Counting the Cost of Medium
To attempt (or not) Medium authorship beyond dabbling
First a small devotion apropros for this moment:
“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy,
and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.
But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy.
Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Isaiah 8:12–13
Here is sanity: God placed on the throne of your heart. The alternative is conspiracy, fear, dread. To be your own god or to honor anything else as god is miserable.
… Doing taxes yesterday I realized I had $19 income from writing in 2019. Medium. Now I wonder if that’s worth pursuing? Some do well, but it’s a big, big time commitment. Would only work if I love what I’m writing and get personal growth from it. Oh, and the readers have to love it also.
Medium payment is based on how long readers spend on your content, so it has to be engaging, purposeful, clear, and have a payoff for the reader. I’m told poetry ain’t it. I’m told fiction ain’t it. So what is the nonfiction sweet spot to keep people reading more than a minute? And something I could generate material for 3–5 articles per week? And love it?
I’ve done plenty of belly-aching on Medium with no good results. Surprise!
I have always written devotional stuff like above but felt as if it were personal to me. I still think that’s true. I wonder if I could share thoughts from current reading? So people with an interest in a classic book might read my article to see if they want to engage with that book. A book review of sorts shared in smaller sections like 10 articles per book read.
Is there an appetite for life skills? And isn’t a video production better for that? Could one combine a video channel with Medium blogging that references the same topic? And links one to the other where the written and the visual are synergistic? Please comment. Thank you.
