What’s in It For Me?
L. E. Merithew
I recently got an email from Medium saying that I may no longer be eligible to be paid for my posts. It pretty much centers around not having a minimum of 100 followers, and not being a paying member/partner. The email said I have a deadline roughly 10 days away to deal with these issues. Since I don’t have enough in my bank account to commit to monthly payments, that’s out for the moment. And, with no followers right now, that part isn’t likely to happen by the deadline, either.
I’m not going to rail against Medium on this. After all, business is business, and writing is a business like any other.
So, the question becomes, what does posting here offer?
Most folks would be tempted to answer, “you can still get lots of exposure.” There is that, but as the science fiction author Harlan Ellison was fond of saying, “pay the writer.” Or, in easier terms, let’s see you convince your landlord to accept exposure to pay the rent. Another way to look at it: you can take the exposure to Starbucks, but it would still be a good idea to have a $20 bill as well.
Does this mean writing here is a waste of time?
Maybe, or maybe not.
See, I’ve posted my writing in the past at other sites (that have since gone to the internet graveyard) as a way to work on improving my skills and get feedback in the process. There’s value in that, even if it doesn’t fatten the bankroll.
Don’t think that writing for free is my idea of having a good time. Just that there’s always room for improvement.
And especially don’t think that writing for free means my stuff is free to copy, because it isn’t.
I still have a number of works in progress. They just won’t be showing up here, at least until I get the payment situation in a better position (if then).
For the short term, this will likely become a once-in-a-while log of what I’m accomplishing.
I may still include fiction that has already appeared elsewhere/elsewhen. No decision yet on that.
Today, just consider this a reminder that I’m still here, still trying to get better.
