26 Comments

I saw some of those posts too. I see the 'Net as a loud market, and writers are all shouting to get a readers attention. Some who write for cash seem to yell a little louder, and some of those have a desperate gleam in their eyes.

I agree with Nicolas Cole, we should be building a library. A library of useful thoughts or solutions. There's enough noise. Once the "shoppers" (readers) find out the ones yelling the loudest are hawking junk, they'll find their way to those of us who are offering something worth reading. We just need to write something of value that won't be a waste of time. (Ours or the reader's) Then advertise without screaming that we have something worth looking at.

Be as consistent as we can, within reason. Then be patient.

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Linda, Linda, Linda! All I can say is "bulls-eye." As a reader, I stay clear away from the complainers. I see no value in their content. I agree that writers need to take stock of their mistakes and get better at producing exciting titles and good writing. It's all on them. Totally. And blaming others for their crappy articles is just too much.

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I completely agree with you and had a good laugh over your mock story titles lol.

When I see an obscure title like January Morning, I scroll a little faster 😅 Literally NOTHING makes me want to read stories behind titles like that.

I owe my followers at least some intrigue. My followers owe me nothing.

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Mar 4, 2022Liked by Linda Caroll

From my perspective, the complainers about drop in income, drop in readership, blah blah blah are just immature “adults.” These stories come into my feed and I ignore them.

Toward the end of my beloved dad’s life, all he did for about 4 years was complain about his failing health, mostly. There was nothing that I could do as his only offspring about that health situation. I listened and attempted to cheer him up as best as I could. I also ignored the complaints as they got old quickly.

Why should I read drivel from people I don’t even know? I owe them nothing…except to say “Life is hard, then you die.” FYI: the title of a Medium essay I wrote a few years ago (a bumper sticker glued to an office wall of a house my spouse and I purchased almost 30 years ago).

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It’s the writer,. And the titles? Oh boy do I hear ya.

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I agree. I've made a whole .02 this month so far, and for the preceding three days i made nothing. Could it possibly be because I've not had time or energy to write anything new for over a week? Oh, I could write something, but I'm not sure it's something that would interest my readers. More like what's left after you wring out a sponge. Maybe soon I'll be back with a review of the fascinating book I've been reading while I've been too drained to write.

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Maybe there's a third group of Medium writers, ones like me who write for themselves. I do care about readers, and I do want readers. I do want my writing to be interesting (entertaining, insightful) to others. But, ultimately, I write for myself. Thus, I keep my expectations of my followers low.

As with my blog on WordPress, I have a thousand-plus followers, but only a handful might read and comment on what I post. And that's okay with me. I think a lot of people follow someone in hopes that they will follow back and boost their own numbers. In my humble opinion, the percentage of "true" readers in any group of followers is likely in the single digits. I'm guilty of this, too: of following a writer and then rarely or infrequently reading their stories. I've only got so many hours in a day.

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I've seen those titles too. I've never clicked into them though, because I always think it's those trolling type titles. Try to get reads and views by annoying people enough to click in lol. Those titles are generally the quickest way to get me to unfollow or block a writer... Maybe that's why their earnings have dropped 🤣

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LOL. So true! I don't spend much time at Medium any more, but I'm still making about the same as I did before I came to Substack--which is to say, just slightly over what I give them in dues each month.

There are still some amazing writers there, but most of them have branched out and aren't married to Medium. I just find so much of it tiresome and even embarrassing. Bad writers indulging in rage fests or pity parties. Who needs that when there are other, better places to highlight our writing?

I love that so many good writers are here at Substack, and I consider this my place now. I cross-post at Medium now and then just to get more eyes on my work but I don't expect much from them anymore. A shame, too. Medium held such promise.

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Yep, yep, yep.

Sadly, this doesn't just apply to writing posted on Medium. A few days ago I (unfortunately) read a Medium essay in which a novelist complained about how he can't get an agent/get published by a large publisher. I get that querying is a frustrating process and not entirely fair, but he expressed that frustration in such an entitled way, saying that as a writer he doesn't want to need the cooperation of other people and that getting published is all about connections and has nothing to do with quality (what?) and that ~readers should rouse themselves and put in the effort to find his work instead of just reading whatever is conveniently marketed for them~. Um. No. Readers' time is limited. I don't have time to go through the slushpile novels to find the small percentage I actually want to read (the books which actually get traditionally published, or which are self-published and have good enough marketing that I learn about them, already require a lot of sifting). Agents get to search the slushpile that because it helps them make money. Successful indie authors have their own ways of signalling that their books are worthwhile, which also involves the cooperation of other people. That essayist went so far as to say that asking a favor from an acquaintance who runs a literary festival to get featured in the festival is unethical. What? Literary festival organizers don't have time to go through the slushpile either. It's reasonable for them to pick authors who seem like interesting speakers based on previous social interactions.

I muted that Medium writer.

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Just wow. That takes balls, but not talent. I'm learning as I go & working w some great, patient, helpful editors.

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I've seen a couple of these posts. If I know the name, I might scroll through, but if it's whining about their earnings and how hard done by they are? Gag me. Onto the next.

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I've been swamped! Send me your address and I'll send my plotting book. lindagauthor@gmail.com

Stephen King never plots. Says no one should plot.

My book is for those who need a clear map that can have detours. I 😊

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What I miss is the great science history stories that used to be on medium. One of my favorite writers disappeared once he got a girlfriend. Yay love life. There’s no do-over for being young.

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I would never DREAM of blaming followers. But perhaps that's because I worked as a publicist for so many years. I understand how marketing works

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