I’m leaving Medium for Patreon
If you’ve followed me here and you’ve found something valuable in my writing, it would mean the world to me if you came over to my Patreon. It’s only $1-$2 a month and it directly supports my ability to pursue writing.
Let me start by saying that I’ve been a hardcore Medium advocate since I joined two years ago — long before I ever posted my first story. Medium allowed me to dip my toe into writing professionally when I was so afraid to start.
Medium was the first place that complete strangers read my writing and let me know what they thought. I’ve built up so much confidence in my own creative process since I first started posting here.
Part of any creative process is killing your darlings. Medium is one of the many darlings I’ve killed over the years. I don’t think it’s good for anyone to cling to things that are no longer feeling generative or inspiring. I’ve been toying with the idea of de-centering Medium in my writing practice for the last 4 months, and these are the things that finally led me to do it.
1.I have been a part of the Free Palestine Movement since 2015. My undergraduate degree in Political Science had a focused concentration in genocide. There have been a lot of “hot takes” about this now that it is in the consciousness of the average American. Medium’s centrist stance on Palestine doesn’t sit right in my spirit.
To be super clear, I am not attempting to cancel Medium. I am not trying to get the platform shut down, nor am I pressuring them to make a different call. I don’t expect corporations to reflect my values. Corporations by their very nature will never reflect my values.
That being said, I can’t log onto this platform every day and read think pieces from people who have just arrived to this conversation and are using the Medium partner program to stoke people into emotional fervor for money. I get enough of that on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
2. There are some amazing articles on Medium, but you’ll be hard pressed to find them because the vast majority of writing that is pushed in Medium’s Digest or on my home page are engagement farming drivel. This is frustrating to me, since Medium’s mission is to combat algorithms and uplift good quality writing.
In order to be nominated for Boost, you can’t have creative titles, you have to use “power” words, you have to have a quippy subtitle, and you have to have an eye-catching photo before you’ll even be considered. None of these things are indicators of good writers, but they are indicators of good marketers.
If I have to read one more version of “5 reasons why no one will read your self-published novel (and what to do differently)” I’m going to lose my mind. And all these people are selling coaching or e-learning courses or editing services and they all have AI-genereated profile pictures and header photos (despite Medium’s stance on AI-generated writing).
I have discovered some incredible poets, essayists, and story tellers on this platform, but only after doing significant discovery on my own with the platform often working against me. I joined Medium because I wanted to share meaningful words and read meaningful words from others. I believed in their mission to platform good writing and fight algorithms whole-heartedly. I don’t think they’re fully living it.
3. I don’t want to write for the uninhibited masses. I’ve discussed this at-length previously, but I write for the T-boys and the fags and the mixed-raced diaspora kids. I write for the global majority who are subjugated across the Western World. I write for the men looking to redefine their masculinity and discover themselves.
I have not found my audience on Medium. I believe they’re probably here, but I’ve struggled to get in front of them. In truth, I don’t really feel safe to write with the freedom and authenticity I crave on this platform because anyone can read and respond. And they have!
Any time I’ve written something about the trans experience, I’ve received vitriol in the replies. I need more control over who reads what I have to say and who responds. I don’t write to convince people of my humanity, and Medium forces me to do that.
4. I pay $5/month for the Medium partnership program, and I average about $0.60/month in earnings. I am not a financially motivated writer, but I am actively losing money writing here. In order to make money, I have to SEO optimize my stories, expose my soft core to hatred, or pander to publications that I’m not that interested in being in anyway.
From a purely business perspective, Medium is not even paying for itself, let alone allowing me any degree of financial freedom. Like any content creation platform, the people making the big bucks are few and far between. I know that, and as I’ve covered, I’m not willing to do what is required to be someone that “makes it” on Medium.
In their most recent partner update, Medium announced that the partnership program no longer does payouts until you reach $10. This, ultimately, is a positive change in my opinion. It is annoying to get Stripe payments that are mostly pennies. But, that also means I likely won’t see payouts from Medium for the foreseeable future (unless I have an article go “viral”, which isn’t likely since I have mostly abandoned my account).
So, what’s next?
I was really inspired by ismatu gwendolyn. I have been a subscriber to their Substack for the last two years, and I think the way they are using the internet is revolutionary. While Substack is not my platform of choice, the core elements of their creation being community-centered and self-determined is an example I want to follow.
This ended up having a somewhat negative tone, but ultimately I’m excited. I wrote this to show that when things no longer meet your needs, you don’t have to double down. And things not meeting your needs doesn’t make them inherently bad! Medium works for thousands of writers, and some of the best commentary on modern social problems I’ve ever read have been on this platform. It’s just not compatible for the type of creative I want to be, and that is a-okay.
I’ve been hemming and hawing about making a Patreon for nearly 5 years. I’ve used it as a fan for years and have found it to be a really positive experience. I’ve seen creatives that I love go from barely making it to thriving with their Patreon community.
What it really came down to was this: I needed the time and space to recognize that my work is worth paying for directly. I think what I write is very cool and important, and now I know that other people agree. I never would have been able to build that confidence without Medium. My first publication came from an article I wrote here.
Patreon will allow me to cultivate my audience, get paid directly for the work that I do, create things that I’m proud of without fear, and directly support other artists whose values I align with. I feel really energized by this next chapter, and I really could not have made it this far without all of you reading this.
All of y’all who have supported my writing, subscribed to me on Medium (122 people!!) and have bought the lit mags I’m published in — you’re the fucking real ones. Even if you never spend another dollar supporting me, I appreciate you so deeply.
If you’re subscribed to me here and you’ve found something valuable in my writing, it would mean the world to me if you came over to my Patreon. It’s only $1-$2 a month and it directly supports my ability to pursue writing.
