Medium, Money, and Poetry
“Money is a kind of poetry.” Wallace Stevens
In light of Medium’s current search for a new soul (they call it a business model), I have a few thoughts I’d like to share, specifically on poetry.
I fully understand that writers like (need) to be paid. I fully understand that Medium is a business and must somehow turn a profit to continue to exist.
I enjoy publishing on Medium, mostly because it gives me access to a more diverse audience than I have found elsewhere. But even so, it is a tiny audience. Poetry is hardly the backbone of Medium. It’s more like an afterthought. That is hardly surprising.
The audience for poetry has diminished even as the Internet has allowed more poetry than ever to be published.
As Liberal Education has all but disappeared from universities, as leisure reading has declined precipitously, and as books have become less and less popular, the audience for serious poetry, which was never huge even in its heyday, has shrunk as well. Given the seemingly endless alternatives people have for spending their time, this should be no surprise.
And now to money.
Put simply, THERE IS NO MONEY IN POETRY.
I have published three books. I have been published in magazines, both in print and online. I have published in anthologies. All over the course of ten years. I haven’t kept track, but I’m sure poetry hasn’t made me $500 in all that time.
Well, you might think, I’m just not a very good poet. Perhaps.
Even so there is more to consider.
Most poetry books published by traditional publishers have initial runs of perhaps 2000 copies. In general, they sell ever fewer. So the notion of royalties is something of a joke.
Most magazines, paper or pixels, pay nothing or nearly nothing. No living to be made there.
Even famous poets (an oxymoron these days) rarely if ever, make a living from their writings. They survive by teaching, editing, and giving endless workshops and readings. They are constantly on the run trying to hustle up the money to live and write. Some add to their coffers with prizes and fellowships, but neither generate consistent income. A very few, like Billy Collins, become celebrities and actually make some money, but most do not.
One of my favorite writers, the late Jim Harrison, a wonderful and prolific poet and novelist said the first time he made enough money from royalties alone to support his family, he was 65. He had been publishing since his twenties. And he was undeniably a great and acclaimed writer with dozens of books of poetry and fiction to his credit.
I am not a businessman. I have no aptitude for making or handling money; hence, I have none. Faux words like monetize gag me. So I am not very qualified to give Medium advice on how to redefine its soul.
There was a time (not so long in the past) when people accepted that if they wanted something of value, they had to pay for it. In terms of writing, the Internet has created the illusion that that is not true. Content (gag) should be free. I doubt that this can continue, and I imagine that Medium’s current identity crisis is part of coming to terms with the fact that there really is no such thing as a free lunch.
At some point, we, the readers and writers, will have to ante up, whatever form that may take. I think some good will come of this. There may be fewer trolls. There may be fewer endless whining comment conversations. New writers who prefer to be paid and don’t mind paying may be attracted to the platform. More established writers as well. None of these changes would hurt.
Poetry will remain (if it remains at all) mainly on the periphery. And what I said earlier will remain true as well: THERE IS NO MONEY IN POETRY.
If poetry leaves Medium, it will surface elsewhere. Still the poor relation, but still doing what only it can do. And it will still be written from the heart, not for the wallet.
