I'm right there with you, buddy. and I want to continue writing articles like the one I wrote about Sylvia Plath. Did you call me out on purpose, Linda? LOL!!! I changed the title. Let's see if that works!
lol. I recently wrote about Sylvia Plath too. So it was a jab at myself, but what a hilarious coincidence. Send me a link to yours and I'll send you mine. We can at least read each other
I don't know Linda - I enjoy writing a lot - but only as a hobby. It generates income and I'm thankful for that, however, the moment I start to take things seriously, either as a blogger or as a business, I know both my passion and motivation will decrease because earning is not my primary or even secondary goal. Also, the time investment and learning curve for each platform is crazy - still there are no guarantees even if you do everything right.
I agree with you - it's not about the quality - it's more about what people want to read. If I were to write a post about Medium, there's bound to be a flurry of attention while my personal stories take their own sweet time to gain traction.
Having said that, I know some think there is a hierarchy to writers - that they set the bar for quality on Medium - they're vocal about it so it's no secret. It's just one of those things I find amusing about Medium. With regard to Substack, I do okay but nobody tells you how brutal the competition is - they only talk about the pros which I feel is misleading
I think maybe you hit on a couple of interesting things. One is the idea that real writers write because they love to. Somehow, any talk of money makes a lot of writers uncomfortable. Not all. But a lot. And the second is the people who only talk the pros. Makes me think that's some kind of signal we should pay attention to. When you hire a tour guide they don't just know the highlights you want to see. They know what to warn you of, too. Know what I mean? Goes back to that old saying -- anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.
I think one thing that many writers miss is to treat their writing as a business—even if they don’t intend for it to be one. Things like customer service still apply in the digital writing world. Be consistent, respond quickly to issues. Write with the goal of informing and/or entertaining.
I agree with the sentiment. But for me, I think I'd phrase it one step to the side and say writers should act like they're a professional. Regardless of money. To me that's a different bar of conduct, you know? Last sentence, absolutely! I love when I read fiction that makes me take notes on stuff I want to look up.
Linda, I know (as in, met IRL or online or both) three successful writers, where “successful” = “sells more books than I do” (VERY low bar). What do they have in common? They work their butts off marketing their books. Blogs. Podcasts. Book signings. Book readings. Calling/writing/emailing to set up their next gig. Partnering. Driving three/five/nine hours to make a 60-minute appearance at an event where two people show up and nobody buys a book. Building email lists. Asking friends to help expand email lists. Asking friends to post printed ads with takeaway cards on public bulletin boards (the physical kind, because old school is still around).
I think one of them still writes, also. When she has time.
Wanna be a writer? Write stuff. Wanna be a “successful” writer? Be ready to run your ass ragged NOT writing. (I know you know this, Linda, I’m trying to back your play. 😉)
lol your last sentence, Jack. What I would add is watch what's working. Sometimes marketing becomes like a snowball rolling down hill. We get so busy doing that we don't stop to ask why we're doing it. Driving nine hours to an appearance where two people show up shouldn't even happen anymore. Even in this little Podunk place I live, we know how many people are attending an event because of online registration. And while there's always some who don't show, at least we can cancel if only 2 sign up. You know? Still lots of work but we can do some of that work smarter now.
My career was in technical writing. I had trouble getting the reviewers to read my manuals. Customers? They called the help desk. I learned that good writing means nothing. Nothing.
Now I write poetry and flash fiction. I have a small, loyal following. Still, it's more people than ever read my manuals. I want to write what gives me joy, not what I think people want or need to read.
I started writing on Medium because I could get my writing published faster through literary magazines there, and my submissions weren't lost in the ozone. Or I could self-publish my work in seconds.
I am moving to Substack because I am building community and reads more quickly.
As I get older and crankier, I'm leaning more toward self-publishing. I don't care if people discover how wonderful my writing is after I die. I just don't want my husband to try to figure out what to do with all my words if I die first.
I'm really glad you're doing well on Substack, Nolcha. I know we published some of your pieces in The Interstitial and it makes me happy that Substack is working for you.
