The secret to successful writing here is longevity. Do not use money as a reward, do not try and fathom the system (it changes far too often) - show up and do the writing. If you write for money, the big earnings to little earnings drops will leave you demotivated. On a good month, medium pays my rent. On a bad month, Medium buys me a few coffees. Long dead pieces can resurge. My favourite pieces to write earn pence, things I’ve spent minutes on are some of my top earning pieces.

It doesn’t matter.

Show up. Write two or three times a week and ignore the money. Learn the craft. Write good article and don’t get into a niche writing about money or Medium. It’s a community and a marketplace not an employment opportunity. The reason most people think you can make a fortune here is the selection bias at the top end…. But for every 1 big writer there are a 1000 burnouts. I didn’t burn out. :o)