different than before. My goals for my 4th month are as follows.

1. Write at least two stories per week.

2. Comment on ten authors' stories in a meaningful way (something beyond just a few words).

3. Decide what I want my future to look like on this platform.

With all this being said, I truly appreciate each and every one of you for reading my content, and I especially hold a special spot in my heart for those who read my stories on a consistent basis. I hope I did not lose you as I went through this period of transition, and I hope I can gain some new followers in the coming month. Genuinely, thank you for reading, and I wish everyone nothing but the best.

I hope for all of you to continue writing your life story, chapter by chapter, and to handle setbacks in a way that spurs growth. I have the same goal for myself, and I am trying to write a masterpiece with the chapters I weave together. I don’t know what the conclusion or following chapters look like, but I am excited to see the story play out and to sculpt it with my best intentions.

…if you enjoyed this or found it useful in some way, please clap, comment, follow, or share. it means a lot. thank you!

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