My Response To Pseudo-Evan Williams
Put yourself in our shoes, please…
Dear pseudo- Ev Williams and original GranPa-Festus
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and to respond to it.
I am sorry I could not reply to you earlier because I was busy. You are not the only busy person; we can be busy too :)
Coming to the point, I know that I have told one side of the story, but this is only because you don’t actually know the problems of freelance writers working on this site. Let me first draw your attention to a few of them.
The Most Common Problems Of Freelance Writers
Problem#1
First of all, anybody who signs up and starts writing is told that “Medium is greedy, feed it.” This means they can produce as many articles as they want, and for their efforts and hard work, they are promised to be given good payments through the Partner Program. What is the purpose of encouraging everybody to write and share their stories?
If you only want writers who know their stuff well, then why do you welcome everybody to join the platform? It is obvious that not every writer can produce high-quality content, especially when they haven’t worked anywhere in the past. This concept is exactly like a job position where only experienced people are hired and paid well.
Please try to understand that there is a big difference between freelancing and a full-time job.
In freelance writing, you cannot expect everybody to be perfect. Instead, you should motivate them to give their best by paying them better. Please try to understand that it is a freelance writing platform, not an office where workers need to be experienced before they are rewarded well.
Problem#2
I humbly request you to put yourself in the shoes of a freelance writer who has lost their job due to the current pandemic. They search the Internet and find your site. The first impression of this platform is that they are welcomed to read and write anything. This is what the homepage says. Please take a look at the screenshot below.
Naturally, a person who has lost their job or needs extra cash will consider it a good writing opportunity. They need time and support to improve themselves.
Nobody is perfect in this world.
We all have to start from somewhere, and those who are writing solely for money and are helping you keep the site alive must be given something good in terms of money. You cannot ask them to be a good reader first. If this is what you want all of us to do, then what is the purpose of welcoming everyone to share their ideas on this platform?
You can’t even imagine how many problems our writers’ community faces. Top writers share their success secrets by taking $500 to $5,000 per course. Even when such a writing course is completed and a person does not make good money, then don’t you think it is a waste of time and energy?
Problem#3
It is not the problem of newcomers. You may encourage them to read how to write, but it is the problem of even the biggest writers. Do you think Tim Denning needs to learn writing? Please understand that he has published over 2,000 stories (as per my knowledge) and he has also noticed this problem.
Does it mean every single writer, both experienced and inexperienced, needs to learn? Do you want all of us to quit writing and start learning? If it is so, then I am sorry to say we may not pay the $5 per month fee as we can have other sources too to gain knowledge from.
Problem#4
Believe it or not, but writers are tired of rejections. On one hand, they take courses offered by the best writers, and on the other hand, they have to suffer from rejections by top publications. Their problems don’t end here; after taking a course and getting an article accepted, they are not paid well through the Partner Program.
So basically, the writers’ community is not happy and if your writers aren’t happy, then please remember that one day there may be no one on this site to provide valuable content to your readers too.
I love the vision of Dr Mehmet Yildiz. They have started the Illumination family to help struggling writers get themselves noticed. They probably understand their problems more than me and you, and this is why they work hard to bring different people to a single platform so that they can exchange ideas and content. The best part is that they are doing it for free. I don’t think any writer is paying them anything to promote their stories.
Takeaway
In the end, my purpose in writing the appeal is to bring the matter to your attention. It is not my problem. It is not Tim Denning’s problem. It is not even the problem of Dr. Mehmet Yildiz. It is the problem of the entire writers’ community.
I request you to take serious notice of it. After this response, you may not get another reply from me :)
Thank you so much.
Signed by,
