Organization is not my strong suit, or at least maintaining an organizational system isn’t. It has been months since I wrote in this blog despite all good intentions. But things are different now. I think. In some ways they are exactly the same. I’m still doing content writing. I am still striving to spend more time and energy on finding and maintaining my creative voice. Right now, I am in the middle of multiple pieces on Medium that are in my drafts, but a temporary glitch is preventing me from accessing them. I’m trying not to obsess. I assume all will be well soon enough and I will be able to access things and post to the site again.
What is Medium?
Medium.com is an online reading and writing platform that is membership based. It’s filled with publications of varying sizes and circulations, as well as sample content from well-known publications including The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, RollingStone, and more. Much of the content exists behind a paywall — which means you need to pay their $5 monthly fee in order to have unlimited access. Without the fee, you can still read a few “stories” each month. And if you are sent a “friend link” you can access the content with that link whether you are a member or not.
The writing side centers around the Medium Partner Program. You can write stories behind the paywall, and when paying members read and engage in those stories, a small part of their membership fee is distributed to you on a monthly basis. There are a handful of people that earn several hundred or even thousands on Medium this way.
Most seem to be more like me. I sputtered through my first month making $1.56, and buckled down the 2nd month and made $20. I’m on track to get a little more next month, perhaps even double. it’s not a lot, but the fact that I can make something writing what I want in my own name means something, and it has been motivating. And now that I have earned back my initial investment, I have the momentum to keep going and reach for a little bit more week by week or month by month.
My Early Strategy
Being part of a reading and writing community my initial strategy was pretty much “Throw everything against the wall and see what sticks.” So far what seems to have stuck the best are posts about the challenges that come with depression, anxiety, and ADHD, memoir-esque essays about noteworthy life events, and poetry. Much of the poetry posted is actually older, from days when I did not write for content mills, but there’s a bit of new stuff there too. I’m also looking to ease back into fiction. I’m studying my ADHD- inattentive type closer, and am looking at more of the emotional aspects that can be overshadowed by the societal pressures to stay focused and produce.
How I’m Working in My Blog
Earnings on Medium are cumulative. You might earn anything from a few pennies week by week, to several dollars, depending on how popular the piece is on the site. While this blog is posted in full on my site, in the future, I plan to work Medium Pieces that have fizzled out, and provide snippets and a friend link on the blog for select pieces. If you wish to take a look at more of my work, check out my Medium Profile for a better sampling of my work.
Life With Words on the Side 