My Least Productive Month on Medium Brought In Nearly $10K
Tags: Babies, Health, Covid 19, Life, Coronavirus

My Least Productive Month on Medium Brought In Nearly $10K

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

I don’t always make $10,000 a month on Medium, though of course, I wish that I did. While I may never be one of the tip-top earners here, I still think there’s hope for me to grow and earn more in the future. Besides, even when I don’t earn $10K, I feel incredibly fortunate to do something I love in the comfort of my home, and still make better money than I ever did working for somebody else.

Even so, writing is work. It’s hard work. It takes a lot to consistently publish money-making stories which translate into lots of member reading time while raising a kindergartener — especially in the middle of a viral pandemic. Like most folks, I get burned out. I get sick of social distancing, sick of politics, sick of social media, and sick of being tired. It probably doesn’t help that I’m autistic and things like organization or planning are rarely my strengths.

I’ve had to adapt to make writing work for me this year.

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That means nobody knows just how much longer things are going to suck and when life will actually feel normal again. I don’t know about you, but for me, that’s made writing much more difficult this year.

In my effort to adapt, it’s led me to shift my work a bit. I’ve taken some time off from the deeply personal stories I would typically write. Instead, I cover more culture, celebrities, politics, and religion — these topics are great because they interest me and many of my readers. I have plenty to say about them, but they don’t require me to bleed. Not really.

So, the shift in focus has basically allowed me to keep writing through the year even when I am depressed or unmotivated, and when it feels like all I can do is cope.

The other thing I’ve done this year to cope with the stress of 2020, is to write fewer stories. Now that part’s really scary. Instead of publishing every day, I often skip a day or two, or more, and allow my drafts to “breathe.”

I never used to feel like I could do that. If I wanted to make good money, I really felt like I had to keep my name out there on a daily basis. But, I’ve been doing this thing for a long time, and I’m not quick at it. Most posts take me hours to complete.

That said, mixing things up in 2020 has felt very important. I want writing to be this thing I love to do, and not lose my love for the whole thing. With 2020 being such a helluva hard year, I keep coming back to this idea that I need to do the thing that I’m afraid of and give myself some space to be okay.

I’m guessing that many of you are in a similar headspace.

Taking a break from writing so much is… complicated.

All in all, the changes have worked well for me and I discovered that I can write successful pieces that don’t revolve around super personal stuff all of the time. I feel good about that since I generally like to write according to my moods.

Am I worried about people unfollowing me because I’m writing about different things? Not enough to change gears, I suppose. Since I began blogging on Medium, I’ve often taken on popular culture or social commentary because I think the way we talk about human issues matters. Like it or not, we are all impacted to some extent by the culture we live in, and I find there are some really interesting discussions that happen when we talk about various pop culture headlines.

After all, when I write about my super personal stuff, people only read it because it somehow resonates with their own experiences or somehow makes them think about an issue from a new perspective. They’re not reading about my life because I’m so damn interesting.

I’m not.

Thankfully, it doesn’t always need to be my life that I’m talking about to glean interesting life lessons. I’ve been hitting harder on stories about high-profile people since April or so. I’ve appreciated the emotional distance that gives me, though to be honest, it still might not always be enough distance. Sometimes, I still need to write less.

You see, I wasn’t prepared for my feelings about writing last month. In terms of burn out, I had really hit a wall. Even though my to-do list is miles long and always behind, I found myself doing a whole lot of nothing through most of October. It was something I had to do for the sake of my mental health, and I had mixed feelings about taking a break. I wound up taking an unplanned holiday from publishing, and it was awful and delicious all at once.

As much as I felt like a jerk about doing nothing on so many days, I knew I needed the break, and ironically, the month played out like a dream come true. I earned nearly $10K even though I only wrote 16 stories — and took lots of time away.

Author's screenshot

That’s not to say it couldn’t have gone better, however. It would have been a whole lot better if I hadn’t felt so guilty, and if I wasn’t quite so hard on myself. There are things I would definitely do differently a second time around.

For instance, I worried when I really shouldn’t have. I became self-conscious — at least, temporarily — about what other people might think when they saw I wasn’t publishing much. Would they think I ran out of topics? I haven’t, of course, but I have always written on Medium according to my mood.

Or what would people think if I wrote about another celebrity? Would they understand, or ridicule me? I thought a lot about other writers I admire, like Jessica Wildfire, who seemed especially prolific in October. I love that, and I really do love her writing, but in the midst of my breaks, I internalized her path for a minute and wondered if I was doing something wrong. Was I slacking off?

But Jessica and I are not the same person, obviously. We lead different lives. As much as I am grateful for her support and her writing on Medium, I have to remind myself that my purpose here is to write my stories. Not compare myself to others, and even better writers.

November is a bit different.

I’m still writing less content than usual. I haven’t been as strategic about writing popular stories and it shows in my earnings so far. They’re not bad by any means but not amazing. I’m also taking more time off — not to do nothing, but to finally get my house reorganized after allowing it to become a pigsty this year.

I would like nothing more than to get back to full-time writing, but it’s taken me several months just to sort of come to terms with spending most of my time at home. With that acceptance, I finally feel mentally ready to take time away from writing to be more productive at home. I’m not the sort of person who juggles multiple tasks well, so, I’ve learned to make the most of those periods where I feel ready to tackle different things.

