Why I’ve Never Struggled More to Keep Writing on Medium
After two years on this platform, I’ve never been more confused and more certain at the same time
A year ago, I wouldn’t be writing this article. Because up until then, I felt my success as a writer on this platform was growing.
I mean, I wrote and published for a number of the most popular publications on Medium. I made fifteen hundred dollars just through three articles in Better Humans. My articles frequently appeared in P.S. I Love You, The Ascent, The Start-up, Mind Cafe, Better Marketing, The Writing Cooperative, and Publishous. And I’ve been in the over one-hundred dollars a month club for over a year.
In addition to this, I was given all the rewards Medium handed out not too long ago.
All.
Want more of my bragging?
My curation rate is so high I genuinely believe I have automatic distribution.
And as far as writing goes, my skills have grown exponentially.
So after all of these things, you think I’d be faring better than a year ago.
Well, let me crush that assumption.
And this ego-shattering heartbreaking monumental loss of reads is part mystery to me and part rebellion.
It’s also why I don’t know how much longer I can stay on this platform.
And to you starry-eyed newbies to Medium, this article may provide you with some important things to think about before you go “all in” on this platform.
How to rack in the dough
If you want to make money on this platform, here’s what you do.
- You write about technology
- You write about how to make money
- You rant and judge others
- You write about writing
- You write about Medium
And I’m fully aware that not writing about these topics is handing someone else money that could be in my pocket.
For example, a few days ago, I happened to read one of those oh so trustworthy articles on Medium about how a writer brought in four figures a month on the platform.
He showed his earnings.
The guy wasn’t lying. He was making bank.
But then I went to his page and looked over his articles.
They were all about making money. Ninety-percent of them were about making it on Medium.
And even now, when I think about it, I feel the steam bubbling up inside my ears.
A big question about Medium and an ugly truth
Because days passed and I still couldn’t move past my anger at this four-figure Medium writer, I ranted to my son. I told him about my lack of earnings. I explained to him the things that sell.
His response?
“You have a choice to make. You know what works, so do it and make more money or accept the fact you’ll be losing money to those who choose to follow the rules for success.”
My son made a brilliant point, even though I wasn’t happy to hear it. And right now, I’m still not following the rules.
And this action on my part used to be a point of pride. I wanted to be a real writer, not one who rambled on about earnings and stats and algorithms.
However, the pride is dwindling, especially when I see stats that make me feel like a failure.
Is Medium a platform for writers to reach a wide audience or a platform solely for an audience of writers?
Every article I read on Medium is about writing or making money writing or side hustles that involve writing.
I have no knowledge of side hustles, and as I’ve said before, I don’t like writing about Medium. I have written about the art of writing, but I’m so damn tired of it I simply can’t do it right now.
And I wonder who’s really doing most of the reading on Medium?
My gut tells me it’s Medium writers. They’re either reading hoping to obtain the secrets of Medium success or reading to give claps, highlights, and comments to other writers hoping they’ll return the favor.
And yes, I’m fully aware that some people do have success on the platform who don’t write on these topics.
But deep down inside, I know my assumption about who reads most is backed up with a well of evidence.
What I understand and what I don’t
Did I suddenly become a terrible writer? Has my writing actually regressed? What happened to my views? What happened to my reads? Is my lack of growth connected to the loss of major publications I published with that are no longer around?
I’m clueless.
But here’s what I do know.
Something’s gotta give.
Before I came to Medium, I wrote for many other publications such as Introvert Dear, Highly Sensitive Refuge, Your Teen magazine, and others.
Writing for these guys wasn’t a major payout. Still, forty or fifty bucks a pop isn’t something this teacher blinks her eyes at, especially when it takes triple the time (or more) to make this amount on Medium.
And the sad part is (I bet you’ve done this before) I’ve published many of my best articles on Medium instead of sending them elsewhere. I did this because I feared a day without publishing on this platform would crush the momentum I’d gained.
But the truth is, the momentum has stopped anyway.
And maybe I need to too.
I’m not sure.
But it’s something that’s certainly on my mind.
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