Summary

The author expresses a love for writing despite the uncertainties of never knowing the total word count or the exact number of readers over their writing career.

Abstract

The article titled "What Bothers Me As a Writer" delves into the author's passion for writing, which is evident through their active engagement on Medium and their ongoing book projects. However, the author highlights two specific aspects of writing that cause them unease: the inability to quantify the lifetime word count and the ambiguity surrounding the total readership across various platforms. Despite these concerns, the author acknowledges the importance of daily writing and the love for the craft, which they plan to continue regardless of these uncertainties. The article reflects on the author's extensive writing background, including contributions to multiple newspapers and the publication of an eBook, emphasizing the enigmatic nature of a writer's reach and impact.

Opinions

The author admits to being troubled by the lack of precise metrics in writing, such as the total number of words written over a career.
They express a particular frustration with the inability to track readership numbers across different publications throughout their writing journey.
The author identifies as a "numbers freak," which contributes to their discomfort with the unquantifiable aspects of writing.
Despite these concerns, the author affirms their commitment to writing daily, driven by their skill and passion for the craft.
There is an acceptance of the inherent mysteries of writing, such as the full extent of one's readership, as aspects that must be lived with.

What Bothers Me As a Writer

And it always will.

I love to write.

If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing on Medium or writing another book on the way. Nevertheless, there are some things about writing that bother me.

You Will Never Know How Many Words You Write

In order to be a successful writer, especially on Medium, it’s crucial to write every day.

Not just every day, but write hundreds to thousands of words every day. Some writers may have a word count at 500 or 2000 words or somewhere in between. Other writers may write from a time limit.

Either way, writers churn out thousands of words, but in reality, we will never know how many words we will write in our writing careers.

We could have a good idea, but at the end of the day, it’s just speculation. We will never know the exact number or words we write.

Does this bother you too?

I’m a numbers freak, and anytime when a number isn’t certain, it bothers me. This situation is no different.

Nevertheless, I’m going to keep writing every day, because it’s what I’m good at and what I love to do.

You Will Never Know How Many Readers You Have

On the Stats page on Medium, any member can check to see how many views, reads and fans each story earns.

However, Medium is just one site.

If Medium is your first writing site, then this probably doesn’t pertain to you. But if you’ve written for a number of publications over the years, listen up.

You will never know how many readers you will have.

With Medium, I can check the stats. But with other publications, we simply don’t know.

Since seventh grade, I have written for a slew of publications, including the junior high newspaper, high school newspaper and yearbook, college newspaper, two local newspapers back home and now Medium. I have also published an eBook called “Life: A Collection of Short Stories.”

With these publications, I have a good idea who has read my work because they’ve told me they have. However, there are probably tons more people who have read my work and I just don’t know who they are.

Like with the number of words we write in our careers, this bothers me. It would be nice to know every reader we have, but I guess it’s another thing that will remain a mystery.

Closing Thoughts

The likes of writer’s block, a blank page or the satisfaction of others may bother you when it comes to writing.

The items mentioned above bother me.

I don’t know why this is, but I can never change it. It’s one of those things that I will never know.

And I guess I’m just going to have to live with it.