Tag Archives: writing

Medium is Changing

We got excited about the bonuses, but now they have an end date. Should writers be changing their approach to the platform?

For those of you who are kicking around on Medium or even still thinking of starting there, I’ll give you a heads up. It’s pretty hard to keep up with the constant changes on the platform.

I’ve been writing on there consistently for ten months, and I’ve already experienced change after change.

But do you know what? That’s one of the reasons why I love the platform.

It’s constantly surprising us and trying to make itself a better place for writers. Sometimes they get it right and granted, a lot of the time, they get it wrong.

But hey, at least they are trying.

In a recent email, Medium said they would extend their writer bonuses into June and July, and then that would be it. No more surprise, $50, $100 or $500 payments. The generosity ends.

But, mysteriously, they also mentioned there would be some changes to the Medium Partner Program.

A few years back, Medium used to pay writers based on the number of claps they earned on each story.

Nowadays, it’s for reading time, which makes more sense. The longer a paid subscriber spends reading your work, the more engagement you generate as a writer, and hence, the more you get paid.

It’s a logical framework, but it’s not going to stay that way.

I’ve scratched my head thinking about what they might be doing but haven’t come up with much. The most plausible thing to me maybe an increase in the subscriber fee, considering they paid out so much money to writers in bonuses.

This would mean more money for smaller writers (possibly) and hone in on that ‘relational’ Medium they seem to be creating. I could continue to speculate, but the truth is, it would probably be a waste of time.

Medium is going to change. Like any social media platform, it will have ups and downs. It will go through the motions, and we have to ride with it. The most important thing for writers is that we keep showing up and doing our best.

I’ve seen a lot of articles floating around titled something like ‘here’s what you can do to increase your chances of winning the Medium bonus’, but the thing is – it’s so short-lived. This promotes a type of short-termism and get rich quick scheme.

If you love to write and want to be read, your approach has to be long term. If it’s not, you’ll soon find out if you’re writing for the wrong reasons.

So, there are some changes on Medium’s horizon, which will undoubtedly unravel with drama and intrigue over the next few months.

But the message I want to stress is this: keep writing no matter what. Platforms change, but the importance of showing up as much as you can and getting the words out there.

Current reads (that you may like)

Summer water, Sarah Moss (Fiction)

I saw this on our proof table at work and thought I’d take a chance with it.

Set in Scotland, it follows the rainy summer holidays of multiple families and intertwines their different lives. It’s heavy on description, political messaging and family life.

The former I love, but the latter, not so sure. It’s a cool book with a lot of promise, but I can’t help feeling a bit jumbled along the way. Think Ali Smith in style and approach, but not quite hitting the mark.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling (Fiction)

At the beginning of lockdown three, I started re-reading the Harry Potter series for fun and because I needed a comfort blanket. Reading it as an adult hits different, but it’s so nostalgic. I like to read it before bed to stop my mind from wandering.

I keep hearing people say the Half-Blood Prince is just ‘filler’, and I want to smack some sense into them. It’s so much more than that and sets the scene for the penultimate book.

Books on my radar

Bring up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel (historical fiction)

I mentioned Mantel in one of my recent book posts, and it reminded me how I never read the rest of the Wolf Hall series.

I read the first book in March 2020, and I can remember it clearly because the first lockdown had just been announced. Mantel had just released The Mirror and the Light during the Christmas before, and the shop floor had a whole stand of the heavy hardbacks that went untouched as we had to close.

I decided to give it a go finally and loved it, so I am looking forward to carrying on the series.

The Dig, John Preston (fiction)

I recently watched the film version of this staring Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes (dream team) and loved it.

Based on true events, it follows the story of how Sutton Hoo, the place of two early medieval cemeteries, was discovered in an area very close to home, in Suffolk. I can’t wait to read the written version of this interesting and emotional story.

Article recs

I’m going to list these because I realise this is getting a little long. Trust me on this one. All of these are 10/10. No justification needed.

What you might have missed from me

Now this is a hefty length; it feels like an appropriate time to wrap up. I hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter. Let me know if you like the new book format!

As always, if you do like my content and want to support me, you can donate to my ko-fi page.

Note : the links in this are affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase, it will help me earn a little bit of money at no extra cost to you; thank you!

Header image by Julia M Cameron from Pexels / Edited by the author using Canva

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https://violetdaniels.substack.com/

Progress Isn’t Linear

Feeling the pressure? Don’t — you’re doing great.

In our day to day lives, we can all get bogged down with what we’re not doing rather than what we are. This can give us a false impression of the progress we’ve made and can obscure how far we have come.

The pandemic and the new working from home culture that has evolved from it has disrupted the balance between work and downtime, and for many of us, on furlough or spending more time at home, the pressure to fit something in at every hour of the day can be a lot.

When you’re not doing anything particularly ‘productive’, it can be easy to beat yourself up about it. But I’m here to remind you that progress isn’t linear. If it were, we’d all be where we want to be, instantaneously. Primarily, this is because life is inherently unpredictable. There will be days that are written off for a myriad of reasons, or even years, depending on everyone’s personal situation.

So don’t get down in the dumps if you are not where you want to be yet — and instead — focus on where you are right now and what you have done.

Often, I can get down in the dumps about being behind in my career and the fact I’ve spent nearly every day at home since March 2020. On bad days, I can take to social media and compare myself to people (especially those younger than me) and marvel and their positions. But then I remember how important this abundance of free time has been for me.

If it weren’t for the pandemic, I probably would have launched into some graduate job I wasn’t that keen on, never discovered my love for writing, and my anxiety would have spiralled. Although I may not be where I thought I would be by this age, there are other things I have achieved that I am proud of, especially when I make an effort to reflect on how far I’ve come.

Take my writing as one example. On the left is my total reach from just two months of writing on Medium. On the right, after eight months, is what it looks like today.

Image created by the author using Canva

I’m having a bit of a rough time with my writing now, especially on Medium. But when I look at that side by side, I realise just how much progress I have made. It puts everything into perspective. I can guarantee you’re making progress in whatever you are doing, but perhaps, you don’t realise it yet.

Articles

Books

Image created by the author using Canva

Jo Cox: More in Common, by Brendan Cox (biography)

As local elections are on the horizon here in the UK, I’m reminded of how much was lost when Thomas Mair murdered Jo Cox during the Brexit referendum campaign. Jo’s life and her approach to politics should be a reminder to us all that regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum, we do have more in common than what sets us apart.

Politics should be less divisive and binary, and it is a shame in recent years that it has become this way.

‘Jo Cox’s selfless service to others made the world a better place’ — Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States

Articles I wrote this week

  1. What are Local Elections and Why Do They Matter? Backbench UK
  2. Working as a Bookseller Convinced me to Always Prioritize Books, A Thousand Lives
  3. Should Writing be Approached as a Marathon or a Sprint? Writer’s Blokke

As always, I hope this newsletter finds everybody well! Remember, you make a little bit of progress every day, even if you don’t think you are. Until next week! Violet x

This is a weekly newsletter from Violet Recommends. Every week I give you some writing advice, reading recommendations and all my latest articles in one place. Sign up (it’s free!)

Originally published at https://violetdaniels.substack.com.

Lots of Words and Heavy Rain

From the moment I woke up, until well into the evening, the rain has been constant and unrelenting.

But I don’t mind, I’ve always been someone who finds great comfort in the gentle pattering of raindrops on the windows. It makes me feel cosy, I can wear a jumper and indulge in hot drinks without breaking a sweat.

When the alarm went off this morning, I thought it must be a joke because it looked like the dead of the night. The sky was a dark blue and the only glimmer of light came from a flickering lamppost in the distance. Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed and went to make some coffee.

Today I’ve felt sleepy and a little demotivated, but I still managed to get my words done and have ended up writing over 3,000 in total.

I’ve started to do a morning ritual exercise called “Morning pages” that I’ve only just learned about. Instead of doing it by hand, I’m using a website called 750 words. The idea is that more or less as soon as you wake up you just write about what comes into your head straight away. It’s a bit like stream of consciousness journaling, I’m quite enjoying it and find that it gets the cogs turning before I settle down to do anything else.

I chose to exercise from home today, as Covid-19 cases are dramatically increasing in recent days and we were put into Tier 2 last week. The gym does feel safe, but from now on I’m going to limit my access more. And as today was rainy, I didn’t particularly want to go out and walk to the gym in it as I’d be soaked before I got there.

If all goes to plan, I should be back to work by November so I’m trying to get as much written as I can, so I have things to post alongside working. Although I expect to be working fewer hours than I was on previously, and if Boris orders a circuit breaker, then I guess the whole return would be halted.

If you’re in the UK and feeling a sense of dread due to the handling of this crisis, I can truly emphasize. But we must stay positive. I hope this finds readers optimistic, despite the hardship and difficulty that living through this time is.

Violet 🍂 

When Writing Goes Well It’s Great

It seems rather self explanatory, no?

I had a dry patch earlier on in the month and I couldn’t for the life of me stomach the courage to write. Well – write what I wanted to at least. This came at a time when I got my first batch of copywriting work on a freelance basis, and all my energy was going into that, so I guess it makes sense.

After having a terrible Sunday where I didn’t accomplish anything – today I’m back in the saddle and have written over 2,000 words AND done some more copywriting work. It’s funny how the days go, isn’t it? Sometimes you have a day where all you want to do is work, and then other’s, you don’t want to get out of bed. Well, that’s what I find anyway.

Two article’s I wrote on Medium were accepted into publications today and published too, which makes me happy. One of them is about my journey with reading and where it all started, and the other is about what writers can do when they have a day where they don’t feel like writing. Hey, maybe I should be taking some of my advice…

How I Became a Reader ~ The Personal Essayist

What Can You Do on a Non-writing Day? ~ Writer’s Blokke

Today has been a good day and reminded me of what I can achieve when I put my mind to it. I’ve had some meaningful conversations with other writers, done some exercise and felt positive overall. Additionally, I haven’t been lured in by the false promises of my phone and social media – which is always a plus.

Last week I took a whole week off social media, completely cold turkey, and it caused me to think about a lot of things. In that time away from it, I realised I wasn’t gaining anything from being on Instagram and following the lives of strangers, who I didn’t care about. So I deleted my account altogether, and now only have my writing one where I follow bookstagram accounts and read other reviews.

If social media is making you come away feeling more negative than before you went in, I’d recommend taking some time away to reflect on how it makes you feel when it’s not there. I’ll be writing an article about my experience shortly, so watch this space.

I guess it always feels good to start a new week off on a positive note. I hope everyone has had a good day and achieved all they wanted to. And if they didn’t, then that’s okay too. Tomorrow is a new day.

Goodnight,

Violet ✨

Do tell me if you like these journal style blog posts, I love writing them (and reading other people’s) so let me know what you think.

A Change of Direction

Long time no see! It has been a while since I’ve been posting on this blog regularly, so I thought I should get around to addressing the elephant in the room.

I started this blog a long time ago but committed myself to post on here regularly at the start of the year. This blog has offered me a lot of comfort and a way to express myself in a period of my life which has been fraught with a lot of uncertainty. Graduating in 2020, and then being hit by a global pandemic was not on the list of things I thought would happen this year, but there you go, it just goes to show we never know what’s around the corner.

I like to think I’ve grown a lot since starting this blog. I like to think that I have gotten better at writing, talking about books and of course, reading and expanding my horizons. I hope in some way I’ve managed to inspire someone to pick up a book after they’ve read one of my reviews.

During the pandemic and being out of work for 7 months, writing and reading have been my lifeline. It has been my source of distraction, escapism and labor of love during this rollercoaster period. Although I’m 23 and have nearly been a graduate for a year, I haven’t moved forwards much, and although I can’t blame the pandemic alone, it’s taken a significant toll on the kind of direction I see myself in.

Like many, I’m starting to question whether I want the big career that everyone always chases after. In recent months, I’ve preferred the idea of living a quiet life and having just enough money and savings to live comfortably and at ease.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

I still don’t know what I want to do with my life, and feel the pressure mounting everyday. I’m 23, and still haven’t ever had a “proper job” and sometimes it can be hard to see how I’m adding to the world in a positive way – which is something I’ve always wanted to do.

All I know is that I love writing and hope that one day it can be good enough to make me a living and make an impact on someone’s life. Maybe that’s selfish and a bit pig-headed, I don’t know. But all I do know is that I love both reading and writing and hope that one day I can spend the rest of my life doing these things. What’s the point in spending a minute of your life not doing something you love?

I’ve been quiet on this blog as I’ve been swept into the minefield that is Medium. Before I started writing on there, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know if my writing would get drowned out by the sheer range of amazing writers there, or if I could get more noticed than I do over here. I will stress that writing for me isn’t solely about getting noticed, but it’s nice to make an impact and be recognized for my work.

The brunt of it is, as each day passes I am growing more fond of Medium and seeing far more benefits. Not to say this doesn’t happen on WordPress from time to time, but the community of writers over there are incredibly supportive and some of the friendliest strangers I’ve ever come across. The wealth of publications and the standard of writing never fails to amaze me, and I generally feel kind of honoured to be part of it as I use it to explore and experiment into what kind of writer I want to be. In that respects, this blog is going to take a backseat now.

The reality of it is, I find Medium is easier to write on, and in two months I nearly have three times the audience over there than I do on here. I’m less into the blogging style of writing and that’s why I am attracted to the simplicity of Medium. I feel like it prioritizes the quality of writing over anything else – which appeals to me.

In many ways, this blog was the start of everything. When I felt truly alone and hopeless in my first year of university, I turned to this blog for the first time and wrote about how I felt. It was the first time I had been so honest online about my feelings and it paved the way for growing my confidence. Looking back, I like to think that I now write with greater eloquence, wit and appeal – but who knows!

This blog has also given me a lot of opportunities in recent months, as I’ve been approached by small publishers and authors to review and read books, which I never thought would happen! I’m so grateful for everyone who has ever reached out to me and feel truly humbled that I can play a small part in spreading the word for some wonderful books. I’m taking a small break from that at the moment, but I’ll be accepting review requests again soon.

In other words – from now on, I’m primarily going to be publishing over on Medium.

However, that doesn’t mean this blog is going to be deleted or that I won’t be active on here from time to time. I plan to use this platform primarily as a portfolio and a place to direct people to when looking for work, but I will still be posting book reviews. The WordPress and Medium community are very different, but I can find value in both, which is why I’m going to remain using them both.

If you are a Medium user, you can find my profile here and I’ve also started a publication over there with the same name as this blog, The Violet Review, if you would like to follow that too.

So, expect to see less content over here, as I focus more of my attention on Medium. That’s not to say I won’t be posting, but it will probably be more personal things, rants and ramblings, sandwiched between book reviews and the like.

Thank you to everyone who has followed, liked or commented on my blog posts – it means a lot to me and continues to do so. This isn’t a goodbye, but just to update you on some changes I’m making as to the direction of my writing.

Happy reading!

Violet