Thanks, Linda! Yes, you did publish some of my poetry. Have you and Roman thought of creating an Interstitial literary magazine on Substack? If so, I’d love to contribute.
I know where I am. I write mostly on Medium and in a year and a half I have written one hundred and ten stories. I have written six boosted stories. I’m learning every time I get feedback from a reader and I try writing for a new publication. I’m finding certain editors I have built a rapport with. They never let me shovel shit. I love them for that. But I still feel like I am not grabbing all readers I could because I don’t want a separate friends of a friend social media account. I don’t have the physical energy to chase after keeping up with the attention grabbing economy.
I’m older, I’m not riding on anyone’s cream to excite them during morning coffee.
I can’t do that bullpuckey better than younger people and that doesn’t come from my gut, head, or heart.
About two to three hundred readers find me every month. Some read, write back, and highlight. It’s enough to keep me busy everyday. Could more people enjoy my work if I promoted it differently - probably!
But, would I have time to get to know each person if I had 400 subscribers - no.
As it is I am growing almost too fast to check out and read stories from each person who subscribes to my work. I’m lucky to have some subscribers that are just readers.
You have done it far longer and better than I do. But I don’t want to feel like I’m wearing two sizes too big hand-me-down clothes. So far I’ve gained subscribers and kept them. I make sure what I write is interesting to them. The millions of cows I don’t milk to fill the pail definitely won’t make the cream in my milk pail.
Oh I skim the cream off the top and make butter, plus buttermilk biscuits. Most people are interested!
Couple of things, Jocelyn. I used to think like you. Tried to know all my followers and subscribers. But eventually that falls away and it has to. And what happens then is that the ones who are most connected rise to the top. The way I know you and Michelle, and Lisa and dozens of others. Maybe even hundreds of faces I recognize. But when your writing resonates with people, eventually it self sorts. It has to. But also? Age has nothing to do with it. I have no social media presence either. No time for it. And some of the most fascinating people I know have been around the block more than a time or two. Interesting isn't an age. Please know that. Love you right back. xoxo
Thank you for telling me that. Maybe I have been getting ready to break out of the eggshell of just being so small and thankful for anyone who read my writing while I was asleep.
It’s a little mind blowing to think that I learned to read and write before I was five. Not long written sentences of course, but I did all that in a home that had no power because we were homesteading. Didn’t get a power pole until I was seven. We had this great big radio with the these liquid batteries at the back. The music and outside world all came audio or print.
It’s something my grandkids with their I-Pads will never conceive. The crux for me is writing online is a real long learning curve. The arc of discovery is really speeding up too. The strange thing is I can almost sense when AI has been consulted even if the rest of a paragraph is pure author.
Sometimes I think people build templates with AI and then use them to construct the story. That’s not wrong but the structure of the template sort of leaches into the whole. For example I read seven paragraphs in an essay that started with the same exact three words. They were related to the topic, but if you listened to anyone talk like that you would think he was a Vance clone and throw up.
My point, the basics I learned when we listened more and watched less. When screens were not there in my life, help me figure out what’s authentic or not quite copacetic even in online writing.
That helps bring human touch back onto the screen when I tell my stories.
I hear you. Spent my formative years on the farm where we had no indoor plumbing. Learned to read before we got a television. But I also have real young writers in some of my publications and despite having grown up with the internet, they write straight from the gut. Sometimes I think we're all just made how we're made and the people who use AI today just used some other crutch before there was AI. I don't know for sure, but that's my best guess. lol
I love your writing, and I must say, your comments are even more—what’s the word?—enjoyable! They inspire me to keep writing on these two platforms. I've been working hard on Medium, with around 15 articles published, but I'm still struggling to gain much engagement. I'd appreciate any tips on how you've managed to crack the Medium.com code!
I started self-publishing one story a week. I made sure I had some thoughts I researched and I just filled my own little digital book shelf.
I had been reading and commenting on others work for six months before I wrote anything at all. I gained my first fifty followers that way. Some people liked the authors I chose. Others liked my responses. I do tell authors of small stories they help me remember. The conversation started back and forth with people.
Then I noticed a start-up publication taking self-published articles Long- Sweet Valuable.
I sent them several of my articles and people liked them.For awhile I grew with Sweet Publications. They are a great place to send a draft to. Be patient in the beginning.
Later Rui Alves asked me to publish a story I wrote about the Beatles new song in RockNHeavy.. I did and he introduced me to all of Alchemy Publications which he manages and created. Engage, Beloved,Babel, Zenite, - they all have publication guidelines if you 🔍
Also, check out topic : publication accepting submissions with 🔍on Medium.
Write a good story, research facts and support with hyperlinks, and try any of the ideas I used.
Also go into Story Editor and read and reread guidelines for Medium. Learn formatting. A interesting title, with descriptive sentence for subtitle. Don’t use sex, shock, or smut - just like writing for work
Some well known authors are profane but when you are just starting out people won’t follow you if you’re cussing.
I'm with you Jocelyn. Got started late (over 80) and still have my day job. And just got started on Substack ("Trauma Drama"). I'm about to defect from Medium and take my marbles with me. I'll check out your posts.
I am happy you followed me. I usually comment on others work on Substack. I haven’t posted my stories here as yet.
I still enjoy writing on Medium and I’m slowly but surely making progress. Some months are more lucrative than others. I always make my minimum of 15 dollars per month- most months 10 times better.
I like the people I have gotten to know and I keep gaining subscribers. That’s the fun of writing whatever most clamped to be told as a story!
I write for someone who likes to read the way I like to read. I came to writing later as my college major was mathematics and I worked as a software developer upon graduation. Software developers on public transit are often reading hard-copy magazines like "Economist" or "MIT Technology Review" or physical books recommended by Cal Newport lol. We spend our days staring at screens discerning whether we typed ">bash sweepBatch4.sh -f 2024-08-28 -i covidClipsAug2024.txt -v covidALL2024.txt" off by one letter. To read for pleasure it helps to have a beautifully written opening sentence on a thoughtfully laid out pdf or still format, with an ornate, original block-letter opening; a prompt to slow the mind out of swipe-scroll extraction mode and into reading-for-pleasure mode. Also graphic novels & comic strips are underrated literary formats.
When I first got online, I went into programming. Back around 1999 before there was shopify or online carts, I built a shopping cart using javascript and cgi scripts of all darn things, got a client into major media everywhere for their online shopping process. A beautifully formatted book printed on paper was heaven after looking at code all day. I so hear you!
If I had unlimited wealth, I'd send you a check twice a week to keep you writing the quality, truth, interest, attention, "cream," and great skill that you produce. That would make you a sort of "writing employee" because it would be based on solid appreciation and not "just filling a need or a want." On what planet does that kind of economy exist and how can I figure out how to live there?
Funny thing is, they did and memberships took a nose dive. And I don't think Boost is the entire solution. There are some things in the works that I'm not supposed to talk about yet but will be announced soon. But that said, I do understand your frustration. And I will go back and reply to your comment from last week. Client work got nuts and time just flies sometimes.
See, here's the thing. You used to be on my short list of writers to watch for boost until Medium asked us to nominate from our own publications only to avoid duplicate submissions. It's not a "rule" yet, just a request I follow it because it will become a rule soon enough anyway. But I hear your frustration. And knowing you were one of a small number of people on my short list to watch makes me want to address it. :)
I appreciate that, Linda. And to be clear, I'm not upset with you. Just the system.
Honestly, things have fallen so far on Medium that I deleted most of my over 400 stories. I don't even care enough to try and write something good there anymore. Why bother when it won't be seen? Like you said, you have to nominate from within your publication. That isn't right. What chance do the rest of us have?
I will probably delete my account because it's only making me bitter and hate writing. This isn't even about money anymore. It's about respect (from Medium).
They do know some of that, so you know. The reason they are asking us to nominate from our own publications is that all publication editors will be able to nominate. There's more coming, but I'm not able to say yet because it's not my news to share. But they do see. Because lots of loud mouthed nominators who listen to their writers are very vocal on frustrations. You are not unheard. :)
I didn't know one was supposed to wait to monetize, and the first day I posted I got a subscriber. True, she's a relative and still the only one, but are we supposed to wait to monetize?
