Why Medium is hard for authors
A ripple in the universe
Happy Friday,
You guys, sometimes I’m thick as a brick. We all are, sometimes.
It’s seeing it that changes everything.
I watched a video of a color-blind old grandpa putting on a pair of magic glasses that let him see color. First he cried. And then he looked at his daughter and whispered “Oh my God, you have such beautiful red hair, honey…” and then he wept again.
He’d never seen his child’s hair color before.
Can you even imagine?
See something in a whole new way is like a ripple in the universe.
You can’t ever see anything the same way again.
I noticed a weird thing yesterday. The types of posts I read on Medium and the books I buy aren’t remotely the same. Like, not even close.
If I look on my bookshelf, know what I see?
A really eclectic collection of interests. In random order… Fantasy. Everything from Neil Gaiman to dragons. Historical fiction. Memoir. A sprinkling of nature, like building indoor ponds and Japanese forest bathing and edible trees.
Art books galore. Painting, sculpting, photography. Ancient illuminated texts and the art of Victorian hand lettering. Books about behavioral psychology and the human brain. The history of fairy tales and myths and and lost cultural beliefs.
Do I read any of that on Medium?
Nope.
Medium is like visiting a new buffet every day.
I read what catches my eye.
Mmm. That looks good.
That’s what makes it so darn hard for authors.
The magic of Medium is that it’s a site jam packed with people who love to read. What a mecca for authors. You know? But how to find your readers, that’s the rub.
A lot of people are struggling with that.
Strangely enough, I’ve bought 5 books from authors I found at Medium.
So there’s that. It is possible.
But it’s not straightforward, I don’t think.
This week my email has been jam packed with people saying that exact thing. On a site full of readers, they’re befuddled trying to figure out how to find their people.
If you’re struggling with that, can you leave a comment and let me know?
Now that it’s on the radar, I want to find a solution. There always is one. That much I already know. Finding solutions to sticky marketing problems is what I’ve done for over 20 years. The trick is just finding it. I think we can.
"The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions." Ralph Waldo Emerson
New Posts This Week… (open links you can read free)
If you’re struggling to build an audience please click the little heart so I know you’re interested in more about this topic. Those little hearts steer my writing!
Plus, comments are open to everyone.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
:)
Linda
Hi, Linda! I've been using your 25 tips and it's really helping. I ran a promotion where if people signed up for my newsletter, I wrote them a personal haiku. I'm glad not too many people took me up on it, though. I had to write over 30 of the darn things! Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your help. The first book I intend to self-publish is a book of haiku poetry and I now know that every person who signed up for a free haiku might be interested in buying my book. I also wrote a few for the promotion good enough to add to the book! I'm on a roll. Thanks again.
I think the only way to find and keep people on Medium is to write what you want to write and hope for the best lol. I've been here for just over a year and now that I've built a random audience I have finally figured out the direction I wish to go. Changing my trajectory a little. I know not all of my followers will care but that's not the point. It's a base to build from.
As someone who has blogged for nearly 12 years now if I have learned ONE thing, it's that you do it whether you have the people or not. It takes time and patience to build something from scratch. But there's something out there for everyone.