I Was Slighted When Medium Didn’t Invite Me Into The Partner Program
(Turns Out, It Was In My Spam Folder)
I have published over 120 stories on Medium in the last 120 days. I have started countless others that still sit lifeless in my draft box. I have responded graciously to almost all, if not every single comment left by a reader. I don’t think highly enough of myself or little enough of any of you to refer to you as “fans” — as Medium suggests.
I have been blessed enough to be accepted as a writer for a total of nine Medium publications, three of which I contribute to regularly and whose editors I’ve come to get to know better and respect.
I keep giving Medium five bucks every month even though I’m pretty sure I’m below the poverty line at this point. I just had oatmeal for lunch, you be the judge.
So when I was bombarded on Thursday with articles from all of my favorite people who not only post on Medium but as well as some of my favorite readers of my posts, about how they had been invited into Medium’s partner program, I admit I was a bit taken back at first. However, I figured my invite was probably “in the mail” so to speak.
Friday came and went, still no invite. Just more announcement articles from my fellow readers & writers announcing they got theirs and could not be more pretentiously excited yet rightfully and cynically suspicious about it.
If i’m being honest, there was probably a point where my head said
“Well maybe it’s because you’re just not good enough, I tried tellin’ ya…”
Then there was probably a seven second period where I believed it, made plans to give the game up before it started, mutilate my own ear and live the rest of my life out as a tortured starving artist who Medium just doesn’t get.
Thankfully, I decided to simply check my spam folder before committing.
Alas, there she was. My golden ticket. Sitting ever so patiently in the deep murky waters of my spam folder, waiting to be plucked out and cashed in.
I’m telling you right now, if even one of the articles I write so much as affords me a cappuccino, you can bet your ass I’m telling the barista who rings it up about it.
Wait, am I a paid writer now guys? I guess I should wait until I receive an actual payment before adding such a bold statement to my social media bio’s, no?
While I’m here, I urge any writer who hasn’t gotten their invite yet and was considering writing an angry email to Medium staff members to first check their spam folders. And for the love of God, Medium staff can you please look into correcting this? As creatives, you know our tender hearts can’t take being toyed with in such a cruel fashion and we certainly don’t check our spam folders.
Well this is my very first attempt to have something I wrote afford me a delicious and frothy caffeinated beverage, here goes nothing.
