Why Are So Many Medium Writers Quitting?

What happened to my first followers?

I recently reviewed the list of my first 100 followers and was alarmed to see how many have just….quit.

Like a lot of other writers, when I reached my first 100 followers on Medium, I immediately applied to the Partnership Program to see if I could earn back that monthly $5 subscription fee. I wrote an article, too, to thank those first 100 followers for making it possible.

Recently, like going back to look at your high school yearbook, I checked up on those followers only to find that 3/4 are no longer writing! Here’s what I found:

Of the 100, only 21 are still writing as of August, 2022.

Where did everyone go? Well, you know how I like a mystery when it comes to research, so here’s what I found.

The Breakdown:

8 of the names lead to the 404 page. 2 of the names lead to a 410 page (under investigation for violation of Medium’s rules). 3 followers are readers only (“….hasn’t written anything yet”). 15 last published in July. 7 last published in June. 3 quit in May. 1 quit in April. 7 quit in March. 5 quit in February. 7 quit in January. 18 didn’t write after the 1st of January, 2022. 3 followers haven’t written after 2021.

Three of the writers who published in August didn’t write anything in June or July, so I’m assuming they were taking a break or on vacation. Maybe the 15 who last published in July are also on vacation. Otherwise, I’m hearing the sound of crickets getting louder.

Why are so many quitting? There are a few articles I’ve read where writers are threatening to quit Medium, and a few where someone is actually writing a goodbye article, but so many just…….stop. Like a rafting convoy, they snip the line and quietly separate themselves.

Maybe it’s just my overactive imagination, but I hear the sound of writing dreams dying all around me. Maybe those writers who quit have gone on to write in more lucrative pastures. Maybe their writing journey on Medium came to a natural conclusion and they accomplished everything they needed to.

It still feels a little sad to know their voices are no longer among us.

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