Summary

The website content welcomes new Medium writers amidst a climate of internal discontent, advising them to focus on their writing journey while navigating the platform's challenges and community feedback.

Abstract

The article titled "Welcome New Writers and Please Excuse the Mess!" acknowledges the influx of new writers to Medium due to its referral program and addresses the disarray within the community, including unsettling comments and conversations. It reassures newcomers that despite the apparent chaos, they are welcome and encouraged to join. The author advises new writers to filter out negative noise to maintain their focus on writing and learning how to succeed on the platform. The piece emphasizes the importance of not being discouraged by stories that highlight dissatisfaction within the community and encourages new writers to define their own version of success. The author shares their personal experience and insights from publishing over 400 stories and suggests that each writer's journey is unique, regardless of the experiences of others.

Opinions

The author acknowledges the discontentment and growing dissatisfaction among some Medium users and suggests that it might be confusing for newcomers.
It is suggested that new writers should be selective about the content they consume to avoid feeling anxious or discouraged by negative stories about Medium.
The author believes that sharing personal experiences and knowledge can help guide new writers but ultimately, each individual defines their own success.
The author emphasizes that their own journey on Medium, which includes publishing a significant number of stories, is just one example and should not deter new writers from pursuing their own path.
There is a call for Medium to publicly address the "elephant in the room," implying that there are outstanding issues that need to be formally recognized and resolved.
Despite the tumultuous environment, the author encourages new writers to engage with the community and offers assistance to help them get started and earn on the platform.

Welcome New Writers and Please Excuse the Mess!

Don’t you hate it when your co-workers make a bad impression on a new employee?

With the new referral program that Medium implemented, lots of new writers have joined the ranks, and come to be a part of our little family.

Unfortunately, just like a typical family or close knit work environment; attitudes are flying, and things around here are a hot mess.

I would like to give a nice warm welcome to all the new Medium members and writers who have joined the community.

I would also like to apologize for all the crazy and unsettling comments and conversations you may have been reading since you’ve been here.

We welcome you with open arms, but please excuse our mess.

I know you probably don’t know what the hell is going on with all the discontent and growing dissatisfaction. You’re probably having a hard enough time, just trying to figure out how to navigate the website and how to use your story dashboard.

You can barely meet the quota for getting 100 followers and making sure you have at least one story published when you do.

How the heck can you also be expected to understand what all the grumbling and complaining is about, let alone determine if it’s justifiable?

I’m writing to you now, to offer a little advice and keep in mind, this is just my opinion.

Do yourself a favor, and try to cut out some of the chatter. If need be, change the story notifications that show up on your front page.

Beware of the stories that discourage new writers

You don’t have to subject yourself to a regular feed of stories about Medium, not if it’s starting to make you feel anxious.

Sad to say, there are lots of stories out there that manage to discourage new writers, even when that’s not necessarily the intent. That means that you need to be on guard, and beware of the stories that create uncertainty in you.

It’s one thing to want to read and learn as much as you can about the website, so you can understand how to grow and increase your earnings. But don’t allow yourself to start doubting your decision to come here and write, all because of a spirit of discontentment.

Even though I’m a fairly new writer to the community myself, I’m speaking from personal experience.

After publishing 440 stories in six months (most of them in my DAILY JUSTISS publication), I’ve gotten a lot of good insight and perspective about how things work on Medium. I’m a prolific writer and productivity is my middle name.

Just today (November 1st), I published a detailed summary of my own writer’s journey here on Medium for the past six months.

Because I provide full disclosure and the story is so transparent, it may appear to be a discouraging report, but it is not. It is merely a factual report, and sometimes the facts aren’t as pretty as we would like to believe.

That is one of the reasons I was prompted to write what you’re reading at this moment. I want you to understand that it doesn’t matter what my individual experiences (or any other writers’ experiences) happen to be.

We can share our knowledge and out suggestions about how to deal with situations along the way, but your journey is your own, and ultimately, you are the one in charge of what kind of writing experience you will have.

Success is yours if you want it, because you define your own success!

Final Thoughts

I’m sure, at some point, you new writers who are still in the dark will eventually come to understand what some of the existing issues are around here.

Maybe Medium will decide to officially address the elephant in the room and make a public statement, helping to explain and smooth some things over.

But whatever happens, in the meantime, and between time:

Welcome to our big fat crazy and confused community, and by all means, feel free to stick around, but for now, please just excuse the mess!

DEAR READER: I enjoy talking to writers on writing and providing useful. I write and share ways to help writers on Medium get more exposure. Whether you prefer self publishing all your stories, or you submit them to Medium publications, my writing advice can still benefit you.

😄 More than 440 stories published 😄 Follow me on TWITTER: @GoodeWriter Read my: short form stories in the DAILY JUSTISS publication 😄

Not a Medium Member yet? Join now with my referral link: https://justissgoode.medium.com/membership and I’ll earn a small monetary reward plus I can also HELP YOU GET STARTED EARNING! 😄