Med*um Hates Me

Georgia NeSmith
7 min readJul 18, 2021

Or so it seems from my earnings

After about three years of writing on Medium, I am almost ready to give up. At least on the possibility of making money. I’ve been thinking I should just focus my attention on content for Quora, where I get thousands (yes, THOUSANDS) of appreciative readers every month. It is so much more satisfying to interact with readers. But Quora doesn’t pay.

I need money, but equally, I desperately want recognition, I have been looking beyond both Quora and Medium. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an “elsewhere” that would be any better. I’ve been considering Vocal, but this article ( I’m Finally Calling It Quits With Vocal, by Sarah Olson Michel) suggests that Vocal could be even worse, not better.

I have been thinking about switching to Vocal myself. Funny thing: for the same reason Ms Olson Michael DUMPED Vocal. I am seriously disappointed with Medium, given that in 18 months I’ve been in the partner program, I’ve not been curated even once. And I have earned the whopping total of $21.11, or about $1.66 a month.

I challenge anyone to suggest those numbers are about the quality of my writing. A little background here if I may, to establish my writing credentials: I have an MA in English and Creative writing, a BA in same, and a PhD in journalism and mass communication from the University of Iowa…

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Georgia NeSmith

Retired professor, feminist, writer, photographer, activist, grandmother of 5, overall Wise Woman. Phd UIA School of Journalism & Mass Communication, 1994.