Shaming newbies is disgusting. We were all new at one point of time. Some veterans (like me in many instances) read articles that are geared to newbies because I'm curious. What are people teaching these days? What could I have done differently when I first started as a writer? Are there techniques that I can use today to my benefit?
Newbies should be encouraged. Show a little love for them. They will be very appreciative!
I still feel like a newbie. I'm working through some health issues, so I haven't been very active lately. Sent you an email today, different topic. Miss you, and love what you're building.
Oh I'm sorry to hear! We need a catch up. I've been so insulated so long it's terrible. I have no idea what I'm building yet, but writing here keeps me sane. Sort of. lol. P.S. Just replied to your email, too. :)
Wanna make money writing? Write poetry! (Ha, ha, ha!) No, the only poetry that makes money is what appears in publications like Atlantic and New Yorker, and that is because it is largely indecipherable except to the elitist editors who choose it.
lol, that made me laugh. Once upon a time, I actually wrote a post linking to publications that pay for poetry. Because it's real hard to get paid for poetry, that's for sure.
We are all newbies at something at all stages of our lives. And we don't stay there long if we are treated with kindness and gently guided. I'm a newbie writer on Medium. I started because I wanted to make money and enrolled in a course to teach me that. It didn't take me long to figure out the structure of posts and that there are no shortcuts. Even the top writers say it took them years. If someone had written that to me when I was at the very beginning, I would have quit. Imagine how many others have and I believe, we are all the poorer for it.
That's so true, Lorraine. I quit Medium twice, once for almost a year. 11 months! But I came back each time and I'm glad I did. If you have any questions about Medium, glad to help if I can. :)
IF a human has “arrived” at some pinnacle of “success,” however that human has defined success AND their peers have recognized them in some manner because they’re really good at their craft (writing, inventions, solving decades old mathematical proofs, WHATEVER), THEN their next purpose in life should be to mentor the next generation of writers, inventors, mathematicians, etc.
This mentoring is done to advance humanity (all of it) in creating a saner, gentler world for the next generation. The mentoring is NOT done for the purpose of making money to exploit the vulnerable...
Such an attitude of mentoring the next generation is true leadership, servant leadership for which many people in positions of authority today sorely unaware.
Ah, Linda, the world is such a mixed bag, isn't it? Funny story. I once offered a free ebook on email marketing effectively. Many downloaded it. Then one woman wrote to say my free book inspired her to pay someone $99 for theirs. She figured if she learned so much from me for free, how much more would she learn from a paid book. Her surprise was that mine was more helpful and more comprehensive. She told me she'd have appreciated it more had she paid for it. Aren't we a funny lot.
I can't even imagine that. Didn't see the post, and quite frankly I'm pretty happy about them not being noticeable to me. Personally, I'm still trying to figure out what it means to "write something good." But to get shamed for not knowing already? I do that enough to myself!
It's not exactly an offensive or stupid question, either. Why do people have to put others down to feel better about themselves? Might be the reason those particular writers aren't getting the traction they're looking for if they do that regularly. I know I get much more engagement from encouraging others and being kind.
Love Kevin's answer, "Give more than you take." I can't imagine believing in the hype of these "opportunities," and I actually get this person's email just to see what they're promising. It's 100% curiosity. If someone asks me for guidance, I'd say, "Find a paying job that you like enough that will support your habit of writing. Don't depend on writing to carry your financial load." I've given that advice to my kids. I haven't needed to add the P.S., which would be "Don't fall for the false promises offered through courses with big payouts. If something sounds too good to be true, it is." But I also like Kevin's answer (I repeat myself because I liked it so much.)
You are right on the money, Jill. It didn't take me long to figure out that the money promised means that you have to write on multiple sites, create courses, write books (plural intended). In other words, it's not as straight forward as only writing on Medium. And, it is not just the person presenting the hype - they have a whole slew of folks they hire to do some of the tasks - which is good entrepreneurship but misleading when they label themselves solopreneur.
I didn't have to read the post. I know exactly who it was, and I rarely read Medium anymore.
Surely there are others who can help writers with marketing, yet he seems to have the top spot and has for a long time.
There is good help out there, I think. I don't focus on marketing at Writer Everlasting, but if I did I would try to remember what it was like when I was starting out. It can be brutal to the soul. New writers are fragile and the last thing they need is an 'adviser' who only sees dollar signs when he looks at them.
I find the rampant greedy grubbing up new writers more than disturbing. It's disgusting. My readers who followed me to Medium got sick of it so I told them to leave Medium. They were relieved, lol. They don't need Medium to read my stories. I'm fine with that. Thank you for always being a decent human.
Shaming newbies is disgusting. We were all new at one point of time. Some veterans (like me in many instances) read articles that are geared to newbies because I'm curious. What are people teaching these days? What could I have done differently when I first started as a writer? Are there techniques that I can use today to my benefit?
Newbies should be encouraged. Show a little love for them. They will be very appreciative!
Yes, I so agree. I still remember being a newbie and writing things no one read. The first time I got 7 reads I was over the moon.
Even more, the first few times I actually published my articles, it took me a l o n g time to push that post button.
I still feel like a newbie. I'm working through some health issues, so I haven't been very active lately. Sent you an email today, different topic. Miss you, and love what you're building.
