Positive Path for the Medium Citizen

Get on the pavement and steer in the right direction!

Are you being a good citizen around here? Being generous, open-minded, pleasant to be around? Good citizenship means you take part in the community. That means don’t be a drive-by writer. Who doesn’t want more readers on Medium? You write to be read! Who doesn’t want to learn more from others? Or be inspired, entertained, humored?

But… I believe authenticity is the most important element of an artist. Be you. I’m not advocating faking it to get readers. Do what’s organic and natural behavior for you. Find synergy with your readers and other writers (who may become your readers).

If you haven’t realized it yet, there’s an actual road for the writer on Medium. So if you’ve been bumping along through the ditches and cornfields, get yourself on the pavement and move along with the traffic flow.

I wrote my first Medium article in May 2020. I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year. When I first started out, I wrote a piece now and then. I was still working full time until my retirement in October. Then I started writing a novel.

In December, I wrote a weekly Advent piece here on Medium. And with some writing discipline, added other pieces into my ‘published’ library. I noticed I was attracting more readers and followers, which I turned into a learning experience.

I started thinking about my writing behaviors and how my new habit of writing more was creating a positive feedback loop.

Read more

I deliberately seek the words posted by my followers (plus clappers and highlighters). I don’t post responses that often, but I will clap and highlight.

I assume other writers are a little like me. Ha! I am curious about the people who clap, highlight and follow. I hunt them down and read what they write.

Do I follow them back? Not always. I choose to follow those who write in areas in which I have an interest. That may sound narrow-minded, but I do have a broad array of interests. I just don’t need to be alerted when someone writes about C++ or Python programming. And, hey, I used to teach the Java programming language, and I’ve written more than my fair share of HTML. Interests shift, I’m sure you won’t debate me on that.

I refuse to follow a writer for hopefully snagging a follower.

Engage with writers

I started doing more clapping and highlighting. I’m not one to respond to every article, but if I’m moved, I will.

Sometimes, other writers respond to my posts and include a link to a piece they believe I may enjoy. I like that! I’ve done it myself recently. But it needs to be organic, not forced marketing baloney. Do you know?

Other writers who are now alerted to my new posts respond kindly. I read their stuff too because they’re cool people. I like them. Ever heard of networking? Well, that’s what your Medium homepage is.

Hello, Mutual Admiration Society

Engage with publications

Find the publications that encourage your writing style or your preferred topics. There are literally too many choices on this platform. Still, I pay attention to what shows up on my homepage and what publications the articles are in.

When I engage with new publications as a deliberate reader, I find interesting community members. New folks who make me laugh, make me wonder about what could be. I love that.

Do you know what happens after that? I clap or highlight. Then someone surely goes and reads my writing too. More to love!

Stretch yourself

Stretching yourself makes you a better writer, period. Try writing something new. A poem. A short-form piece (under 150 words).

Research a new topic! Add new topics of interest to your follow list. Read about new things that pop up on your homepage.

I’m a concise writer, but I have been challenged (painfully) to respond to a prompt in 50 or 100 words. I’m grateful to two publications I stumbled across last year which have challenged me in this area. Namely, The Bad Influence and Song Done Wrong. Seriously, writing short-form is often the highlight of my writing week. And I just found a new one at The Daily Cuppa.

Conclusion

You’ll notice I’ve mentioned nothing about earnings. Honestly, my goal is to cover my annual fee. That’s it. I understand fully that our goals may not align. However, my earnings have improved with increased article publication and deliberate networking.

Every day I am a better writer because I am an active member of a vibrant writing community.

Reading what others write makes me better. Period.