The Challenges of Writing on Medium
Pros, cons, and absolutely zero tips or advice

This is not an expert account of all the pros, cons, joys, and challenges of writing on Medium, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Nope.
These are not the words of a person with tens of thousands of followers, who seems to write terrific stories every single time to back it up. Obviously, you’ve already got your Erika Sauters and your John P. Weisses for that. (Ya both are doing something pretty special here, and I truly enjoy your stories. :)) Though I hope to be on par with them someday!
No, dear reader, this is not expert advice or words you think you should read just because I have a ridiculous following.
This is just my opinion.
The opinion of a writer with a mere 227 followers after six months of writing. Why should my voice matter?
See what I did there?!
I already outlined one point about the challenges of writing on Medium. Actually, two. Ok, three.
People should never be reduced to numbers
This is a Medium thing and a social media thing in general. And forgive me for being a human who straddles the X and Y Generations. I feel like Gumby being constantly pulled between luddite and technocratic culture.
Nevertheless, it bothers me that we are so obsessed with the number of followers we can get. GIVE ME MORE! Of my precious.
I know. We all want to be famous. Including me. We all want to be known, loved, valued. That’s what’s really at the root of it, I think. But it can be kind of scary.
I once worked for an international organization. I lived in South Sudan from 2012 to 2015. Guess what? In December 2013, South Sudan decided to start their first war! I was in Nairobi, Kenya at the time, and my bosses had no idea what to do with me.
As they huddled together looking over their shoulders at me, it was the first time I had ever felt like a number. I’ll save you the chapter-length details but suffice it to say: it’s always icky to feel like you’re being reduced to a number, rather than regarded and treated as a human.
Why are we all telling each other what to do?
If you google Medium like I just did, you’ll see: “Medium — a place to read and write big ideas and important stories”. If you dig deeper, you might find Medium described as “social journalism” or a “blog host”.
Idk about you, but I get pretty bored of seeing so many articles telling me what to do. “If only you do x, y, and z, you will discover the meaning of life.”
Look, I’m all about helping each other. And if you have some genuinely good piece of advice for me, and you’re someone I want to take it from, share away!
Also, I have done advice writing and how-to writing myself! BUT, I always try to keep Wendell Berry in the back of my mind as I do this. One of the most brilliant poems ever written, by Wendell Berry, is called How to Be a Poet (to remind myself).
You see what he did there?!
He’s writing it for you, but he’s writing it for himself first. I respect and enjoy this type of how-to writing. This is the kind of nonfiction writing that is steeped in experience, understanding, and love. And, it allows you to get to know the writer!
(Here’s the poem, with an audio recording by Berry, in case you want to check it out. The whole poem is wonderful.)
Every voice matters
I admit that I am hoping to expand my network here on Medium. I am passionate about writing and creativity, and I’m moving in the direction of doing something bigger with them.
But writing on Medium, sometimes I start feeling like my voice doesn’t matter.
I know, I get it: this is a struggle we writers and creatives may likely deal with forever, no matter if we’re on Medium or personal blogging or writing a book or a screenplay, or what have you.
It just bums me out that it’s this way.
It’s like, only the people with, again, a big NUMBER of followers get their stories featured here or there. And then I’ve seen some brilliant writing by a newer person who doesn’t have as much of a following, not getting any attention.
I thought for a while that Medium was better than that?
Then I saw something recently about how people are worried that Medium has brought on entities such as Rolling Stone (love Rolling Stone, btw), and how that is going to drown out the voices of the rest of us little people (Well done, Brian Brewington!).
Should I be bummed? Did I get here at the wrong time? Should I just pack up my things and move on?
Because guess what? I’m on the side that says every voice matters. I believe in the power of expression and creativity for their own sakes. Idgaf if you have a billion followers, your story does not matter more than someone’s who has one.
Whew.
That felt good.
Why I like Medium, and why I’m staying for now
On the other side of the coin, I have found this space to be good in many ways. It is helping me grow as a writer. It is helping me think through marketing, business, and other things that make the bigger writing picture a bit uncomfortable.
I have found a small community of people who also appreciate the power of creativity in our lives. We are having fun sharing stories about the creative process over at Creative Humans. Check it out!
I have enjoyed meeting others I can connect with around all sorts of things: travel, birding, trauma, faith, creativity, relationships, and writing — duh, among other things. It really has been great getting to know some cool people here!
I have also read some FANTASTIC stuff here on Medium! I already highlighted a few writers, and I also keep track of my favorite highlights if you want to check those out on my page, so I won’t go through a long list of favorites here.
What I will do is give you a link to one of the most beautiful, powerful pieces of writing I’ve read in a long, long time. It’s a poem by a woman named Dennett called MAGA-Hatted Woman:
What about you?
How are you feeling about Medium these days? What are your thoughts about people as numbers, telling each other what to do, and the value of each voice? What do you like about Medium and why are you staying?
Thank you for reading!🌻✌🏻Here’s another story I wrote about Medium:
