6 Peculiar Lessons From My 6th Month on Medium
By: Adriana Sim
Tags: Writing Tips, Medium Writers, Mindset, Inspiration, Writing

In November, I’ve written 11 posts (one of which was a silly poetry challenge, so I’d count that out, as I didn’t put much effort into it). My curation rate was just over 60%.

I didn’t get accepted into the major publications I usually targeted — like The Ascent or P.S. I Love You. Overall, I felt uninspired and blah, which you can probably notice from the random topics I’ve chosen. But it was the best I could do, and there will always be months like that.

What encouraged me was that older work started to pay off — hence the $65 after hardly any good writing in November. Stats have stayed pretty much the same, while my income went up significantly. I can explain that through either more reading time or a different kind of audience reading my pieces.

Do I feel good about my stats & earnings?

Short answer: Yes. Progress is progress, and I’m still finding my voice on Medium. I don’t feel like I’ve yet given it my all, which could significantly boost my views over the months. Right now, I’m still learning consistency, and I suspect that quality only comes after first making writing a habit. Habit formation is tricky, you guys, and I’m grateful that I’m at least showing up.

Long answer: I feel good about my earnings, but I’m still battling self-doubt on whether I’ll actually make it on Medium. I’ll talk more about this in the lessons below, so read on if you feel the same way.

#1 No amount of courses will teach you virality

As I mentioned in my previous articles (which I’ll link at the very end), I enrolled in two popular courses on Medium writing. One is taught by Sinem Günel, and the other is taught by Tim Denning and Todd Brison.

Both courses are exceptional, and I love that I got to experience two very different teaching styles. However, they have left me a little bitter. And here’s why:

After trying to get my titles, images, research, and formatting on point, reaching a high curation rate, and being accepted in large publications, success is still elusive. The success marketed by these courses, that is. This is why I think they should stop doing that altogether — they are selling the exception, not the rule.

I’ve noticed that many of the writers who routinely accomplish virality (not one-time hits) are extraordinary people. People who either have successful businesses at a young age or have a vast and various amount of life experience. People who are experts in a popular field — like finance, I.T., martial arts even. People who always make it a massive hit when sharing their knowledge. (like Amardeep Parmar — check him out, he only wrote three pieces this month, and he’s still insanely successful.)

So, I guess that in order to monetize your life experience, you need to have some relatable and notable things to share.

#2 Community is very important for boosting morale

What I appreciate most about these courses is the incredibly supportive community they have around them.

We cheer for each other, share our victories, and clap on each other’s articles. We give and receive feedback and feel like we’re not alone in this.

You don’t have to be part of a private Slack group to benefit from this experience; you might already have your community right here on Medium, without even being aware of it.

It’s the people returning to your posts again and again and taking the time to respond. It’s the friends you eventually make in Medium Facebook groups. It’s the editors you get friendly with in small publications.

But there’s a cautionary side to community, too. There are people out there doing the work for years, pumping tons of good content out there, getting curated, getting into large pubs, and still not seeing results. It breaks my heart to see this. And occasionally, especially in F.B. groups, there will be salty people trying to bring you down.

Bottom line? We should be learning from our community, even if it’s sometimes disheartening. The fact that people share their process, the money they make, and what they’ve learned is already precious information.

#3 At the end of the day, it’s all about the reader

I love writing about my life. It’s even in my bio: “Processing life through stories.” This month, however, I’m trying to move away from narrating life experiences. I’ll be exploring more general topics and only insert my life experience where it’s needed.

I feel like I’m not relatable enough, but maybe you have a different opinion on that (and I’d love to hear feedback from you). Let me paint a small picture of my life real quick:

I’m an orthodontist in the process of moving away from my career. Talking about my current job is not a lot of fun, and I don’t think people would be interested to hear more about it. Talking about career change has been met with an equal number of rejections from pubs, and I don’t know why.

I live in Europe — Romania, Transylvania. The cultural difference is real, and I’d love to write more about what’s happening on this side of the world, but it doesn’t really resonate. I see writers outside of the U.S. trying to write like they’re Americans or hiding where they’re actually from like it’s a bad thing. Like we’re lesser than. This American-centric approach should really stop, or maybe it’s just my perception.

I struggle with anxiety. Now, that’s indeed relatable. But I can’t use it a lot in my topics because it’s triggering, and it’s a heavy topic sometimes.

I love gardening, but Medium isn’t into that. Just like I love hiking, pets, and knitting. Those are some quirky passions that people don’t seem to read much about on here.

So I revert to writing personal development stuff because I’m into that too, and people seem to like it. In the end, it’s all about bringing value to the reader by writing what they love to read. Medium is not my diary, and I’m not Shannon Ashley…yet. Hoping to be her someday, fingers crossed.

And three more bite-sized lessons for you:

#4 Writer’s block is essentially self-doubt

When you run out of ideas, analyze your self-talk. I bet it’s trash. There’s only one way to get out writer’s block, and it’s by writing what you perceive as crappy content. Ship it into the world and let go.

#5 If content is king, then research is queen

I’ve lost count of the number of times editors have asked me to include more research in my articles. Medium is promoting quality, well-researched pieces, and we should be grateful for that. It’s training us to become journalists of sorts. Real writers. So don’t skip this step, and don’t believe that one or two links will do. Back up your arguments with reputable sources.

#6 Publication guidelines are hidden gems

When we write a story, it goes something like this: we have an idea, craft a good title, and then write our little hearts out. We don’t care about paragraph length, sources, what’s in it for the reader, topic, etc.

Next, we try to find a publication that will accept our new story without even bothering to understand what that publication is all about.

How about you reverse engineer your process and start with a certain publication in mind? Respect their guidelines, adhere to their general style, thoroughly research your topic, bring tons of value. I bet they won’t reject it then…But let’s face it, we rarely do this. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Final thoughts

Writing on Medium is rewarding in its own way. It opens so many doors; it connects me with so many people.

I have my doubts about ever becoming a serious writer as I navigate my way through the online world, trying to find opportunities. But even if this experiment doesn’t work out, I will come out victorious because of a writing habit, a huge portfolio, and a skill to produce content. In the end, those are valuable skills to apply in blogging, freelance writing, and other similar areas.

If you’re new to my journey, follow my progress below, and you can subscribe to my Newsletter here.

Until next time, my friends. Don’t doubt yourselves, and keep writing!