September. Don't know if early, middle or late. But before October 1. And there is a longer answer, but I'll write the piece on how to know when. Because there is an answer and I have not heard anyone talking about it, even the supposed gurus of Substack.
And also, thank you for asking it out loud and in public. One of the things I enjoy most about you is the way you push people to be better. I see that in The Interstitial, and I see it here. And thank you for that. You're a good partner to work with. ❤️
Can’t argue with someone who knows from the middle of it looking out.
I’m struggling with letting go of my own egoic need to write like Look here!! Look at me and what I know!!! -and instead write with attention on a reader’s time, curiosity, what they like and how they like it.
This sounds like focusing on giving generous sex. Cripes.
I wish you knew how hard I'm laughing. It's like growing. There's phases. LOOKIT ME is one of the phases. I'm just not sure if you're saying generous sex is a good thing or a bad thing lmao
This is exactly how I started; commenting and responding to things i liked reading. That evolved into taking a chance and writing my own work. I swear I'm ready to back to reading and responding. Less pressure, I didn't have to over think, and it was fun. I love supporting good work.
Informative
At least my current financial situation isn't that much different than the majority of Americans....
lol David
Seriously...I have to rely on provincial welfare for most of my income...
Ouch. I'm glad you are able to, though.
It's a fairly decent sum that lets me pay most of my bills, so I'm glad for that.
I'm right there with you, buddy. and I want to continue writing articles like the one I wrote about Sylvia Plath. Did you call me out on purpose, Linda? LOL!!! I changed the title. Let's see if that works!
lol. I recently wrote about Sylvia Plath too. So it was a jab at myself, but what a hilarious coincidence. Send me a link to yours and I'll send you mine. We can at least read each other
I'll look for your Plath piece.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Linda. Very helpful.
I don't know Linda - I enjoy writing a lot - but only as a hobby. It generates income and I'm thankful for that, however, the moment I start to take things seriously, either as a blogger or as a business, I know both my passion and motivation will decrease because earning is not my primary or even secondary goal. Also, the time investment and learning curve for each platform is crazy - still there are no guarantees even if you do everything right.
I agree with you - it's not about the quality - it's more about what people want to read. If I were to write a post about Medium, there's bound to be a flurry of attention while my personal stories take their own sweet time to gain traction.
Having said that, I know some think there is a hierarchy to writers - that they set the bar for quality on Medium - they're vocal about it so it's no secret. It's just one of those things I find amusing about Medium. With regard to Substack, I do okay but nobody tells you how brutal the competition is - they only talk about the pros which I feel is misleading
I think maybe you hit on a couple of interesting things. One is the idea that real writers write because they love to. Somehow, any talk of money makes a lot of writers uncomfortable. Not all. But a lot. And the second is the people who only talk the pros. Makes me think that's some kind of signal we should pay attention to. When you hire a tour guide they don't just know the highlights you want to see. They know what to warn you of, too. Know what I mean? Goes back to that old saying -- anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.
I think one thing that many writers miss is to treat their writing as a business—even if they don’t intend for it to be one. Things like customer service still apply in the digital writing world. Be consistent, respond quickly to issues. Write with the goal of informing and/or entertaining.
I agree with the sentiment. But for me, I think I'd phrase it one step to the side and say writers should act like they're a professional. Regardless of money. To me that's a different bar of conduct, you know? Last sentence, absolutely! I love when I read fiction that makes me take notes on stuff I want to look up.
Linda, I know (as in, met IRL or online or both) three successful writers, where “successful” = “sells more books than I do” (VERY low bar). What do they have in common? They work their butts off marketing their books. Blogs. Podcasts. Book signings. Book readings. Calling/writing/emailing to set up their next gig. Partnering. Driving three/five/nine hours to make a 60-minute appearance at an event where two people show up and nobody buys a book. Building email lists. Asking friends to help expand email lists. Asking friends to post printed ads with takeaway cards on public bulletin boards (the physical kind, because old school is still around).
