MEDIUM…
“I’m a Writer and I Don’t Condone Dealing With Money”…
Not having earnings as our number one priority, doesn’t mean that our contribution to the platform doesn’t deserve to be fairly treated
For many writers, “I don’t write for the money” is a way to say “I am one of the good people”.
Beliefs, you know…
(Money is bad, a spiritual being doesn’t condone dealing with money, etc.)
Medium is a great field where you can express yourself, share your writings, engage with readers and other writers, and improve some of your skills.
That’s it.
Period.
You cannot expect to earn a decent amount of money.
On the contrary, most of the writers earn peanuts.
There are exceptions, of course. If you are (or if you become) a content creator that follows specific systems, masters SEO and other marketing methods, writes about how to earn money, or what are the daily habits of rich and famous people, how to succeed on Medium, how to become more optimistic, how to eat beans without farting after your meal, etc., you can earn a decent amount of money.
Add a few more “if-s” to the above:
If you read about 50–100 posts/week, and comment (whether you want to, or not) until your username starts making love with the algorithm daily (you need that intimacy)…
If you master the art of writing the best headlines, titles, subtitles…
You got my point.
There is another group of people who can earn a decent amount of money here: those who write content about their specialty, such as technology professionals, doctors, etc.
That’s a different story.
I am sure there are a few more types of content that can create not-so-low earnings, but it’s a minority.
After five years of being a member, my clear thesis is that Medium never respected its writers.
I am not referring only to earnings.
(If money was my number 1 — or my number 2, 3, 4, 5 — priority, I would have left for good from the first year.)
They (CEOs, staff, etc.) never looked at the glitches straightforwardly, they were never honest about what was happening (permanent malfunctions), and most of the time, their responses to writers were something like the typical speech of a politician…
Not to mention the AI factor, the out-of-nowhere suspensions…
Back to “I don’t write for the money”/ I am a good person thing…
Yes, Medium is a business, and it has to make a profit.
We never said that they have to be a charity organization!
But… Come on, Ev (former CEO), Tony, and Staff!
Present the platform as what it is!
Don’t identify “creating value” with “earnings will go to whoever drives much traffic”.
Just be honest.
Just be honest.
Many writers need to declare that they don’t write for the money.
I don’t blame them, and I am sure that many of them mean it.
(Many don’t.
But, that’s not the issue here.)
Money is a form of energy, and — apart from its practical role (paying bills, buying things, etc.), it also has a psychological side; it symbolizes other things, too — in our subconscious.
It may contribute to one’s self-esteem, satisfy the need for safety, and much more. I am not saying that it has to be this way, or not; I am describing a basic characteristic of human behaviour/psychology.
(The rest of the possible needs that it may symbolize within our personality’s depths, are: freedom, power, the need for action, and love.
You can find specific questionnaires in books created by psychotherapists.)
So, when somebody talks about their right to earn money through writing, or to be in a system that shares earnings fairly, it doesn’t mean that they don’t love writing.
— By the way, speaking of fairness, have you noticed that when the “Medium staff suggests…”, the list never includes poetry? At least, it was like that until the last time I checked. I’m just saying… As you can understand, if you have never walked my profile’s paths, I write poetry 98% of the time. Does anyone want to convince me that poetry isn’t read, or preferred by many readers? There are masterpieces on Medium, written by exceptional fellow poets , but their profiles do not meet the “if, if” conditions I mentioned at the beginning of the post — .
In my opinion, when we repeatedly write that we don’t care at all about the money on Medium, we contribute to diminishing the gravity of the unfairness and disrespectfulness.
Of course we are not here only for the money!
Otherwise, this platform would have been left with the 15% of its writers!
When we share our writing, energy goes and energy -needs to come back- for balancing. Connecting with other people here, exchanging viewpoints, and contributing to each other’s journey, are some of the ways in which energy comes back. Money is also one of these ways.
When we believe that what comes back is disproportionate to what we put in, and this has to do with earnings, too, let’s have the guts to be honest and express it, without feeling guilty, without embracing and feeding the belief that a writer is a just-spiritual entity that does not condone dealing with money…
Spirituality and the wise evaluation of materiality (money included) are not incompatible.
Apart from a few sarcastic poems I had written in the past about Medium’s glitches and the staff’s indifference to them, this is the first time I unfold my thoughts about MPP, earnings, etc.
For the last three years, I have formed a specific relationship with Medium.
I am here when I fully want to be.
I am not here when I don’t want it fully.
It was time for me, though, to be clear about my thesis.
Have a great day, fellow travellers!
(Yes, I didn’t give a shit about formatting while writing the post! I just wanted to express myself and contact you)
