Another First

Sometimes a shakeup is good.

On the first day of kindergarten, my mother set me up. She had a boy who lived in our cul-de-sac walk home with me.

His name was Paul Holyoke and he wore lederhosen every day. Maybe that’s why I’m attracted to people who wear leather, even now.

We experience many firsts in our lives, some good and some not so good.

Our first time on skates, first cigarette, and first job. Every one of them stretched my abilities. Even when the first time didn’t work out, just being there was an accomplishment.

That’s what it feels like on Medium these days.

I’ve been a writer and editor there for a year now, building a following by creating relationships and making connections.

I managed to earn a bit of money, once in a while making it into the eight percent club. That’s the group of writers making one hundred dollars a month.

I’ve also learned a lot.

It’s been an eventful year. Sometimes it’s been a scramble to keep up as the platform changed the way it compensated writers.

The newest changes affect the way content is distributed to readers, and that’s making it a lot more difficult to adapt. It feels like I’m losing my friends.

Things are slower here. Other writers have noticed a drop in readership. Some of the good ones are considering leaving the platform.

I’m hanging in, for now, waiting to see how Medium will respond to feedback. I hope you’ll stick around too.

Here are a couple of recent articles:

(click on each image to read)

This one is a rant about the election

My first haiku to be published at ‘House of Haiku’.

---

This installment of Words in Motion is free for anyone. I send it weekly. If you also want to receive it, join the thousands of smart people who enjoy it today.

If you enjoyed reading this post, share it with your friends.