Medium Hates Small Writers Because They Don’t Make Money
I dog on Medium a lot. Writing on here is basically a joke to me at this point. It keeps getting worse.
Medium used to act as a tool to enhance not only the process, but the reach and impact of writing for everyone. Even small, no-name writers could put out good work and climb the ranks. To me, this made up the “magic” of Medium. It was thrilling and encouraging to publish a new story here.
Nowadays, I view Medium as a “sell out” platform.
They’ve sacrificed charm, intimacy, and artistic integrity so they can become yet another popular news/media outlet. Just look at the homepage — it’s all in-house publications. They’re picky and selective. They curate for themselves and they’re extremely difficult to write for. They don’t do much to serve, help, or encourage new writers who fall below their standards.
After writing on Medium for 2 years, my reach is WORSE than ever before:
My writing doesn’t match the criteria Medium looks for, so I don’t get curated or recommended or shown to other readers.
“Maybe it’s your fault your writing sucks and no one reads it.”
That’s a fair argument..
But my stories tend to have a read ratio above 60% meaning people who find my story, read it.
The problem? People can’t find it.
As a small writer, Medium does not prioritize my “level” of writing — so no one sees it. People do see Forge and OneZero and Elemental though. And Shannon Ashley. They definitely see everything Shannon Ashley writes.
Ha, this is all just my experience. Yes, I’m butt-hurt about it.
I’ve just been around long enough to see the way things are trending here and it doesn’t inspire me.
The excitement of writing freely on Medium is completely dead.
