Member-only story
Medium vs. Upwork: Which Platform Is Best for Writers?
Pros, cons, and why you should probably write on both
I started writing on Medium with no know-how in January 2020. I committed: I woke up every day at 6 a.m. before work, made an excessively large coffee, and wrote until 7:30 a.m. Sometimes I’d write after work, and I’d always make time on the weekends. Since January 3rd, I’ve missed waking up early to write once.
In January, three of my blog posts were curated in five total topics and I wrote in three publications: The Startup, The Helm, and Fearless She Wrote. At the end of that month, I made a whopping $8.53.
A quick aside: I think it’s important for the (new) Medium community to be honest about potential earnings. We can’t compare ourselves to the Medium legends and expect similar results, it would drive us mad. Is $8.53 embarrassing? Yes. Do my spidey senses tell me that many new Medium writers experience similar results and wash themselves with shame, after reading overnight success stories from other writers? Yes. Is it important to be honest, even about making pocket change, in hopes that someone reads this and gives themself grace? Yes.
My $8.53 was laughable, but I was excited nonetheless. For the first time in my life, I got paid to write — a paid writer! — nevermind that…