I think one of them still writes, also. When she has time.
Wanna be a writer? Write stuff. Wanna be a “successful” writer? Be ready to run your ass ragged NOT writing. (I know you know this, Linda, I’m trying to back your play. 😉)
lol your last sentence, Jack. What I would add is watch what's working. Sometimes marketing becomes like a snowball rolling down hill. We get so busy doing that we don't stop to ask why we're doing it. Driving nine hours to an appearance where two people show up shouldn't even happen anymore. Even in this little Podunk place I live, we know how many people are attending an event because of online registration. And while there's always some who don't show, at least we can cancel if only 2 sign up. You know? Still lots of work but we can do some of that work smarter now.
My career was in technical writing. I had trouble getting the reviewers to read my manuals. Customers? They called the help desk. I learned that good writing means nothing. Nothing.
Now I write poetry and flash fiction. I have a small, loyal following. Still, it's more people than ever read my manuals. I want to write what gives me joy, not what I think people want or need to read.
I started writing on Medium because I could get my writing published faster through literary magazines there, and my submissions weren't lost in the ozone. Or I could self-publish my work in seconds.
I am moving to Substack because I am building community and reads more quickly.
As I get older and crankier, I'm leaning more toward self-publishing. I don't care if people discover how wonderful my writing is after I die. I just don't want my husband to try to figure out what to do with all my words if I die first.
I'm really glad you're doing well on Substack, Nolcha. I know we published some of your pieces in The Interstitial and it makes me happy that Substack is working for you.
Thanks, Linda! Yes, you did publish some of my poetry. Have you and Roman thought of creating an Interstitial literary magazine on Substack? If so, I’d love to contribute.
I second that!
I know where I am. I write mostly on Medium and in a year and a half I have written one hundred and ten stories. I have written six boosted stories. I’m learning every time I get feedback from a reader and I try writing for a new publication. I’m finding certain editors I have built a rapport with. They never let me shovel shit. I love them for that. But I still feel like I am not grabbing all readers I could because I don’t want a separate friends of a friend social media account. I don’t have the physical energy to chase after keeping up with the attention grabbing economy.
I’m older, I’m not riding on anyone’s cream to excite them during morning coffee.
I can’t do that bullpuckey better than younger people and that doesn’t come from my gut, head, or heart.
About two to three hundred readers find me every month. Some read, write back, and highlight. It’s enough to keep me busy everyday. Could more people enjoy my work if I promoted it differently - probably!
But, would I have time to get to know each person if I had 400 subscribers - no.
As it is I am growing almost too fast to check out and read stories from each person who subscribes to my work. I’m lucky to have some subscribers that are just readers.
You have done it far longer and better than I do. But I don’t want to feel like I’m wearing two sizes too big hand-me-down clothes. So far I’ve gained subscribers and kept them. I make sure what I write is interesting to them. The millions of cows I don’t milk to fill the pail definitely won’t make the cream in my milk pail.
Oh I skim the cream off the top and make butter, plus buttermilk biscuits. Most people are interested!
Love you Linda!
Couple of things, Jocelyn. I used to think like you. Tried to know all my followers and subscribers. But eventually that falls away and it has to. And what happens then is that the ones who are most connected rise to the top. The way I know you and Michelle, and Lisa and dozens of others. Maybe even hundreds of faces I recognize. But when your writing resonates with people, eventually it self sorts. It has to. But also? Age has nothing to do with it. I have no social media presence either. No time for it. And some of the most fascinating people I know have been around the block more than a time or two. Interesting isn't an age. Please know that. Love you right back. xoxo
Thank you for telling me that. Maybe I have been getting ready to break out of the eggshell of just being so small and thankful for anyone who read my writing while I was asleep.
It’s a little mind blowing to think that I learned to read and write before I was five. Not long written sentences of course, but I did all that in a home that had no power because we were homesteading. Didn’t get a power pole until I was seven. We had this great big radio with the these liquid batteries at the back. The music and outside world all came audio or print.
