A Message to Friends on Medium
Not a rant or a goodbye — but an adjustment
When I joined Medium nearly two years ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect, either as a writer or as a reader. All I really knew was that for $50 a year, I could write and share almost anything I wanted. Whether anyone would read my stuff was an open question.
At the outset, I was intimidated because I wasn’t sure what the Medium community needed or expected. I flailed around for a while. Nothing wrong with that. It’s called learning.
I posted my earliest essays independently — meaning, I didn’t pitch them to Medium publications. I didn’t know that was a “thing” and I didn’t even know how to do it. I was disappointed when I didn’t immediately find an audience (ah, the dreaded addiction to “likes” and “claps”!). But I was also willing to be patient.
Eventually, after some trial and error, and after forcing myself to read some basic rules (I’m a trial-and-error kind of gal), I got the hang of it and slowly accumulated a handful of pubs I wanted to submit to — and which wanted my work, most of the time.
So far, so good.
Medium became a valuable sandbox for me, a place to test ideas, hone my skills as an essayist, and perhaps above all, to find a home for my growing poetry practice. The comments on my articles and poems helped me to see what readers respond to, and what they may skip over.
The positive feedback increased my confidence and let me know I was on the right track — by which I mean, I was producing work that connected with a wide variety of people around the world.
Along the way, I met (virtually) several artists who have blown me away with their talent, and I’m thrilled that we are acquainted through our creative work, even half a world away.
That’s a lot of value for $50 a year.
Now, after nearly two years, I’m shifting my Medium identity a bit.
I am still not joining the Partners Program. I remain convinced that trying to make money from my work here will inhibit my willingness to take risks as a writer and creator. (Obviously, many people disagree with that, which is fine.)
However, I’m going to stop giving away my poetry. So you’ll see much less of that from me. (Never say never.) I hope to find other homes for some of that work. In fact, I’ll have some pieces included in an anthology later this year from Yellow Arrow Publishing, where I’m currently a writer-in-residence. And I recently published some poems in the Loch Raven Review.
I will likely post more articles on aspects of the craft of writing (I’ve already written a handful) and especially, about book coaching. As a certified nonfiction book coach, I’m on a mission to help nonfiction writers find their best path to publishing — and to create compelling proposals to shop to agents and publishers. (Interested? Let’s talk.)
I’ll continue to occasionally publish personal essays — essays that grow out of authentic emotional experiences, with an emphasis on sharing universal themes and lessons learned.
Meanwhile, I have three novels coming out in the spring and summer of 2022, and marketing those is time-consuming, as is finding time to keep writing a new novel! (I’m sharing a literary freebie with anyone who joins my website email list.)
If you’ve read this far — thank you!
I love connecting with all of you here on Medium, and out in the so-called real-world too. Don’t hesitate to share your triumphs, ask for an occasional social media boost, or even drop by for an honest-to-God meet-up if you’re in Baltimore, Maryland.
Thanks for listening. Keep on creating. And continue to be a fearless artist.
Amy
