Who is Responsible for your Medium Earnings?
Is it Medium or is it you?
This is really quite simple: YOU are.
You are responsible for what you put on Medium. You are responsible for your content. You are responsible for whether or not your pieces generate interest from readers and therefore payments for you.
Instead of posting stories that say things like “I posted 100 stories and made $5,” write some damn stories that people want to read.
Your writing style might not appeal to Medium’s audience. Maybe your stories are boring. Maybe your headlines suck? Have you looked at your stats? Do you know which stories perform best? Why are they the best performers?
I could write all day about how Medium is not the best place for fiction — it just doesn’t seem to gain much traction. Alternatively, I could experiment with different headlines or topics or formats. Or I could even find a different platform and publish my fiction there. Which, by the way, I have — I’ve started posting some fiction on Simily. The larger point: Accept some agency.
Birds of Pray. A woman, her church, and some birds . … | by Andy Spears | Jan, 2022 | Medium
If you’re a writer earning 4 figures or better on Medium, how did you get there? Was it by complaining about the platform or was it by learning what works and adapting your style to fit? What other writing avenues have you tried for making money from your content?
