You Can Teach An Old Dog

My 2019 life lessons on Medium

At the beginning of 2019, I had a plan.

No news there. I always have a plan.

What were the chances my plan would work out?

Not important.

My plans motivate me.

If my plans involve writing a book, chances are good, I’ll complete it.

If I say I’m going to purge my closets, well, that’s been on my agenda since soon after I moved into my current digs. Twenty-six years ago. So figure it out.

One thing not on my plan was a dive into non-fiction writing on Medium, but here I am. Plans for books out the window, but I’m happy to say, small headway on the purge.

So what have I learned about and from Medium?

A lot. Some of it is only relevant to me and my life. Some of it might help every writer on the platform, so I’m going to spew them out there and let you take whatever you find helpful.

1. You definitely can teach old dogs new tricks. But I’ve known that for a long time. When I told my friends about my plan to give the platform a try, many were skeptical. I knew I could figure out the tech part. I also knew I could come up with articles to write. I wasn’t daunted by the idea of breaching the 7% wall for earning a hundred bucks a month. I figured I could do all that. And I have.
2. If I can do it…nope. Not going there. It’s so tempting to say if an old lady who can’t walk a straight line without a cane can do it, you can. But I know that’s not true. We all have our limits. There’s really no reason why I shouldn’t be making 5 and 10k a month, but I’m not. Even though some of the heavy hitters say if they can make it, we all can.
3. I’m doing what I expected, moneywise, a little bit better, not as bad as I feared. I made the 7% range first month out, and I inch up each month since. In the last two months I hit the $500 mark, but January 2020 earnings are down somewhat.
4. I’ve learned to follow the advice of the winners. If someone is making four and five figures a month, I do what they tell me to succeed. I write every day (I’m a full-time writer living alone, so I can apportion my time). I engage with many other writers to grow my following. I promote in Facebook groups. I make actual friends.
5. I started a newsletter and publication, later than I should and haven’t done much with them. Every guru tells me that hurts me, and I believe them. I’m trying to get some imaginative posts to send to those followers.
6. I’ve been lucky to get into major publications that boost my curation rate. I started getting curated with my first article. I blame that on the fifty years I’ve dedicated to learning to write a half-decent sentence. Good writing trumps everything. Except Mr. Trump.
7. I’ve learned I can write a personal essay. This is a new form for me, and I didn’t know how easily this material would roll off my fingers. I also credit that to my quarter-century writing practice. It has also helped me slough off inhibitions about publishing personal pieces. I’ve mostly published cookbooks and fiction previously, both forms I love.
8. I’m happy to show my flaws, but not those of my loved ones. So I don’t reveal much of my family and early life, which would probably earn me a higher income. But I have a line in the sand, and so far haven’t wanted to out anyone close to me.
9. I’ve very prolific. I can write one or more articles a day, providing I don’t have client deadlines to meet. Not saying they are brilliant, just finished. I also edit for private clients and try to write my own novels. I occasionally suffer from burnout, though not writer’s block. The difference? I can always come up with some drivel, though when I’m mentally or physically exhausted, the writing sounds flat and repetitious. When I’m on my game, have been eating, sleeping, and exercising, I mostly like what I write.
10. My best tip for writing success is to be your own cheerleader. Love your writing because it’s possible nobody else will. There’s no crime in finishing an article and saying, well done, me. Maybe it will fall flat. Maybe a publication will say, back to the drawing board. Maybe you have a long way to go to reach professional status. But here’s the deal. For every writer who has the courage to hit publish on an article they put effort into, there are a thousand too scared to show their work to anyone for fear of rejection. I’m not blaming them. People can be real shits when it comes to commenting on someone else’s work. They use cruelty masking as honesty. Who needs that? And it isn’t helpful. But if you can get past that and put a story out into the world, you should at least give it some love of your own. You know what it took out of you to write it. Appreciate that. Love that in yourself. Maybe you’re at the early stages. Fine. We’ve all been there. It doesn’t mean you get points for spitting on your hard-won work. Love it to death, and then do what you can to make it better. Everybody’s work can be better. Mine and the folks making $20k a month. I know because I’ve read both. Mine and they’res.
11. Work on your craft. I can’t say this enough. I’m saying it to myself, and I’m saying it to every writer out there. And you people who are making the big bucks? Money doesn’t make you a good writer. Don’t get pompous just because you hit on a subject that hit a nerve, and your piece went viral. You can be good and popular at the same time. Better if you are.
12. Learn to market. The best articles will die on the vine if nobody sees them. Medium isn’t going to reach into your folder and shove your work in front of the world just because it’s you. Unless you have an in with Ev. In that case, slip him my name, please. But you have to ask someone else the best way to market because it’s not my wheelhouse. Come to me for writing advice, the big dogs for selling advice.
13. Read the big-time sellers for how to market, the literary writers for how to string beautiful sentences together.
14. Look at your stats for the pieces to do well. Give some live sacrifice to the gods and ask them to make a similar piece do just as well. Because honestly, I don’t know how to figure out what sells from looking at my numbers.

The best part of my Medium experience has been the people I’ve met. More often than not, I wake up to a comment from a reader I know, sometimes a person new to me, with a friendly note about something I’ve published.

This makes me grateful that, at eighty years old, I still have the ability to string words together that speak to a few people. It’s the work of my life and my heart, and it helps me send my little message to young people not to count the oldsters out. If I have an agenda here, that’s it. We’re alive until we’re not, so live life to the fullest.

I’m grateful to every reader. I’ll be here until they kick me out. If I don’t earn enough money to make it worthwhile, I won’t write as often, but I’m staying for the folks and the quality of the writing.

I wish everyone good luck in 2020.

I’m an editor and writer on Medium with Top Writer status in several categories. I’m also an editor for the publication, Rogues Gallery. I’ve published 55 titles on Amazon and edit for private clients. If you’d like to hire me as your editor for fiction, non-fiction, or business writing, please contact me here. If you’d like to read more of my work on Medium, click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ll make sure you don’t miss a word. Thank you for reading.