If its helpful - I vomit words everywhere on day one. Then I leave the article for about a week (if it's evergreen) or a day (if it's time sensitive like this one). I almost always have a decent sleep between writing and editing. I write at night and edit in the morning.

Editing is more of a polished re-write and more often than not a total re-structure. This is because, like you, I often go off on tangents. You'll see it more in the comments (which I rarely edit). During this second sweep I mostly take things out even though I know it doesn't seem this way. The longer I write on Medium the better my first drafts are.

My final stage is to check it in grammarly. That's a my final read through and I am NOT ALLOWED to play with it anymore at this point. Though I sometimes do. Once all that editing is done, then I pick a picture and try not to think too much about it as I do so - then I write a headline designed to get readers to open the article. Sometimes clickbait, sometimes controversy.

I don't worry too much about niches - because it's style rather than content that keeps readers coming back. I suppose my niche is now being a contrarian, but I have also written history, psychology and about writing too. The important thing is to find a process that works for you but that ensures you still generate articles. Once you've got some momentum you'll be well on your way. I am also a creative writer and have to balance the time accordingly. Much of my creative script writing does not pay up front - as I'm still emerging as a playwright and screenwriter - so Medium is handy as a supplementary income.

Here's my advice article for newbies on Medium. These articles of mine are never curated but I think the advice is sound. There's also a link in there to an article on all the traps you're going to fall into. It's part of the process - enjoy the ride

https://medium.com/feedium/there-is-nothing-useful-for-writers-inside-this-article-d880e1e84db3

I would say never worry about the trolls. I can say that as someone who is a provocative writer, most trollish comments make me laugh and I've only blocked a few... usually for posting something abhorrently racist or anti-semetic in my comments section. The vast majority of people on here seem to be quite nice even when they disagree. That's what makes this place better than Twitter. :o)