Medium vs. Substack for the Working Writer
Community, opportunity, and frustration
I have been writing on Medium through these long covid months. I’ve written as many as two dozen pieces some months, though that number has declined through patches of being busy with work — teaching and writing. I have not had one piece go viral, and the most I’ve made is $43 in a month. My average is more like $23. I write about writing for The Writing Cooperative, and about caregiving and middle-age and being alive for Middle-Pause, and parenting pieces for A Parent is Born. Like many here, I grieve the loss of PS I Love You — they were special indeed!
I left my academic job — I needed to lose the toxic workplace. I decided being broke is preferable. Still… it is hard to buy groceries or even sneeze on $23/month.
Last April, in spite of my reluctance to niche myself, I decided to launch a writing newsletter on Substack, The Unschool for Writers. In the first month I went “paid” (June) I did not get rich (!) but I did make three times more than my first year here. Notable!
I also discovered a uniquely supportive environment. I applied to their inaugural “Grow” program — six weeks of Zoom meetings and informative postings — to assist in growing readership and quality of posts. That program ensured that I connected with other newsletter writers… and so I…