My First Turning Point as a Writer on Medium
Sometimes the benchmark is already there. You just need to pay attention
I originally blogged on my WordPress site. However, I recently found myself writing more on Medium for several reasons.
The option to write whatever I wish and get feedback for even short stories captured my mind. The community of writers and readers here is encouraging too. It boosts my energy to know that somebody will soon read what I worked hard on.
So, I’ve become a community member and paid those five bucks to learn more from better writers than me. I also enjoy their inspiring content and ideas. That, on its own, has improved my writing immensely and made me more productive.
My creativity was boosted by reading and writing here, and I’ve published ten stories in the first three weeks. It’s not that much, but it’s also great for me as a beginner writer on this platform.
In the first two weeks, I saw how my following gradually evolved. That was an exciting reward. However, I was less pleased to see that my first followers had a low number of followers themselves, not that I had a problem with these people but due to what it meant to my content.
My initial delight was replaced by thoughts like, “my content wasn’t that useful to them, ha?” or “we are all creatures derived from interests.”
Finally, after chilling for 3 minutes on my cozy sofa, I accepted the idea of new writers helping each other grow. But unfortunately, my ego was still itching me. So, I pondered more about my writing progress and kept publishing stories.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against those who followed me for that reason. On the contrary, I followed them back and appreciated our shared interest. However, I didn’t initiate this popular approach myself, meaning I didn’t follow writers just because of their following status. I don’t want to end up following a tone of content I’m not interested in.
Instead, I follow those to whom I can relate with their style, topics, or value.
The turning point was when I suddenly started getting new followers who had their own decent following. These guys didn’t follow me, just so I’d follow them back. They didn’t need that due to their already established status, but rather, because they were getting value from my content
This insight cheered me to keep writing. Even though I haven’t reached the 100 followers threshold yet, the minor change in the following has shown me that I’m in the right direction.
If you are on your first steps as a writer on Medium or need more time to be comfortable with your writing, find these little benchmarks. They might have been there already, but you haven’t noticed them yet. Be mindful. These signs will boost your motivation to keep writing content that matters to you.
If you find this story helpful and want more actionable insights and tips from my content creation journey, check out my YouTube Channel
