BECOMING A WRITER
Stop Looking at Your Medium Stats
It’s the worst thing you can do as a new writer
I’m guilty of this in the worst way. I check my Medium stats at least once a day, sometimes once an hour. It’s exhilarating to see the numbers climb, but heartwrenching to see them stall out.
As a new writer with only 52 Medium followers (shoutout to all those early supporters), it’s tempting to stare at the stats and celebrate every view and follow.
But how does that really help me grow?
(spoiler: it doesn’t)
A hard habit to break.
Let’s be real, staring at stats is a waste of time. Watching numbers we have no control over is like watching water boil — even the weather and altitude impact how long it takes to heat up.
Instead, let’s focus on the right habits: actually writing.
Getting words to paper (digitally or physically) is a much better practice than checking your Medium stats. Set a goal and focus on that instead — aim for 500 words or keep writing for 30 minutes.
Write about how frustrating it is to be a new writer on this platform. Write about your day yesterday. Write about your childhood. Fall in love with the sound of a pen on paper or the clack of your keyboard.
Just. Write.
Even if you don’t publish the finished product it’s the practice that counts. The act of getting words out will help you grow much more than monitoring your views and followers 24/7.
Last week I came across this article featuring an author who has written 400+ articles. As someone who falls in the 0–100 range, the 25 lessons listed resonated with me so much. It’s a great reminder to be okay with where I’m at, and not force growth too soon.
Expect nothing. I mean nothing. — Eve Arnold, “99 Lessons From Writing 400 Articles Online Alongside My 9–5”
Read the rest of the list:
Writing is about more than just views.
I semi-seriously started writing on Medium in January 2022. My goal was to publish 2 articles minimum each month. I already missed a month, but instead of focusing on the lost views I could have had, I’m choosing to focus on what I can do now.
Now it’s July. And I’m choosing to take writing more seriously this month to see what happens.
BUT, it’s so so easy to focus on the outcome instead of the journey. I constantly have to remind myself that I’m not writing just to gain followers on this platform or have an article go viral.
Instead…
- I’m writing to share my knowledge (no gate-keeping here!)
- I’m writing to improve my communication skills
- I’m writing to build a portfolio of work and see how I grow personally
Last week, I challenged myself to write 500 words a day for 30 days straight. Three days into this challenge I’m already restarting. Today is day 2.
This personal challenge is to help me build a habit of writing and to expand the topics I write about. I’m not challenging myself to publish an article every day (but if I do, great!).
Either way, I get to learn what formatting I like, what tags work, and what publications I want to engage with and be published on in the future.
Now, if I could just stop clicking that ‘Stats’ button…
