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. Interestingly, I received my department’s prestigious and highly competitive award for research a bit more than two years after I arrived. It was recognition of the reception my work received at various journalism and communication professional conferences I attended every year.

(Note: Frankly I’d rather not brag like this, believe me. But I see no other way to support my point that I am hardly a beginner in need of lots of practice.)

Now, that alone isn’t necessarily sufficient credential, but I also taught various forms of writing at several colleges and universities, for about 30 years, and I served as Managing Editor and Editor of two scholarly publications in addition to writing, editing, and producing numerous newsletters for nonprofit organizations.

Clearly a whole lot of people who enjoy good writing outside of Medium have appreciated my work.

Georgia NeSmith

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