It’s something my grandkids with their I-Pads will never conceive. The crux for me is writing online is a real long learning curve. The arc of discovery is really speeding up too. The strange thing is I can almost sense when AI has been consulted even if the rest of a paragraph is pure author.
Sometimes I think people build templates with AI and then use them to construct the story. That’s not wrong but the structure of the template sort of leaches into the whole. For example I read seven paragraphs in an essay that started with the same exact three words. They were related to the topic, but if you listened to anyone talk like that you would think he was a Vance clone and throw up.
My point, the basics I learned when we listened more and watched less. When screens were not there in my life, help me figure out what’s authentic or not quite copacetic even in online writing.
That helps bring human touch back onto the screen when I tell my stories.
I hear you. Spent my formative years on the farm where we had no indoor plumbing. Learned to read before we got a television. But I also have real young writers in some of my publications and despite having grown up with the internet, they write straight from the gut. Sometimes I think we're all just made how we're made and the people who use AI today just used some other crutch before there was AI. I don't know for sure, but that's my best guess. lol
That makes a lot sense. Roman Newell certainly knows how to use words to get to the heart. There are many others too!
I love your writing, and I must say, your comments are even more—what’s the word?—enjoyable! They inspire me to keep writing on these two platforms. I've been working hard on Medium, with around 15 articles published, but I'm still struggling to gain much engagement. I'd appreciate any tips on how you've managed to crack the Medium.com code!
I started self-publishing one story a week. I made sure I had some thoughts I researched and I just filled my own little digital book shelf.
I had been reading and commenting on others work for six months before I wrote anything at all. I gained my first fifty followers that way. Some people liked the authors I chose. Others liked my responses. I do tell authors of small stories they help me remember. The conversation started back and forth with people.
Then I noticed a start-up publication taking self-published articles Long- Sweet Valuable.
I sent them several of my articles and people liked them.For awhile I grew with Sweet Publications. They are a great place to send a draft to. Be patient in the beginning.
Later Rui Alves asked me to publish a story I wrote about the Beatles new song in RockNHeavy.. I did and he introduced me to all of Alchemy Publications which he manages and created. Engage, Beloved,Babel, Zenite, - they all have publication guidelines if you 🔍
Also, check out topic : publication accepting submissions with 🔍on Medium.
Write a good story, research facts and support with hyperlinks, and try any of the ideas I used.
Also go into Story Editor and read and reread guidelines for Medium. Learn formatting. A interesting title, with descriptive sentence for subtitle. Don’t use sex, shock, or smut - just like writing for work
Some well known authors are profane but when you are just starting out people won’t follow you if you’re cussing.
That’s a starter plan for you.
Actually, due to this new platform, I don’t know if you replied to my comment.
Sorry for noticing it very late.
However, I want to express my respectful gratitude to you for giving me such powerful advice.
Trust me, I have never received such words from anyone. I will try my best to follow your plan and hopefully get some good results.
I am wondering if it’s okay for me to come to you more often.
I'm with you Jocelyn. Got started late (over 80) and still have my day job. And just got started on Substack ("Trauma Drama"). I'm about to defect from Medium and take my marbles with me. I'll check out your posts.
I am happy you followed me. I usually comment on others work on Substack. I haven’t posted my stories here as yet.
I still enjoy writing on Medium and I’m slowly but surely making progress. Some months are more lucrative than others. I always make my minimum of 15 dollars per month- most months 10 times better.
I like the people I have gotten to know and I keep gaining subscribers. That’s the fun of writing whatever most clamped to be told as a story!
Nailed it!!!!
Thanks, Zebra
I think many writers here may want personal guidance. Have you ever considered a developmental editing service for short writes?
I write for someone who likes to read the way I like to read. I came to writing later as my college major was mathematics and I worked as a software developer upon graduation. Software developers on public transit are often reading hard-copy magazines like "Economist" or "MIT Technology Review" or physical books recommended by Cal Newport lol. We spend our days staring at screens discerning whether we typed ">bash sweepBatch4.sh -f 2024-08-28 -i covidClipsAug2024.txt -v covidALL2024.txt" off by one letter. To read for pleasure it helps to have a beautifully written opening sentence on a thoughtfully laid out pdf or still format, with an ornate, original block-letter opening; a prompt to slow the mind out of swipe-scroll extraction mode and into reading-for-pleasure mode. Also graphic novels & comic strips are underrated literary formats.