Oh I'm sorry to hear! We need a catch up. I've been so insulated so long it's terrible. I have no idea what I'm building yet, but writing here keeps me sane. Sort of. lol. P.S. Just replied to your email, too. :)
I read that same post and commented. My response was:
"Anytime someone asks "How do I get more subscribers" (which is the same question), I respond with 'do good work & give more than you take.'"
That's it. That's the hack. You're 100% correct. Do good work that gets seen/boosted/etc. There is no shortcut, no matter how bad we want there to be.
I saw that, Kevin! Kudos to you. Seriously.
Thank you!
I don’t write about things that get that reaction. Ignorance is not an affront. It’s normal
It is normal. I just wonder if it should be. You know? Studies show that tiny children are overwhelmingly kind. Mean is learned.
Wanna make money writing? Write poetry! (Ha, ha, ha!) No, the only poetry that makes money is what appears in publications like Atlantic and New Yorker, and that is because it is largely indecipherable except to the elitist editors who choose it.
lol, that made me laugh. Once upon a time, I actually wrote a post linking to publications that pay for poetry. Because it's real hard to get paid for poetry, that's for sure.
I prefer to help people- if they're friendly and write well. That's probably how I got most of my followers....
I agree David. You're one of the friendliest and kindest people on Medium. I have no idea how you read so many people but I'm impressed lol
I truly believe that you've helped a LOT more people on Medium than you might think. :)
We are all newbies at something at all stages of our lives. And we don't stay there long if we are treated with kindness and gently guided. I'm a newbie writer on Medium. I started because I wanted to make money and enrolled in a course to teach me that. It didn't take me long to figure out the structure of posts and that there are no shortcuts. Even the top writers say it took them years. If someone had written that to me when I was at the very beginning, I would have quit. Imagine how many others have and I believe, we are all the poorer for it.
That's so true, Lorraine. I quit Medium twice, once for almost a year. 11 months! But I came back each time and I'm glad I did. If you have any questions about Medium, glad to help if I can. :)
Thank you.
IF a human has “arrived” at some pinnacle of “success,” however that human has defined success AND their peers have recognized them in some manner because they’re really good at their craft (writing, inventions, solving decades old mathematical proofs, WHATEVER), THEN their next purpose in life should be to mentor the next generation of writers, inventors, mathematicians, etc.
This mentoring is done to advance humanity (all of it) in creating a saner, gentler world for the next generation. The mentoring is NOT done for the purpose of making money to exploit the vulnerable...
Such an attitude of mentoring the next generation is true leadership, servant leadership for which many people in positions of authority today sorely unaware.
Ah, Linda, the world is such a mixed bag, isn't it? Funny story. I once offered a free ebook on email marketing effectively. Many downloaded it. Then one woman wrote to say my free book inspired her to pay someone $99 for theirs. She figured if she learned so much from me for free, how much more would she learn from a paid book. Her surprise was that mine was more helpful and more comprehensive. She told me she'd have appreciated it more had she paid for it. Aren't we a funny lot.
Love the story!
Love the story
Well said.
I can't even imagine that. Didn't see the post, and quite frankly I'm pretty happy about them not being noticeable to me. Personally, I'm still trying to figure out what it means to "write something good." But to get shamed for not knowing already? I do that enough to myself!
It's not exactly an offensive or stupid question, either. Why do people have to put others down to feel better about themselves? Might be the reason those particular writers aren't getting the traction they're looking for if they do that regularly. I know I get much more engagement from encouraging others and being kind.
Right? It's so true. We all beat ourselves up enough, we don't need other people doing it too. So, so true.
Love Kevin's answer, "Give more than you take." I can't imagine believing in the hype of these "opportunities," and I actually get this person's email just to see what they're promising. It's 100% curiosity. If someone asks me for guidance, I'd say, "Find a paying job that you like enough that will support your habit of writing. Don't depend on writing to carry your financial load." I've given that advice to my kids. I haven't needed to add the P.S., which would be "Don't fall for the false promises offered through courses with big payouts. If something sounds too good to be true, it is." But I also like Kevin's answer (I repeat myself because I liked it so much.)
You are right on the money, Jill. It didn't take me long to figure out that the money promised means that you have to write on multiple sites, create courses, write books (plural intended). In other words, it's not as straight forward as only writing on Medium. And, it is not just the person presenting the hype - they have a whole slew of folks they hire to do some of the tasks - which is good entrepreneurship but misleading when they label themselves solopreneur.
Love being right on the money. It doesn’t happen that often :)
I didn't have to read the post. I know exactly who it was, and I rarely read Medium anymore.
Surely there are others who can help writers with marketing, yet he seems to have the top spot and has for a long time.
There is good help out there, I think. I don't focus on marketing at Writer Everlasting, but if I did I would try to remember what it was like when I was starting out. It can be brutal to the soul. New writers are fragile and the last thing they need is an 'adviser' who only sees dollar signs when he looks at them.
I find the rampant greedy grubbing up new writers more than disturbing. It's disgusting. My readers who followed me to Medium got sick of it so I told them to leave Medium. They were relieved, lol. They don't need Medium to read my stories. I'm fine with that. Thank you for always being a decent human.
Aww, thanks Catherine. What a nice thing to say. It does get old, that's for sure.