Writing on Medium Is Hard — That’s Why I Love It

The harder it is, the less competition there is

If you want to make decent money writing here, it can take quite a while to gain enough traction. For me, it’s already been over 6 months during which I’ve written 285 stories. This is number 286.

I will definitely get to 500 articles before the end of this year. If I work hard enough, I’ll get to 600.

Just starting

By the end of the year, I’ll have been writing here for 14 months. That will be a good start. Yes, I said “start”. I plan to write for years longer. I’m in this for the long term.

When I mention this to people, most of them think I’m crazy. Those who are also writers usually think they “deserve” to be paid more and to be paid sooner.

But Medium doesn’t work like that.

I heard one writer say that Medium should pay us all a minimum amount, such as $10 per story. I don’t know where this writer thinks that Medium would get the money from to do that.

The platform would be flooded with millions of writers that would publish any old crap to get paid.

Very happy

But I’m very happy that some writers think this way. All writers compete with one another here. If your story is one of ten that’s on the home page, you’re competing for the reader’s attention. If you win, you’ll earn a few extra cents. If you lose, another writer will get that money.

The good news is that there’s enough money for thousands of us to make good money here.

We still need to beat most writers though.

It’s hard

If you study writers that are earning good money, you’ll see that almost all of them have written hundreds of stories and/or have been writing here for years.

It’s hard to stick around for years and write so many stories.

It’s hard to stick around for years and write so many stories. You may think that’s a bad thing, but it’s actually a fantastic thing.

Why? Because if it’s hard, most writers will give up. That means that the game is easy to win if you’re willing to put in the work.

You can easily rise to the top if you stick around for long enough and write consistently.

Many will leave and move on to the next get-rich-quick idea they read about.

Rejoice

If you want to earn good money here, you should be rejoicing that it takes time and effort. You can easily beat the competition if you stick it out for long enough.

It’s the same in any profession. You don’t earn the top salary until you have years of experience behind you. When you start, you start at the bottom.

It’s no different with writing. If you’ve joined recently, you’re just the apprentice. As the months pass by, you’ll be promoted one rung at a time until you reach the top of the ladder.

You can’t expect to write a few articles and be paid the same amount as writers that have dedicated years to their writing. You have to put in the work and gain the experience needed to reach the top.

Over 90% will leave early

Over 90% will fall by the wayside quickly. It’s too tough for them. That’s a good thing. Those that put in the work are those that should be rewarded.

If you want to be rewarded, all you have to do is put in the work over the coming years. Climb that ladder. Become a successful writer. Don’t give up. It’s tough. It’s meant to be.

Good luck.