Reviewing My First Month on Medium

An honest reflection on my experience, earnings, stats and more.

It has been one month since I decided to start regularly posting on Medium and writing every day. I’ve decided to write this post as I think we can all benefit from a bit of transparency, and also, hopefully, it will inspire new writers to try this platform.

Before I started publishing regularly, I was sceptical. I had heard of all the success stories and really wondered if it was true. Could writing every day consistently on Medium, really give you success?

After writing on WordPress regularly for nearly a year, I haven’t got much to show for myself. Each article usually gets the same amount of reads and usually from the same people.

On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I feel for the amount of effort I put into writing on WordPress, I get very little reward. So I decided to turn to Medium, to see whether it would be different over here.

The short answer — it was.

In the beginning, I doubted whether I would be good enough to be a writer on Medium, but I’ve come to realise that’s the whole point. Anyone can write on Medium and be recognised through its unique algorithm, which I think is part of the beauty of the platform.

A month ago I doubted whether I would be able to keep writing every day and whether Medium would be any different in terms of the reach and reception for my writing.

One month on — I am very convinced by the platform and am ending it on a high.

On Curation

It was only a few days into my Medium adventure and I received an email saying my story had been selected for curation. Of course, I had no idea what this meant and spent the next hour trying to find out.

Curation on Medium simply means a story has been chosen to be distributed within a select category — meaning the writer is likely to get more reads.

I still don’t fully understand how Medium selects stories for curation, having only had a handful, but I’m guessing it’s on the quality of writing and the content.

I was shocked that one of my first stories was curated, but I have also had a few weeks where nothing I wrote was, so it’s hard to tell exactly what they are looking for.

I didn’t see a massive increase in views but I think the tool itself is invaluable for new writers like myself.

In the abyss of the internet, new voices can easily get lost, but Medium’s unique way of distributing stories means that status and following is less relevant.

As it allows new writers a chance of getting noticed, completely dependent on the content produced.

It’s really hard to get noticed as a writer online — so I think this tool is incredible and will be what ultimately swings me to publishing primarily on this platform.

On Getting into Publications

I vaguely knew what publications were on Medium but didn’t think I would get into them from the start.

However, a few of my first stories got selected for publication in Curious and The Innovation — which was completely unexpected. I have seen an increase in reads and followers when I have been selected by publications, but I don’t think it is one hundred per cent required to gain recognition on the platform.

I was also surprised at how easy it is to become a writer for publications. Granted, some have been easier than others, but for the first ones I got into, all I had to do was complete an online form. However, for some, I am still yet to have stories accepted.

As an avid reader of Medium itself, I am so impressed by the sheer range of topics and writers there are. I could genuinely spend days just reading things from Medium and it always recommends me stories I end up loving.

On the Writing Itself

I’ll say it loud and clear — publishing on Medium has increased my motivation and confidence.

Even though I have only just started — I already feel like I am on my way to getting recognised for my hard work.

Writing is hard, and that’s definitely something I’ve learned over the past few weeks. Getting up every day, thinking of a topic, writing, editing, and then promoting yourself across all social platforms is hard work. And it’s only right that we get rewarded for that, even if we are just starting out. Newbie or professional, we are all creating content that readers can benefit from.

Because Medium makes it easier to be seen and heard, my motivation to write has increased. It’s not all about views, but as a writer, there is an evident part of you that wants to be read. You want to share your story and thoughts with the world.

If only one person benefits from reading something I wrote, then I consider it a success. But seeing more people than ever read my work from publishing on this platform has definitely increased my confidence and motivation to write.

The sheer volume of stories on Medium about the art of writing is enough to keep a new writer motivated. It really is quite something. One month on, and I feel more motivated than ever to keep writing and sharing.

On Medium Itself

As someone who considers herself quite handy with WordPress, despite its clunky and overcomplicated nature (especially when it comes to themes) I was relieved to find that publishing on Medium is so simple — but yet effective.

I love how you don’t have to mess about with customization, as this means, there is more focus on the writing. It’s easy to use, and the simplicity of publishing means that content is prioritised above anything else, which I value.

And there’s something about the fine lines, the minimalism and warm images that accompany Medium stories, that makes the entire platform incredibly aesthetic. I feel like my writing profile looks more professional and easy to navigate through. And the best thing? I didn’t have to choose how it looked — Medium did the hard work for me.

I still haven’t worked out the Medium algorithm and I won’t pretend to. But just based on my first month, I have already seen more reads than on my blog. Followers seem to be secondary to content and consistency, which I like. It makes Medium such an important platform for new writers.

The writing community and range of people on here are truly impressive and a credit to the platform. Anyone can be a writer, which makes it harder to be noticed individually, but so important in making the craft accessible.

On the Stats

For the purpose of transparency, these are my stats for August 12-September 12. I don’t really know what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. Oh, and somehow, I have already been made a top writer for the ‘reading’ category. Something I totally didn’t expect!

Obviously, this is not anything special, but you can see just from the visuals — consistency is key.

Total stories published: 14

Stories curated: 4

Stories accepted into publications: 9 (The Innovation, Curious, From the Library, and Books Are Our Superpower)

Followers gained: 90

Total earned: $10.09

Becoming a writer on Medium (albeit only for a month) has made me realise that you can become a successful writer online from scratch and little experience.

If you have the motivation to write every day and hone yourself into the topics that get attention, you can work to understand the algorithm and get recognised.

Medium has become a source of inspiration and a place to explore the topics I care about, I learn more about the platform every day and am by no means an expert, but I have thoroughly enjoyed my first month.

A big thank you to all that have read, clapped and followed me in my first month! Here’s to many more stories.