Last week, as I was scrolling through my feed, I took notice of an article saying Medium is the best place for writers. That obviously peaked my interest. I clicked through, read the piece, and was convinced that I should look into Medium for myself. I must say, I like what I found.
Medium is a self-publishing platform that supports a wide variety of topics. Much like I wrote about the TODAY Parenting Team, using self-publishing platforms is like writing a piece for my own blog without needing to maintain a blog in the niche. But, unlike other platforms, Medium does not have ads – something I truly appreciate.
From what I have gathered, the site is trying to create a space where readers can read without the clutter and distraction of ads, as well as a place where writers can write focused on content and not for the sake of trying to cram in as many keywords as possible to drive up ad revenues. Instead, Medium is now funded by $5/month membership fees. Non-members have access to up to three articles a month and are even allowed to create a profile and publish their own work – all completely free of charge. Anyone can become a member, but I suspect the majority of the members are writers themselves. Members have access to unlimited articles, as well as some other special features, but what I find as the most compelling benefit of becoming a member of Medium is that it supports fellow writers.
Self-publishing on Medium is like offering up my writings for peer review. If enough members read my piece and "clap" for it, I can actually get paid. While other platforms have ads and keep all the revenue for themselves, Medium is saying, no ads and we'll even offer a portion of our membership fees to support our writers. I. Love. This.
The idea of giving my work away for free has never sat well with me. I understand the need for websites to cover their costs, but it does not feel right for them to profit without any compensation to those generating the content. Offer me something for my efforts and my intellectual property. Offer me a flat rate. Offer me a tiered pay scale based on performance. Offer me the opportunity to be rewarded only if my piece does well. Offer me anything that shows my work is valued and I, as a writer, am respected.
I love the writers-supporting-writers concept. It is still fairly new; Medium has been around since 2012 but it only started rolling out this system last year. It is evolving and has already been through some changes. I am intrigued by their model and I'm looking forward to seeing what becomes of it.
I decided to dip my toe into Medium's waters by syndicating a personal essay I originally wrote for this blog. I am still new to all of this and learning as I go, but this platform seems promising.
