We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Beth Delescavage a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Beth, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

I was at a writing conference, frustrated that no matter how hard I worked, no one was interested in taking a chance on the novels I produced. At the end of the conference, my favorite writing craft author closed the meeting with a keynote speech. His words changed my approach to writing. He asked, “Are you climbing the right mountain in your writing?”

I looked around the room; everyone else was nodding their heads in agreement. I, on the other hand, hated not making a single dollar for the words I had been throwing on the page for the last five years. At that moment, I decided to try to monetize short personal essays.

I hadn’t written a personal essay since college. Did I have anything worth reading to say? Yes. Could I make some money writing about my life? I had to find out if I had any writing ability or if this work would be as unsuccessful as my novels.

My first story for Medium highlighted my struggles as a parent of a high school freshman. Raw, relatable emotion filled the screen for platform users to read.

On the first day, I had feedback from parents in the same life situation. Finally, my work was in front of the eyes that appreciated my struggle.

For the first time in my writing career, I had an audience larger than my family willing to read the stories I produced. I found my voice and the people willing to read along side me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I struggled to get my novels off the ground. Like many new authors, I wanted to be traditionally published by a big-name publishing house.

My first novel was a dumpster fire romance. It had too many tropes and not enough editing. My next romance was on the right track, but I could not afford editing. For my third novel, I switched genres, jumping into Young Adult, only to get swindled by an editor I scrapped and saved to hire.

Like any good business person, I took a long, hard look at my bottom line. I spent money fixing broken novels without producing a single penny.

Something had to change; I had a story to tell and desperately needed a place to share my work.

In a last-ditch effort to save my writing career, I attended a class on writing for a platform called Medium. The instructor explained how he monetized his vacations for a travel publication.

He flipped through slides he used to romanticize a trip to a Spanish laundromat. I looked around the classroom, waiting for someone to ask the obvious question. “Do people pay to read about your dirty laundry?”

Everyone else wrote down every word he said. I rolled my eyes and downloaded the Medium App.

In less than thirty minutes, I found articles on parenting, sports, and feminism. These topics, on which I had opinions, were all more interesting than a trip to a laundromat.

I started my first article with the minutes left in the class. The raw emotion of sending my daughter to her first day of high school oozed out of me. The characters in this story were real. No hidden backstory or fantasy world-building. Within minutes of publishing, I got my first response. Someone other than my Mom understood my struggle and engaged in my writing.

After a year of writing on the platform, I have published 66 stories, received over 300 responses, and had some of my articles earn over $100, proving to myself that I can make money telling stories.

Am I the next JK Rowling? No, but the words I put on the page are read by over a thousand people. My thoughts let my readers follow me as I try to be a good parent and partner.

Writing is tricky, but monetizing my words has helped me secure a seat at the table. Each published story pushes me closer to my goal of becoming a traditional published author.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had a Medium Mentor. The platform isn’t complex, but the little nuances that create a good article are hidden deep within the archive.

I had written twenty articles before I found a publication on the platform willing to help me dive into the editing required to elevate my work. He took the time to spell out the best ways to format my work.

I now try to help authors new to Medium understand how their work looks on a cellphone screen. As writers, we tend to think in large paragraphs, forgetting that many Medium readers use the tiniest screen to view our work. Large paragraphs, although great to read in books, do not translate well when reading on a six-inch screen.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My first twenty stories did not have the correct audience. If I put stories into the ether, my people would find them.

The reality is that Medium readers tend to seek publications with high-caliber writing on the topic they find interesting. They have five minutes of downtime and want to be entertained quickly.

After some research, I found publications with like-minded readers. Producing content for the editors associated with these publications gave me higher visibility and more money.

It was hard to see my early work not get the love it deserved, but through the process, I learned to seek out the correct eyes for my work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethdele/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beth.delescavage
• Other: https://medium.com/@bethdeles31

Image Credits

Beth Delescvage