My posts are mainly poetry and photography, Mark. Weekly time spent on my personal posts was in the vicinity of 4 to 5 hours and my highest month was just shy of $200. Not a lot but enough to encourage me that I’d be able to earn considerably more when I have more time to write — after retirement.

Rather than continue with my day work on a part-time basis to supplement retirement, I figured in the next year or two, I could quit the stress and very long hours of my business and write 25 or more hours a week for Medium and make enough to eliminate the need to worry about every penny.

Based on my income to-date for this month, I estimate my November payment will be down 65% from the past two months. Needless to say, retirement plans have been shelved.

With that said, Medium did not hire me. I am writing here because I want to. We have no contractual agreement; Medium promised me nothing. Honestly, I feel foolish that I thought Medium could be a reliable source of income.

I am disappointed and, at this moment, discouraged. My writing on Medium will continue but with less enthusiasm. I was willing to put in as much extra time as I could wrangle out of my business and personal life because I believed I was building a future. That is no longer the case.

Again, my fault, not Medium’s. This is still the best online place to write. I will return to viewing it as a hobby rather than a source of income. But, a hobby doesn’t warrant the same amount of time and effort. Sadly, that is the truth.