My First 3 months on Medium
By: Sadie Lee
Tags: Happy, Authors, How To Make Money, Ｍedium, Writing

From 9 views to 9,000 Views

Pexels: Wictor Cardoso

Month 1:

Here was my First Article:

I used a photo I had taken of my old roommate. This was before I had found Pexels and Unsplash! I awkwardly added “ sources” like a school paper instead of attaching hyperlinks. The article already feels awkward and bad. If that tells you how much I have already learned from writing in the first month!

Articles Written: 4

Money Made: $0.00

Views Recieved: >50

Screenshot, Photo by Author

Month 2:

My First Article to make it to a publication!

I couldn’t believe it when a publication reached out to me! I felt like I had won the lottery. Someone liked a story that little old me wrote!? I was tickled, flattered, excited! It felt great. It happened with four other publications reaching out to me first! This month was filled with exciting growth and successes. It motivated me. People actually read what I had to say. It was like winning the lottery. A small scale Medium style lottery!

Articles Written in Nov: 18

Money Made: $4.11

Views Recieved: >200

Screenshot Photo by Author

Month 3:

My Recent Article:

I finally discovered Pexels or free stock photos! I started reaching out to publications and submitting my work to them. I improved my titles. I went from writing the title of “White Men” to “5 Unique Ways to Become a Runner.” And my heading drastically improved from month one to three. My first subheading “Today we often hear about the white male,” (umm..what?) to this, “2020: The Year You Can finally call yourself a distance runner!” Drastically better, right?

I also received 9,000+ views on my page. I talk about the fact that sadly, these were mainly external views. I also have made 3X what I made last month already. I am averaging over a dollar a day now. I am also making money this month, from articles I wrote last month. The progress and content I am pumping out have drastically changed. I continue to find awe in how many people are reading my content! Especially this month. I am also so grateful for the income. Fifteen dollars covers three venti mochas from Starbucks, two nice candles from Target, or enough for a small investment on Acorns!

Articles Written in December: 11 and counting!

Money Made: $15.68+ and counting!

Views Recieved: >9,000

Screenshot Photo by Pexels: Andrea Piacquadio

My Takeaways:

The money doesn’t equate to the work yet . I have spent over 40 hours of work on this platform in the last three months. I have made about $20 on 40 hours of work. This means I made about .50c an hour so far. Not worth it. At my job, I make $20 an hour, so I would have netted $800 by now if that time was invested at my job instead.

. I have spent over 40 hours of work on this platform in the last three months. I have made about $20 on 40 hours of work. This means I made about .50c an hour so far. Not worth it. At my job, I make $20 an hour, so I would have netted $800 by now if that time was invested at my job instead. You don’t learn or earn by dreaming. I have been a sideline participant in the Medium community for a long time now. I would skim the articles and dream of someday having the guts to blog on this platform. I also had theories about how it would work or how I would make it big. But I didn’t learn how to publish content, which stories work, or how much I could expect to make until I dove into working at it!

I have been a sideline participant in the Medium community for a long time now. I would skim the articles and dream of someday having the guts to blog on this platform. I also had theories about how it would work or how I would make it big. But I didn’t learn how to publish content, which stories work, or how much I could expect to make until I dove into working at it! I don’t think blogging ever becomes a form of passive income. I attribute my success to my consistent work and content production. I don’t see how I can ever quit working at this and still see massive gains if I just stopped writing. I think my consistent content and work is what has allowed me to thrive and actually see a real payout this month.

I attribute my success to my consistent work and content production. I don’t see how I can ever quit working at this and still see massive gains if I just stopped writing. I think my consistent content and work is what has allowed me to thrive and actually see a real payout this month. You can do this, writing is not dead. I have started reading posts from authors who are making less than me. This isn’t about the money, but it was always a factor in my career choices. I always wanted to be a writer or journalist. But like most writers I am sensitive and I heard the verdicts: “Journalism is dead” or “You’ll never actually make a living blogging.” Now, I just want to scream about the fact that I ever let these negative Nancy’s get in my head! How dare they. I love writing. I was willing to put in the work. Had I known I would actually make some money at this, I would have started writing on here in college. Yeah, you probably can’t become a writer overnight. But if writings in your blood? Your passion? How dare they discourage my dreams.

So my three-month reflection? I am hopeful. I made $20 at this and yeah I am going to start calling myself a blogger, an author, a part-time writer. I am humbled and happy by this journey. I made money doing this, I wrote whatever I wanted to and people liked and read what I had to say! This journey has just been more and more worth it to me! Don’t give up, keep up the penmanship ya’ll!