How a Different Mindset About Writing Made All The Difference
My writing income doesn’t pay the bills yet
Earning money online at some point is the goal for many writers on Medium. For some, writing is a way to unwind, meet other writers, and enjoy the writing process.
As soon as I realized I would not replace my teaching job with my online writing, I had to change my mindset. I expect to supplement my teaching income with income from other online revenue streams. I also knew I needed to keep my day job and build a writing business simultaneously, so I relaxed a little more. I knew my writing income didn’t pay the bills.
There are two platforms that I’m currently working on to increase my revenue stream.
1. Medium
2. Substack
I write on Medium almost daily, but I have also started writing on Substack. Substack is subscription based, where readers sign up and pay a subscription to read articles. It’s hard to say how that will work out, but the platform is user-friendly.
The benefit of writing on Medium
1. Writing to relieve stress from my teaching job
2. Earning money while relieving stress from my teaching job
What do I write about on Medium?
1. My teaching job
2. My experience with writing on Medium
3. Anything I need to get off my mind
I talked to a colleague, and he mentioned he goes to see a psychologist and a counselor because of the pressure from teaching to relieve stress and sort his thoughts.
I never thought of talking to a therapist or a counselor, but I knew I needed to eliminate some toxic stress I carry at work. I used to run a lot until I blew my knee. Since I couldn’t often run anymore, I needed an outlet. In 2021, when I found Medium, it was the outlet I needed. For every article I write on Medium, there are 2 times more articles I leave in draft or title as a journal entry.
I couldn’t journal in my early years of teaching because of the workload, but it’s because of writing that I’m more able to handle stress at work today.
Use Medium as a place to write anything to your heart’s content.
Even if Medium pays me only enough money to buy several plate lunches and several large sodas per month, the platform has provided me with even something more valuable.
It has provided me with a launching pad for my writing business. I’ll take it as a valuable asset at this point in my teaching career.
How was work today?
While building my writing business, I’ll continue to write what’s on my mind. For example, there is a reason a handful of students left school early today.
There was a water stoppage on campus. The rule is if water is not available on campus, the campus would have to close. Some teachers read their emails and misunderstood the principal when he said he planned to close the school for the day.
In the excitement that school would close, some teachers took it upon themselves to mention it to the students. Many students, therefore, contacted their parents to pick them up. When the dust finally settled, many of the students left school early. The students who remained had to attend class and do schoolwork. In the end, the school continued, and the plumbers fixed the water shortage problem.
Usually, I would put this in a journal. But because of the terrible communication on campus today, some students had a free day, and some did not; I couldn’t pass on an opportunity to write about work.
In anticipation of parent complaints, the principal excused all student absences because they left early from school. I didn’t read my email during class, so while teachers were dismissing their students, I reviewed chapters 2 and 4 for the test on Friday.
Final Thoughts
Even though I’m not earning significant money I’d like to make on Medium, I use Medium to benefit me. It helps me write about things on campus that make me say, “WTH.”
I’m also writing on Substack to build my writing business. Finally, writing on Medium softens the rejections I receive or my pitches that get ignored regularly. One day I’ll land a content writing gig, but in the meantime, writing to help me with my thought process and get paid on Medium is pretty cool.
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