Who Am I to Write a Book about Writing and Publishing on Medium?

Someone who has fun doing it.

Hi,

My name is Victoria, and I am probably one of the worst-earning authors on Medium.

It’s mid of February 2021 and my earnings this month are $2.41. It might even turn out to be my worst month earning so far since May 2020, my first full month on Medium as a blogger publishing here. The previous month, January 2021, was the worst so far, $7.85. My best was June 2020 with $25.53.

My earnings go down, and I publish less than initially. And still, I am writing a book about my experiences here on Medium.

Why?

Because I have fun being here. I enjoy the simplicity and comfort of the text editor. I love the newspaper feel of the default settings of the profiles and articles (even if I rarely read newspapers ;D). Most of all, I know that my stories find people here.

Like in a book store, they come to Medium with a mindset to find something great to read. Then they pick something with a fun title and a great-looking image and start reading. The more they love reading it, the more time they spend with the story.

And I (almost) can look over the readers’ shoulders by seeing how many read my article through, who highlighted the bits they loved, and can even hear from them in the responses. A self-publishing author’s paradise!

But the best reason for me of all, I get to play with my content here, create a library of content on the topics I am passionate about, get feedback and continue playing more with this content until books are shaped and born.

The interesting phenomenon I am observing about myself is that the less I earn and the more unpredictable and uncorrelated the views, reads, earnings, and other parameters in the stats and Medium Premium Program status are, the more relaxed about my time here I become. I realize now that it is because I enjoy it and have fun.

What will my book be about?

I discovered my very own and unique approach to being on Medium. It is a gameful and playful one. And I constantly adjust its design along with my other real-life games.

Even if I don’t grow physically anymore — I am 48 years old as I write this — I hope I am still growing and developing in other ways. Turning my life into games helps me maintain this growing, learning, and gameful mindset without much effort.

I turn my whole life into games and teach others how they can turn their lives into fun games for themselves. I call the approach I use and which crystallized over the years Self-Gamification, and it embraces the synergy of anthropology (and awareness it brings with it), kaizen (and breaking everything into smallest, and most effortlessly manageable and digestible bits), and gamification (including the gamefulness and playfulness it embraces).

I write about this approach and its endless aspects in my books and articles. It is the topic I write most also here on Medium.

So, this book will be about approaching writing and publishing on Medium using the synergy of Self-Gamification, by being aware, progressing with small steps, and enjoying — as well as celebrating — each step on the way gamefully and playfully.

A note: At the end of this article, you can find all the articles I wrote so far about my experience of being a blogger on Medium, and which will shape this book, in addition to the one you are reading right now, which will be the introduction chapter.

Who will this book be for?

This book will be for any writer who second-guesses her blogging time here on Medium. Who enjoys it but also fears that it’s not worth pursuing. Who thinks she needs to work hard to succeed but looks for ways to reduce the self-imposed pressure and enjoy the flow of writing and creating.

Who will this book NOT be for?

This book won’t be for anyone who looks for the ultimate guide on making a 5, 6, 7, 8, or higher figure income on Medium, and neither below that. I don’t make it, so I can’t offer you anything like that.

It’s neither a recipe on how to land a viral story or to have your story published with some of the largest and most successful publications on Medium. There are many resources on that by the star authors here on Medium. I don’t need or want to duplicate their material by rephrasing it.

What I will offer in the book is a new perspective on having success on Medium. And it is about gaining the feeling of success now — as you put down the words on the screen — not in some distant future.

Why is this book unique, and how is it structured?

I am going to put the stories in the same order they appeared on Medium. I will revise and have them edited, but I won’t change their structure. I won’t even delete my wishes and calls for action to enjoy the writing process because I don’t want to remove the emotions I experienced while exploring my adventure here on Medium.

You see, those who earn their living, or a part of it, here on Medium, spent many years experimenting and adjusting their game on Medium. When they write their books and articles on their experience, they can only convey a perspective from someone who made it and reached what many aspiring authors are after.

Their beginnings had completely different circumstances than yours and mine today.

Who am I, and why am I qualified?

My beginnings might also be different from yours because I write professionally — including starting a blog — for eight years. Not a viral blog and hardly known to many, but still for eight years. In addition to a Ph.D. thesis and multiple academic articles, I wrote and self-published nineteen books with several more to come out this year.

I practice observing myself non-judgmentally as anthropologists do (and as inspired by the work of award-winning authors Ariel & Shya Kane) for almost ten years now. And I turn my life systematically into fun games for over five years. All that and more shaped my career as a writer.

I bet you had a different path. So, your writing and blogging career is most probably completely different.

But I am still a toddler here on Medium, not even a year old. And my earnings here — as mentioned above — are “miserably” low. So, my situation is close to the majority of bloggers on Medium.

And still, I think I have all the tools to be here for the long run, and I have all the tools to continue learning and test new approaches in fun and gameful ways. And most of it, to define my own game and enjoy it every step of the way.

Only I am qualified to describe my experience here on Medium. And only you are qualified to write about yours. I strongly believe that sharing each other experiences and reading those of others in the formats we enjoy can bring wonders and boost our writing and creative powers on this “massively multiplayer online game and game-creation platform,” called Medium.

[Thus, if you ever write a book about your experience on Medium, give me a shout. :D I want to read about it and learn from as many “game designs” of blogging on Medium as possible. Books are my favorite teachers, so in addition to those I already read, I have a couple of such books on my reading list. They will make it into my reading game. :D]

How to read the stories from this future book

I often suggest that my readers read my books as if they were novels — from start to end and without applying anything I write to themselves. Just discover what resonates with you now. Later, upon possible reread, you can discover something new because you and your mindset will be new.

But if you want to highlight anything or make notes, then follow your intuition, heart, gut, and drive. Don’t resist the flow; follow and enjoy it!

When talking about following your drive and curiosity, here is another idea: you can also read it as those “Choose Your Own Adventure, or Secret Path Books.”

So, here are the articles that will make the eleven chapters in my soon-to-be-born book Gameful Blogging on Medium.com, which I lovingly abbreviate as GBOMC. ;D They are listed as they appeared here on Medium and as they will appear in the book after this introduction.

I hope you enjoy discovering about my adventure and have fun with yours!

Thank you!

Thank you for reading this article! I hope you enjoyed it.

I want to express my gratitude to Dr Mehmet Yildiz and the editors of ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curated for accepting all these stories to these successful publications and helping me to spread the gamefulness among the writers here on Medium.

P.S.

To stay in touch and keep updated on the fantastic possibilities of turning life into fun games, join my e-mail list, Optimist Writer.