My First Month On Medium

You’ll be surprised how it went

It's been one month since I started writing on Medium.

I published my very first story on 15th November.

It was this one:

Since then, I’ve published 26 more stories, with varying degrees of success.

In fact, the question here is, what is success?

I don’t know what’s good or bad, in terms of the metrics, but those stories have garnered 1267 views and 941 reads.

We all know that it’s the ‘reads’ that matter if you want to make money from your writing.

I need to continue to learn how to convert the views. Not that I’m unhappy. To be totally honest, it’s great that my stories are read at all.

Don’t stop now… keep reading…

The Importance of Publications

My first few stories were self-published and I quickly realised that to get the eyes on my work I’d need to send to publications.

I’d recommend doing this too if you want to spread far and wide. Have a look at the vast number of publications available and choose those that suit your content.

I have found that some publications are more responsive than others in terms of actually publishing, so that may be another factor in getting your stories out there.

My Process

I tend to write all of my stories outside of Medium.

I use ‘Drafts’ to compose my stories. This does two things. One, it’s quicker to access and just write when I’m ready.

More importantly, it gives me a backup in case something goes wrong. The final, published story may be different, I’ll polish it before submitting, and it needs to have the images added, but at least I have the first copy should anything untoward happen.

I have also started to use Grammarly as a tool to make sure my writing is up to scratch. Writing has always been a fairly strong point of mine, but it doesn’t hurt to have AI look it over and highlight where things may not be quite right.

It doesn’t always get it right and sometimes words are taken in the wrong context, so the suggested changes don’t make sense. It’s important you don’t just accept every suggestion.

Followers

Much has been written about ‘following for followers’ and this isn’t a bad thing. Having said that, I am quite choosy when it comes to who I follow; just because I may not be interested in whatever they write about.

In order to join the Medium Partnership Program and start to earn on your writing, you need a minimum of 100 followers. So I understand the ‘follow me and I’ll follow you’ logic. It just doesn’t always make sense, if you’re not really interested in what they have to say.

This leads me on to the Medium algorithm which will push stories to you, based on your follows and previous reads. Following writers you’re not interested in will still have their stories pushed to you.

At the time of writing, my followers have increased to 186 which, again, I’m pleased about. I just hope that everyone actually reads what I write.

Check out this story by Dave W for another perspective.

Be Engaged

Another great way to increase readership is to read other people. Not only to read but to also show appreciation.

Not a single clap, but a whole handful. Like you’re at the theatre and applauding the cast.

Write a comment too, if appropriate. Tell the author what you thought about the story. This is always a boost, which gives encouragement to continue.

Medium is not meant to be an isolating place.

My Earnings

So the million-dollar question is how much have I earned since I started?

I’ve been a member of the partnership program for one week, and in that time I’ve earned $5.02 which means that my Medium membership for next month is paid for.

Obviously, I’d like to increase that week-on-week, but to do that I need to publish some great stories, and that’s what I’m working on now.

Thank You

If you enjoyed this post, please hit those clapping hands many times👏

I love to see the number increase and it will help other people see the story.

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