Medium Day 2024: Questions I Didn't Have Time to Answer

The second annual Medium Day was Saturday, and it was a hell of a lot of fun. My presentation centered on my decade of writing on the platform. Much like last year’s presentation, the 30 minutes went by super fast, and there were many questions I didn’t have time to answer. But don’t fret. I captured every additional question and will answer them here!

Before I get started, it’s very rare that I run into someone who’s been on Medium longer than I have. In the session, Mary L Holden said she’d been on the platform since 2011! That’s really impressive!

Also, as I said live, one of the things that I really like about Medium Day is interacting with the global community. Special kudos are due to Manisha Dhalani for joining at 2:30 am from Brunei!

You can watch the complete session recording (and read a transcript) on Zoom.

Ok, here are all the questions I didn’t have time for during the session. As with everything I write, let me know if you have additional questions!

Linda

What do you think of having different Medium accounts for different niches? Or is it OK to write about anything and everything on one account?

Some folks have more than one Medium account with different pen names. They think this benefits them by allowing them to focus on other niches. But to me, it just sounds exhausting. Building an audience with one account is hard enough. There is no way I would ever want to do it more than once.

I have personal and publication-focused Mastodon accounts. While the publication account is getting close to 5,000 followers (!), I don’t really use it other than auto-posting the latest stories. It’s too time-consuming to do anything else with it. The same is true with different accounts here on Medium.

My advice? Focus on one account and write about what interests you. Your writing may not appeal to every follower, but that’s okay. It won’t drive you crazy in the process.

Cory

Following up on a previous question: Isn't the niche essentially the publication itself? For instance, I don't follow individual writers at The New York Times; rather, I subscribe to the newspaper and focus on specific sections. Are Medium publications functionally similar in this regard?

Cory’s question references one I answered live, which was whether writers should find a niche. I answered that finding a single niche seems pretty boring to me and that writers should write about whatever interests them.

To Cory’s point, if a writer on Medium publishes in a publication, then yes, that essentially is the niche. People who submit to The Writing Cooperative don’t typically only write about writing. Some do, but most writers have many other interests and topics.

And, to answer Cory’s question, yes, I’ve always considered Medium publications as digital magazines, collecting similar pieces for interested readers. Whether that is the official policy or not, that’s how I view them.

Yumma

What did you write about when you first started writing? I’m just starting to properly write and I often wonder what to write about or ask myself if what I’m writing matters.

What you’re writing matters. Even if it’s just to help you grow, it matters.

I started with an old-school blog some twenty years ago. I wrote about anything I found interesting, random thoughts, and unique observations.

There is a sense that hitting the publish button requires us to “have something to say” or to be an authority on a particular topic. I get caught in that trap often. While these requirements might be true for some publications, you can still publish anything you want at any time you want.

As I said in the live talk, Medium is a place to find your voice. Write about anything you want and see what you enjoy. That matters. Even if no one reads it, it matters. And, trust me, someone will read it.

Kimberly

Your style guide is very specific. Do you provide editorial suggestions when writers make minor mistakes with format and mechanics?

A Medium team member once told me that The Writing Cooperative submission guide was the gold standard for the platform. I take pride in that!

Unfortunately, I don’t always have the time to leave detailed suggestions when a piece isn’t a fit for publication. The sheer volume of submissions means I often have to leave a generic statement. Now, if a piece is close to being publishable, I’ll leave some notes and feedback to provide direction. Otherwise, I just have to move on to the next submission.

Lisa

I am interested in Justin's response about having 2 publications each with a different topic. :) Perhaps tags help with this?

Starting and maintaining a Medium publication is difficult. I’ve been running The Writing Cooperative for a decade, and trust me, it’s time-consuming.

Over the years, I’ve tried to manage additional publications on different topics. For a year or so, I had a food and culture-focused publication and a short-lived publication discussing happiness and life’s little moments. These were both fun, but also hard to maintain.

As I said above, building an audience is difficult and takes a lot of time. The same is true for a publication. If you want to start one (or more), go for it, just know what you’re getting into.

As for tags, use them wisely. The submission guide provides an explanation of tag selection recommendations.

Sandra

In just seven months, I have seen the reach of boosts and pay-outs of boosted stories with same read ratios reduce over time, which makes it feel like I got into the Medium game at its saturation point. Have I come to the platform too late? Do others share that perception?

Medium is an excellent place for writers to get paid for their work. It is not, however, a place to make a living as a writer.

