The so-called big fishes were once small fishes too. I don’t view Medium as a two-tier system at all. What I do is read a lot of “about Medium” articles by people like Shannon Ashley and Tim Denning, oh Ayodeji forget his last name also, who easily and happily share tips on reaching the success they have. That is not a secret. Nor is it something that isn’t available to all of us.

So Francis, do you follow some big fishies and even make notes on what they’re imparting to us little fishies? I make mental notes, and I re-read their articles and read more of their articles. We learn writing by reading what we want to write. It’s kind of a cool thing.

I’m not writing from my experience of making a lot of money here! Heavens! I just made my first $1.16. And proud of that. I get kind of lost on topics. But I have learned this one thing from the Big Fish: write your truth, be transparent. Well, hell, I learned that from reading Neil Gaiman. He says that straight out.

Go ahead and shoot for a higher amount. What have you got to lose? Nothing — that’s what.