Happy Monday Everyone!
This was my first day back to work in over 15 days and it was definitely hard to make myself get up this morning. I definitely slept in wayyyy too much and went to bed wayyyy too late during the holidays, so I imagine this week will be rough. BUT I was gifted several Starbucks gift cards recently so maybe I’ll put those to use this week.
Some Medium updates!
I hit 400 followers on Medium which is amazing. I had a personal goal to hit that yesterday but I hit it this morning instead, can’t complain too much. I have still retained the top writer status in LGBTQ, Humor, This Happened To Me, and Advice.
I’ve been writing a lot for the publication An Injustice! It is becoming my favorite publication to write for /read. If you haven’t checked it out, highly recommend (space for WOC, LGBTQ, non-binary, millennial, etc). For the yearly wrap-up, the publication put out their top 15 best-received stories, super stoked to report that two of my stories were in the top 15!!! I was especially proud because I have only been writing on Medium since late October.
I have been getting fewer reads for my stories as of late BUT I have been receiving higher interaction which is great. Almost 50% read rate for every story, comments, and almost every story hits the 10 fans threshold. I am trying to write AT LEAST one story a day this month!
Top 2019 Medium Stories:
Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness…Except it 100% Does
This story has over 1.9k claps from several hundred fans, several thousand reads, and 26 comments. It is definitely my most interacted with piece. I’m really happy this story resonated with so many people.
Nipple Piercings Changed My Sex Life
Never in a million years did I think this piece would go semi-viral but guess everyone liked reading about nips! Several thousand reads, about 1.5k claps, and 6 comments!
This was my first semi-viral piece! It has several thousand views and about 30% of the views read the piece in its entirety. Hoping soon to do a follow-up piece to this one.
Non-Medium Updates:
I am starting to venture outside Medium a bit to (hopefully) make some more money. I have a list of magazines and publications that accept pitches, slowly starting to write those and send them out. Although I already have a few rejections in the books, I can’t get a yes if I don’t shoot my shot. So wish me luck with this new endeavor!
Also on the job search, this substitute teaching isn’t hitting the mark with my bills. Have a few interviews this week that hopefully will be fruitful.
Here are some links to my stories! Please check out whichever ones you like, they are all friend links so you can share them with anyone! Thank you in advance for your support and time, I really appreciate all of you 🖤(the brackets are to signify what they got curated in)
I Didn’t Want To Be The Woman That Cooks
This piece is about how growing up I was constantly inundated with messages about how a woman’s place belongs in the kitchen, from my mother to our culture. So for years, I refused to cook. I thought it would be anti-feminist of me to cook but in the process, I deprived myself of years of one of my (now) favorite hobbies. This is about that journey and how sexist comments and ideology carries weight.
Honestly super surprised this piece didn’t get curated because I thought it was really good, so that was kind of a bummer. But then I got 5 comments in one day with people sharing similar stories and how it resonated with them. And at the end of the day, that is more fulfilling than curation.
Going Vegan Isn’t An Option For Everyone [Lifestyle, Food, Equality]
As an environmental justice scholar, I used this article to shed some light on food inequality and lack of accessibility to healthy alternatives for certain communities. I also urged vegans to engage in less shaming and policing of other people’s lifestyles/diets. Even eating one vegan meal a week is helpful!
Quick and fun “This Happened To Me” Story
The Double Standard Of Leaked Nudes [Culture, Equality]
This piece was responding to the leaked nudes of several men in Hollywood. It speaks to how we deal with men who are subjected to sexual harassment/violence.
“When men are violated, the reaction seems to be humor, not empathy. No one deserves to be objectified and treated as an object. Allyship needs to extend to everyone.”
All Womxn Writers Should Go See Little Women [Writing, Film]
I LOVED this movie and when I got home from the theater at 1:00 AM, I had to write about it. The film was very moving and reminded me of my childhood dreams of wanting to become a writer. I can’t help but think maybe this Medium hobby of mine could open that avenue again.
My Boyfriend Is Away on Business
Fun, quick read about the week my boyfriend was gone for work. I watched a lot of rom-coms!
How To Have Sex When You’re Home For The Holidays [Humor, Sexuality]
Perhaps not as relevant after the New Year but worth the read if you go home often! Or maybe to bookmark for the next holiday. Lots of sexy tips in this one! This one had almost 1,000 views so that was great.
That is all for this week! I hope you all have a restful week, best of luck to anyone who is getting back in the swing of things:)
Thanks for following me on Medium, and please consider giving me a follow over on Twitter, too!
You can now also buy me a coffee if you feel like my work deserves more love!
Much love,
Faith