Every Article You Write Is Important to Someone
Most people do not earn a living on Medium that does not mean they do not have anything to say.
I am part of the Medium Partner Program but that does not mean I write for the money. In fact, because of the nature of my niche, I offer some of my most popular pieces for free.
I am sure you’ve read the many articles from writers boasting Medium makes them lots of money. You know the ones:
“I was on Medium a full ten minutes before I made my first million. It was one article going viral that led me to realize I am a good writer: How to Crack an Egg and Boil Water in One Day.”
Medium’s own stats show those who make a living here are a minority of writers on the platform. The fact is that of those who make money, the vast majority of us make less than one hundred dollars. Fifty-two cents is less than one hundred dollars. Many of us here do not write for the money, we are writing for the experience, lessons learned through it, for the joy and improvement of the craft and to inform and entertain.
Are you here for the money? Good for you. Eventually, you will leave and go make real money writing for the New York Times. Much of what we can write here will not be accepted by other world class publications. The reason has little to do with the quality of the articles. Medium has excellent writers and writing. It has more to do with the vision of the editors in those off platform publications.
Our work may or may not have been curated when it counted, mine never was. However, our take on the world around us does not always have to be approved by an editor somewhere. We can offer what we think is important and publish it.
If you write for other publications off platform, your work has to fit the editor’s and publisher’s vision. Writing always had this structure. You may have a great story and it may be an important one to tell but if it does not fit the vision of the available publications, you will not see it in print. You need to write what they want and when they want to print it. Medium changes this dynamic somewhat.
I do not sit with the latest copy of the local newspaper as I have breakfast, despite growing up in the world of one of them. I have my tablet and I am reading the latest on Medium. I look for the writers and the subjects that interest me as I drink coffee and have egg, tortilla and apple before I start my day of writing and then my day job.
Now, I know there are people who count on the monthly paycheck from Medium and must write with that in mind. I do not and so I can write what I want while I submit to publications including my own. This allows me to tell the stories that are important but would never be printed by those who have more mainstream focus on what they want to publish.
Other writers do the same thing. This means I can be challenged by those writers in a way I could not in other venues. That is essential in my day job, otherwise, I am literally preaching to the choir.
Medium Belongs in the Preachers Toolbox
If you want to preach in the real world read what is on Mediummedium.com
This is what makes Medium so important. It is all about informing other readers and reading other writers who have a take on the world around us we would not find in more mainstream websites or publications.
Let me give you an example. My cousin once taught me that if one customer had a bad experience at a business, by the time the disappointed patron gets over it the account of the incident reaches the ears of close to two thousand people. This one person told those in his or her circle and they told those in their circles and it goes viral. Suddenly people say “Do not go there because Chris had a bad time at that store, restaurant, bar.”
Did only five people read your article? Disappointing isn’t it. You wish it would have gone viral. Maybe you receive a total of twenty-five claps and that was from two people. Those two people admitted they enjoyed your article.
If companies spend millions to train workers to prevent that one person from having a bad experience and you only reached five readers with your article. Can you say that your piece had no effect? It certainly did for those readers. How many more did your article affect?
“I read some article on Medium today that says that one teaspoon of maple syrup is a better nutritious value than sugar even though the calorie count is about the same.” One of those readers may tell a friend. You did not make money from that experience but your work did not die on the vine.
Maple Syrup, Not Just About Pancakes
Living in New England, it is hard not to know something about Maple syrup. Produced in the Northeastern states and…medium.com
I grew up in the newspaper industry. If you read my material you know that my father wrote for the Boston Globe for over forty years. He died in 1985 in a whole different era from what we experience today. Our family lived surrounded by some of the major writers in that newspaper.
My father told us he wrote at least one story every day. Not all of them were published but he wrote them.
We also did not know how many read any story, we only know the circulation figures for his time and now.
What makes the internet unique is that you know how many people read your article. No classic journalist ever had that information. I am sure there are many published pieces that had few readers because people were more focused on other interests in the publication. In fact, my father taught me that the comics section received the most comments of all the parts of the newspaper.
“Yes, that is interesting that we are in the midst of an arms race but don’t you dare cancel Zippy® from your comics page!” might be one hypothetical comment.
There are many here who write for money and do well. There are many more who write and make a few dollars a month and others choose not to be part of the Medium Partner Program. All are contributors to the platform. All have something to say and all influence someone somewhere.
That is why I write on Medium. Some of my writing has a decent amount of readers and some of it does not. All of it influences someone.
You can say the same for everything you write whether you earned over one hundred dollars last month or fell short of one hundred cents. Your writing is still important to someone and they are glad you are here.
In the book, O Alquimista (The Alchemist) Paolo Coelho describes a doceiro (candy maker). “Este doceiro não está fazendo doces porque quer viajar, nem porque quer se casar com a filha de um comerciante. Este doceiro faz doce porque gosta disso”. This candy maker is not making sweets because he wants to travel, nor because he wants to marry the daughter of a merchant. This candy maker makes candy because he likes it.
Many write for the same reason.
