This Way to the Egress!
If you fall for hucksters, you deserve to get your ass handed to you.
Would you like to make an extra gazillion a month on Medium? You would? Really? Well, damn, then. This is your lucky day because another writer on this platform wants to help you do just that. Several, in fact. So start adding items to your cart from your Amazon wish list. It’s all a cakewalk from here. (Yeah. Throw in that air fryer. You know you want it. I did.)
Who knew that Medium was home to so many generous folks? People who just want to lend a hand in your tireless quest to provide a better life for you and yours. I’m getting a hot flash just thinking about it and those days are long gone.
Is this bullshit? Of course, it is and you know it. And that’s what I love about you. You patiently wait for the real me to emerge while I string you along for a graph or two. And I thank you for it. You’re good sports and the world needs more of you.
So yeah, this IS bullshit, my friends. Because a bullshit “writer” who probably hasn’t written an actual story since his initial stinking-up of this platform, actually published a piece about the very thing I laid out in my intro. And stories like these are all over Medium if you care to look.
The above-mentioned individual is a world-class huckster, a shark, and a fake (in that he considers himself to be a writer) and yet, he has more followers than Tony Robbins and the Dalai Lama put together. And he’s raking in the cash. Big time cash. How? By feeding off the naivete and hopes and dreams of writers who just want to do better. And this enrages me because writing is not a game of chance. It’s hard work and should be respected as such. And over-priced courses from over-hyped twits aren’t going to change that.
And that’s exactly what this person is selling. “A few workshops,” as he so succinctly puts it. What style! But again, he’s not alone. Selling one’s wares is big business here, apparently. Even so, why should we give these people our hard-earned money? What makes them “experts?”
Perhaps you and I are “experts.” We just don’t toot our own horns incessantly. I suppose that’s what sets us apart from the hucksters. That, and we’re poorer.
It’s one thing to extend an offer of help gratis. You know, for “free.” To that point, I’d like to believe that I’ve helped several writers on Medium. Some of who submitted to Rogues’ Gallery, but didn’t quite have it all together. I gladly shared what I’ve learned in a career spanning thirty-five years and I never asked for a dime. Nor would I.
Hold up. Maybe I’m the chump. Does anyone here need an expert, kickass copy and content writer and/or editor? No? I didn’t think so.
Relax. I’m pulling your leg, once more. I’m acclimated to the reality that no one is ever going to give me a gig, again. Not in advertising or marketing. I’m way past my shelf date.
When I scrolled through this dude’s “stories” earlier today, I felt pity. Not for him, for his readers. For those sucked into his world. Every article either trumpets his success or gushes about how he could help you do the same. For a fee. Click-bait headlines and bad writing. Just the kind of twaddle we’ve written about before here in RG. I’m not sure these types of “sell-sheets” should be allowed here, frankly. There’s a classier way to self-promote. We all have to do it and no one gets that more than I, but when your ego trumps your ability, back the hell up.
When I first joined Medium, I almost became one of the suck-ees. Almost. Mainly out of curiosity. Then I quickly ascertained that this guy was about as sincere and as empathetic to a writer’s needs as Donald Trump is to his constituency. I also noticed that he couldn’t write. That doesn’t matter though because he makes money for himself and for Medium. He may be a tool, but he’s a tool who makes bank.
For shame.
The other side of the coin is this: People should know better. There’s naive, and then there’s stupid. And it’s hard to fix stupid. The only thing you can do is hope that people see through the bullshit at some point. That after they’ve forked out the money for the workshops and courses and subscribed to the email lists and fallen for all the other crap the hucksters serve up, they’ll see the cold hard light of day. They’ll realize that because they put their trust in “experts” who don’t deserve it, they’re in exactly the same boat as when they started. Only poorer.
P. T. Barnum was right. There IS a sucker born every minute. But not here in Rogues’ Gallery. And certainly not you. Right?
Sherry McGuinn is a slightly-twisted, longtime Chicago-area writer and award-winning screenwriter. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and numerous other publications. Sherry’s manager is currently pitching her newest screenplay, a drama with dark, comedic overtones and inspired by a true story.
I appreciate your reading and want to thank Denise Shelton for alerting me to the story that inspired me to write this. Here’s her take:
And more from me:
