The Medium Learning Curve

When I first signed up on Medium, all I did was read other posts. I’m an experienced writer, and it was relatively easy to learn the platform and the rules, but it took me much longer to get a feel for the countless blogging styles and subjects. Nine months later, I took the plunge and published my first Medium post. That’s just my style.

And there’s still more I’m learning — about the platform and my fellow bloggers, sure, but also about myself.

I see myself as a lifetime writer, as you and others have mentioned, and part of that is being comfortable with my publishing frequency. I’ve read a slew of articles that champion the idea of producing and publishing at least one post a day. If that’s part of a writer’s personality, or they’re just that dedicated, or their financial situation demands it, then I say man your battle stations and fire at will!

But that’s not me. It’s too much outside of my comfort zone. And it sounds like you’re discovering this, too.

I’ve learned that the inspiration to write — like most forms of art — comes and goes like the wind. So setting a daily publishing schedule just doesn’t work for me. Right now I’m focusing on one or two a week. We’ll see how that goes.

As other have mentioned, the quality of my writing goes down if I don’t, as you say, “indulge in research, hunt for facts, and find less obvious angles on the topic.” Those words spoke to me, so thanks for that. Gold star for the methodical writers!

In short, don’t let the hamster wheel get you down. Sure, go see what other writing opportunities are out there, but also don’t discount the possibility that you might just continue publishing on Medium, just at a slower pace. It’s your call.

Thanks for a wonderful post!