A Goal
Enough readers to pay for a Medium subscription, was the goal. Now the goal is Ghost.
To succeed, the cost needs to be offset, or gifted.
You can’t use readership to become a member without first paying for it first. It’s an investment, but a small price to pay for an attempt.
This is a fun goal. The Medium algorithm and audience are seen as fun challenges. A blog is also fun, but it requires a lot of buy-in and set up. Medium is simple, with a huge audience included.
How do I know that I’m writing well? I know I won’t be great to start off with. I know what good writing is, and I know I don’t possess that innately. ‘Just writing’ is the first step to writing.
Improvement comes through; ‘just writing’, understanding the audience and algorithm, along with reading and responding to others. However, I intend to be different from your standard writer, for I have an unfair advantage.
I am real. I don’t write about Medium, blogging, tech, or politics. I write about my life, my real life. I don’t sound the alarmist bells of engagement-bait. I write for readers, not other writers and bloggers.
Step 1: Just write, don’t use backspace.
Step 2: Edit, (maybe ‘just write’ some more).
Step 3: Publish
Medium is the YouTube of writing. Substack is the Vimeo or Twitch. The New Yorker and other publications are Cable. Ghost is Vimeo OTT, with a through line to sites like Platformer, as Nebula. And Twitter/X and others are Shorts, Tik Tok, and Reels.
Books are films.
WordPress is notably absent from this lineup. You could say WordPress is what Google Video used to be.
