A Letter to the Medium Non-Members
I am just trying to help you.
Dear non-members,
We always hear that writing is an art and not everybody can do it. It is not a matter of everyone. It is obvious; because only a writer can take their readers to another world and that too mere through words.
Medium is one such platform. It is so vivid in terms of knowledge. Here, I have learned a lot. Also, I have showcased my writing talent which is also being appreciated by my readers. So if you like writing or you are using this platform for writing, then you should opt for a membership.
Everyone knows that when you are not a member you get to read-only three stories in a month. So then you are left with only one option. That is, to clap for the stories without reading them. On a serious note tell me one thing.
Why do you even have to clap for the half-read stories of other Medium members?
You don’t have access to read the full story or to comment on it. An Even highlight option is given to members.
What if tomorrow Medium changes its rules and regulations?
Then the claps option will not be provided to the non-members.
Why Medium?
Let us consider all the options one has for writing. For being a Medium member, you just have to pay $5 a month. According to me is the lowest amount possible compared to all the facilities that we get being a member.
You can read any number of stories on any topic written by great writers. The other option for writing is going for blogs. You can go for writing blogs on your own customized website. You can opt for WordPress or HTML. For that first, you have to go for a domain, SSL, and hosting. Purchasing a domain will never help one with all such options.
On Facebook groups the only repeatedly occurring sentence in the comment section is “Good read. Given 50x claps”. I want to know about them. What exactly do they mean by giving such comments?
Do you think of lying anyone can increase their views by posting articles on social media?
Benefits of Medium
Being a member of Medium you are not just helping your fellow writers. But you are gaining knowledge by reading articles written by brilliant writers who are masters of writing. I have seen so many great articles which are far better than a variety of books.
If we go for buying a book, that single book will cost you near $5. That is exactly what Medium is asking. A portion of this amount is distributed amongst members of the Medium and your fellow writers.
I know one thing. This article is dedicated to you. But you will not be able to read it. Because of the limited quota of yours of just three stories to read per month. But at least all the members will get the information about them.
What these non-members actually do is one kind of spam. They think they are making everyone fool by only typing ‘’good read and given all claps x50'’ on the Facebook groups’ comment section. But least they do know that members are far more intelligent. We tend to help them to grow. So that you can cultivate your inner writer and flourish yourself as a great future writer.
Race to curate.
I often come across people complaining about the Medium. A month earlier, I had shared a post in a Facebook group about my curated articles. A lot of people congratulated me. But, there was a guy who messaged me “Damn! Why medium does not curate my articles?”. I asked him about his medium handle. Astonishingly, I found that he was not even a member. I asked him whether he has any time to read about medium distribution guidelines. As expected, his answer was no. You know the reason, why he did not read?
People like him can use $5 for buying pizza and cold drinks but refuse to pay the same amount in expanding their knowledge. In the end, all I would like to convey is if you have that little spark in you for writing, don’t push yourself back.
“A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world — Susan Sontag
Don’t hesitate in investing that little amount as that will do good to you only. You can assume that you have invested every cent of that amount in yourself. Also, curation of articles is not everything. You must aim for good quality content. Hoping that you too will become a member.
Yours,
A Medium member.
Another open letter from Krishna V Chaudhary.