There is so much talk about milking every dollar from Medium as possible and maximizing financial growth strategies. Frankly, I find all of that a waste of everyone’s time. More often than not, the people writing those types of articles do so because they know people will read them (and boost their earnings), not because they have any real insight or experience.

You can easily get caught up in the money game and start chasing metrics to try and maximize earnings. That’s so boring and just turns you into a robot. If you’re a writer, write what you find interesting. Don’t try to write for the algorithm. Write for you and your audience. The money will be there. It won’t be life-changing money, but articles and blog posts never are. There’s just a small group of people on Medium who want you to think they can be.

J.C.

What’s the best way to engage with other writers on Medium?

Comment. Leave private notes. Connect and follow writers on other social networks and platforms. Just be a genuinely interested person.

Jeremy

What specific writing features would you like to see Medium add? (For example, I’d love more design flexibility and more options for embedding content or showing linked content in various ways).

Medium used to allow people to individualize their profile pages, a la the old-school Blogspot, but I like that they scrapped it. It provided a disjoined reading experience. For publications, however, I would like to see more design element options for the homepage and individual posts. Also, the publication newsletter function is pretty lacking.

Anonymous

I just came from Zulie’s presentation about distribution and it sounded like posting multiple times a day or week might not be all that helpful for writers or readers. What do you recommend regarding post frequency?

I am actually pretty wary of people who post multiple times per day. See my comments above about being a robot. Unless you are a professional journalist, there is no way you should be turning around an article daily. Publish when something is ready.

That said, I do like consistency. I aim to publish once a week on Tuesdays. Sometimes I take a week or two off, but once a week is my goal. Whatever you choose to do, be consistent. It might be weekly, monthly, whatever.

At the end of the day, I ascribe to quality over quantity.

CC

You said you make about $2-300/month. How does that translate into how many people read your work? Are you on the Writers Cooperative?

Well, I run The Writing Cooperative, where I publish most of my articles (including this one). And, yes, I make a few hundred a month from Medium. As I said earlier, you won’t make a living on the platform. To my knowledge, that just isn’t possible.

It is not worth my time to figure out how many people read an article compared to the dollars it earned. I rarely look at my stats at all. How something pays out is Medium’s prerogative, and they can change their reasoning at any time. I’ve been around the platform long enough to know it isn’t worth worrying about. I’d rather focus on writing and, thanks to Medium, that writing will earn a little bit of money. The same can’t be said for practically anywhere else online.

Krista

Some people have the tip feature on their profile. When you work with an editor for a publication, is it customary to tip them? Or, is the tip feature for readers to tip writers?

If you want to support someone’s work directly, do it. It’s that simple.

DeBora

Does publication, when it rejects an article,notify the writer or just ignore the submission?

Each publication is different, so there is no hard and fast rule. As I mentioned above, I will leave a note on everything rejected (even if it’s generic). I can’t speak to how other publications manage their submissions.

Jasmine

Do you syndicate your writing on Medium and a website or blog?

Yes, I cross-publish everything on my website. I do this to maintain a personal copy of everything I write and to have a place online that is distinctly my own. I’ve written extensively on this subject and am actually mulling a new approach in light of AI scraping.

All writers should have a personal website and use it as their hub to point to everything they publish.

Silke

Do you write - even now, after you have published so extensively - with a specific human reader or listener in mind? If yes, what does that reader look like, who is it?

I have a pretty good sense of my audience at this point, but I typically don’t write for any specific individual. Instead, I often write what I want/need to hear.

If I had to summarize, my audience tends to be creative, curious, and interested in bettering themselves.

Anonymous

Do you ever spend time editing comments you leave on other articles? Or just write freely?

Comments are not articles to me. They’re quick thoughts and engage in conversation. I don’t edit them.

Yvette

were you always a writer?

I am and always have been a horrible speller. In school, math came easier to me than language arts. But, I started sharing my thoughts via blog posts in college, and it was fun and exciting. I also realized that I could better express myself through the written word despite my inability to spell. That’s when I started writing online and never looked back.

Fayeannette

How much time do you give yourself to reading?

Not enough, Fayeannette. Not enough at all.

I’m grateful for the Medium team’s dedication to the writing community and for putting on such a fun event. While the 30 minutes went by really quickly, I want to thank Tony, Zulie, Brittney, and Harris for stopping by. And to Scott for calling out my presentation as one of the ones to attend!