When I first got online, I went into programming. Back around 1999 before there was shopify or online carts, I built a shopping cart using javascript and cgi scripts of all darn things, got a client into major media everywhere for their online shopping process. A beautifully formatted book printed on paper was heaven after looking at code all day. I so hear you!
If I had unlimited wealth, I'd send you a check twice a week to keep you writing the quality, truth, interest, attention, "cream," and great skill that you produce. That would make you a sort of "writing employee" because it would be based on solid appreciation and not "just filling a need or a want." On what planet does that kind of economy exist and how can I figure out how to live there?
Funny thing is, you are the second person who has told me that this week. Makes me stop and go hmm.
"Good riddance to print media. Don’t need no gatekeepers. Let the reader decide what’s good."
Too bad Medium can't do this.
Funny thing is, they did and memberships took a nose dive. And I don't think Boost is the entire solution. There are some things in the works that I'm not supposed to talk about yet but will be announced soon. But that said, I do understand your frustration. And I will go back and reply to your comment from last week. Client work got nuts and time just flies sometimes.
See, here's the thing. You used to be on my short list of writers to watch for boost until Medium asked us to nominate from our own publications only to avoid duplicate submissions. It's not a "rule" yet, just a request I follow it because it will become a rule soon enough anyway. But I hear your frustration. And knowing you were one of a small number of people on my short list to watch makes me want to address it. :)
I appreciate that, Linda. And to be clear, I'm not upset with you. Just the system.
Honestly, things have fallen so far on Medium that I deleted most of my over 400 stories. I don't even care enough to try and write something good there anymore. Why bother when it won't be seen? Like you said, you have to nominate from within your publication. That isn't right. What chance do the rest of us have?
I will probably delete my account because it's only making me bitter and hate writing. This isn't even about money anymore. It's about respect (from Medium).
They do know some of that, so you know. The reason they are asking us to nominate from our own publications is that all publication editors will be able to nominate. There's more coming, but I'm not able to say yet because it's not my news to share. But they do see. Because lots of loud mouthed nominators who listen to their writers are very vocal on frustrations. You are not unheard. :)
Lol. This is true.
I'm almost with you on this! I hope you saved your stories on your hard drive!
Finally started on Substack: name is "Trauma Drama" -- essentially about things psychological
Here's what I want. I want an article about how to decide when to monetize on Substack.
Deal. I will write that one.
Why not monetize from the beginning?
I didn't know one was supposed to wait to monetize, and the first day I posted I got a subscriber. True, she's a relative and still the only one, but are we supposed to wait to monetize?
I also want to know when you're going to monetize.
September. Don't know if early, middle or late. But before October 1. And there is a longer answer, but I'll write the piece on how to know when. Because there is an answer and I have not heard anyone talking about it, even the supposed gurus of Substack.
And also, thank you for asking it out loud and in public. One of the things I enjoy most about you is the way you push people to be better. I see that in The Interstitial, and I see it here. And thank you for that. You're a good partner to work with. ❤️
Can’t argue with someone who knows from the middle of it looking out.
I’m struggling with letting go of my own egoic need to write like Look here!! Look at me and what I know!!! -and instead write with attention on a reader’s time, curiosity, what they like and how they like it.
This sounds like focusing on giving generous sex. Cripes.
I wish you knew how hard I'm laughing. It's like growing. There's phases. LOOKIT ME is one of the phases. I'm just not sure if you're saying generous sex is a good thing or a bad thing lmao
I’m mostly just commenting these days and posting on Notes. It’s funny because I keep adding followers and subscribers without producing much to read.
This is exactly how I started; commenting and responding to things i liked reading. That evolved into taking a chance and writing my own work. I swear I'm ready to back to reading and responding. Less pressure, I didn't have to over think, and it was fun. I love supporting good work.