Member-only story
The Medium Partner Program Rollercoaster
Examining my motivation
Recent developments in the Medium Partner Program have left me introspective about why I write on this platform. Before this week, I’d pretty much figured out that the site served as my cyber diary. I wrote what I wanted and let the Partner Program pieces fall where they may.
If I earned some money? Great. If I didn’t? Oh well. I write for the pure joy and release it gives me. It’s not really about the income.
But something happened in the past week that made me question my motivation.
Like the great majority of people who write here, most of my stories clock in at under 100 views. Occasionally, I get Boosted or something explodes. But those stories are the rare exception. Up until this week, almost 50% of my stories earned under a dollar.
Now, check out the stats on my last five stories (all published in the past week) that would normally pay out 50 cents to a dollar judging by the extent of their engagement.
108 views
28 clappers
10 comments
Now look at how much I earned:
