So you Want to be a Writer? 9 Realistic Truths about Succeeding on Medium

Do you agree or disagree?

Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash

If you’re like me, you click on these articles hoping for some secret golden piece of advice that will help you rise to the top of Medium writers.

Well, I haven’t done that YET (there’s that mindful choice of words that doesn’t place limits on my capabilities), but I certainly have learned a lot of lessons on my journey.

And I’m here to share them with you.

My naive optimism led me to believe that I could be a top earner right from the start, but each month, I faced the reality of double-digit earnings staring back at me.

As I’ve been writing on this platform now for about two years, here are my biggest takeaways about how to succeed:

1. Consistency wins. Many a successful writer here continues to show up and write. Whether that’s once a day, once a week, once a month. Keep showing up.
2. Engagement matters. Building community and rapport with other writers can help speed up your success. And it’s an essential element of this platform.
3. Know your audience. Breaking up text to make it easier to read is helpful. However, if you build your following as a writer known for long stories or…