For me, this doesn’t mean I’m not writing at all. I write something every day, even if it’s just a few paragraphs or ideas. But I’m producing a lot less content for now, and I don’t plan to go back to more frequent publishing until I’ve got my home better organized.

I’m also experimenting with the News Break Creator Program, to see what sort of traction I can get from some of my old stories that have been sort of listless on Medium lately. (Tip: if you sign up for the Creator Program, make a rule to just never read the comments on your work.)

Ultimately, though, I’m being kinder to myself about taking time off to take care of other things, and I’m asking myself a lot more questions about the topics I actually want to write about this year.

2020 is the kind of year most of us will remember for the rest of our lives.

Personally, my mood and my emotions deeply impact my writing. Not every writer is like that, and nor should they be.

But if you find that you’re like me, you’ve probably noticed that keeping up with your writing in 2020 feels very different. There isn’t anything wrong with that, and it’s important to be aware of our personalities as we develop our goals.

The reality is that some writers on Medium can’t afford to take time off or write less. To a certain extent, I’ve worked my ass off on Medium for a couple of years now, and that’s given me a bit more freedom. I’ve already experimented a lot with the types of stories that readers like from me, and I’ve lucked out to not need to be such a niche writer.

On the other hand, I also know my limitations. I’m not an all-appealing writer. I have a lot of popular and even “viral” stories, but they’re a long way off from some of the most popular stories on Medium. And I’m alright with that. Whatever I write, I want to be myself and not try to replicate the success of other, more popular writers.

My point is that if you play to your strengths, writing through difficult times, and adapting through difficult times, will be much easier than phoning it in. Today, I have a decent understanding of the sort of posts of mine that can go viral, and when I feel like it, I write those. Happily, and without shame.

In October, I pretty much “knew” that my stories about Shanann and Chris Watts and Chrissy Teigen would go viral. So, as soon as I had the gumption to go write them, I did, and they really helped boost my earnings despite taking time away from Medium.

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Looking at my top ten earners last month, only four of those stories came out in October. At least one was published toward the end of September, but the other stories are older, and highlight the reason I typically write for curation.

I want my stories to live on. I’m guessing you like your stories to live on too.

A few key takeaways for you…

If you’re here to earn money like I am, and perhaps even support your family — something I’ve been doing on Medium since December 2018 — it pays to watch other people do it.

Most people on the platform can’t earn $10K by publishing just 16 stories that month. (Though, to be fair, some people here do much, much better than that too.)

I’m at a point in my Medium journey where I know that I can make at least $5K in one month without daily publishing. And I’ve gotten to that point because:

I put in a ton of work on Medium before anyone was really paying attention.

In the early days, it was a really big deal just to make $20 on one post. The more I wrote, the more chances I had to earn another $20. As I gained more traction and got better at writing on Medium, it became much easier to write stories that would make at least $100, and so forth.

I’ve experimented a lot with what works for me on Medium.

Sometimes, I like to write about writing, or I enjoy little updates like this one where I give you some advice on how to do well with the platform. One thing I am better aware of, however, is that a story like this is never going to be a top earner. It’s not even a “bread and butter” post.

To me, these posts are valuable because they encourage many of you, and because they help me reach new readers who are interested in my Medium journey.

Everything I write about is something I am passionate about.

You might have noticed that when I cover high-profile people in my work, there’s a specific angle. Often, it’s a critique on evangelical Christianity because that’s the world I was raised in. Other times, it’s about equality or women’s issues because those things are close to my heart. There are also some stories about celebrities that delve into mental health or relationship issues.

Maybe you’ve realized this, or, maybe not, but I am a big believer in the healing power of honesty when we write. Or when we read.

I write about human condition “issues.” Our struggles. Our pain. Things that I wish I understood a long time ago. Coming from a family where the truth was not particularly welcome, I am passionate about writing the truth out now.

Ultimately, though, I know the power of adaptability.

One main key to making Medium work has got to be adaptability. When I started on the platform, my purpose was to write for a living. I didn’t want a lot of headaches with promoting my work or twisting myself into a pretzel to be likable.

But how do you do your own thing on somebody else’s platform? Adaptability is key. That’s how I’ve managed to find the stuff I like to write about that also does well on Medium.

In the same vein, adaptability also keeps you from becoming entitled. I know that some months are going to be harder than others. And I won’t always be in the proper headspace to get the greatest results. That’s okay. I’m adapting to my own needs too.

So, in a nutshell? If you want to enjoy better paying months on Medium while taking time off, it helps to:

Put in plenty of work on the font-end and… write a lot before you ever need the time off.

Experiment with the sort of stories you like to write that also do well on the platform.

Find your angle to stay passionate about the work you’re doing.

Adapt to changes on the platform, changes in readers, and of course, changes in yourself.

You’ll never know what you can accomplish on Medium if you don’t make an effort.

I’ve always said that Medium isn’t passive income. Writing regularly online and making a decent income is very hard work — but it’s not impossible.

Since I got started back in April 2018, I’ve seen several inspiring success stories of folks here who didn’t give up and they either found their path or they’re finding it.

In some ways, it’s a little bit like playing the lottery, because you do need a bit of luck on your side. Of course, the more you play, the more opportunities you have to win.

Whatever goals you have on Medium, I wish you success and peace — especially as we round out such a strange and tough year.

I’m convinced that you can do great things here, if you pay attention. You might even get to the point where you can take a break without fear or worry.

I really hope that you do.