Showing posts with label Medium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medium. Show all posts

Friday, February 13, 2026

January 2026 Update

Just a reminder: It’s okay to leave comments!

Just in case you were wondering what I've been up to so far this year, this post will fill you in!

A graphic of a piece of paper, an inkwell, and a quill pen..

Submissions:

I still haven't heard anything back about the dieselpunk story I submitted, but the editors of the anthology say their reading period will begin soon. I'm guessing mid-February at the earliest.

And I still have a few other short stories sitting around just waiting to be submitted. I may have found a spot for another one of my stories. It's a horror story titled Closure. The submission window doesn't close for a while, so I have time to check things out.

Other Writing:

I continue to work on my sci-fi story, The Dark Scent of Rain. Someday I may actually finish it.

Shore Leave:

I attended the January Shore Leave meeting via Zoom. It went a bit better Zoom-wise than before, but I didn't gather a whole lot of new info. They are still working towards their 501(c)(7) tax designation (a type of nonprofit entity recognized under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code as a tax-exempt social or recreational club) and have made some progress. And, as previously reported, they did not announce any new celebrity guests during the meeting but did make an announcement a few days later. The new celebrities are Laurette Spang and Herbert Jefferson Jr. of Battlestar Galactica fame and Marta Kristen of Lost in Space.

Not long after that, they announced Julie Caitlin Brown of Babylon 5 and Star Trek (TNG & DS9) plus Oded Fehr of The Mummy and Star Trek: Discovery. As it stands now, these are the announced celebrity guests.

This is an image from the shore Leave web site showing the scheduled celebrity guests for 2026.

Also, voice actor Bonnie Gordon is scheduled to appear. She's been at Shore Leave before and has always been popular. She does comedy, singing, and Q&A sessions about voice acting.

Thirty-six author guests have also been announced. You can see them here: 2026 Author Guests. No writing panels have been announced and probably won't be for a while.

Patreon:

Apart from this monthly update, I posted two other updates:

As you can see, I'm quite adept at making up magnificently descriptive titles for my posts.

I also have been keeping my new 2026 One-Stop Story Shopping post updated with all my Medium posts. I keep hoping to do more here, but I never seem to come up with a good idea for Patreon.

Medium:

I've been doing a bit of an experiment with Medium this month. I've posted something every day. Yes, that's 31 posts. Haiku, Poetry, Micro/Flash/Short Fiction, and an article or two, I believe. Doing so hasn't been as difficult as I first thought, though I'm not sure I can continue with that pace forever. It did boost my views, reads, followers, subscribers, reader interaction, and financial returns considerably. I've reached the highest numbers ever for reads and views, increased the number of followers and subscribers substantially (8 and 3), and had one of my best earnings months ever. Of the posts for January, the ones that did the best were the haiku and micro/flash fiction. The longer pieces didn't have as much traction with the readers. A sign of the times, perhaps?

And, as stated, I managed to earn a little from Medium! Best of all, it wasn't just pennies! I was in the "folding money" range for January. It still isn't a lot, but at least it feels like I've accomplished something. Having Medium place real money in my account, however, is still a ways off.

Here's the graph of views and reads:

A graph showing the views and reads of my Medium posts since May of 2023 through January 2026.

Here are my January Medium posts:

January 2026

Haiku: Sycamore Skies
Poetry: The Path Not Taken
Haiku: Silent Stream
Haiku: A Cold Day
Poetry: Seven
Haiku: Still Life
Fiction: A Word With Death
Haiku: Water Wings
Flash Fiction: Every Story Has Two Sides
Haiku: Secrets of The Moon
Micro Fiction: Runaway
Haiku: Dancing Flame
Fiction: Package Deal
Haiku: Whispers
Haiku: City Rain
Haiku: Stone Cold Beauty
Micro Fiction: Meeting of Minds
Flash Fiction: A Story About Stories
Flash Fiction: Leveraged Buyout
Haiku: Toys in The Attic
Haiku: Space Flight Test
Fiction: Glowing Terms
Poetry: Up the Lazy Lemur
Micro: A Guest For Dinner
Flash: When One Door Closes
Poetry: Misty Moonlight
Article: Advice No One Will Follow
Haiku: Cherry Blossoms
Haiku: Birdseed
Article: I Like Old Engines
Poetry: The First Sunrise

Well, that's all for now!

© 2026 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
Posted by at 0 comments
Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, December 22, 2025

Mid-December 2025 Update

Just a reminder: It’s okay to leave comments!


First, a bit of news:

The Shore Leave convention have listed a few new celebrity guests for next year's convention. They have announced Laurette Spang and Herbert Jefferson Jr. of Battlestar Galactica fame and also Marta Kristen of Lost in Space. I've attached the latest flyer with more info for those interested. Other than the author list, there isn't any info yet on writing panels. That won't be available for a while.

Still haven't decided on whether to attend the Farpoint convention yet. They have author and screenwriter David Gerrold listed as attending, but he has a GoFundMe for health problems (why does it seem so many writers have health problems?) so I'm wondering if he'll actually be there.

And I've posted a few things on Medium!

Last updated: December 22, 2025

December 2025

November 2025

As far as I know, author Michael Wombat is still hanging in there, but there is no good news to be had. About a month ago, he posted this on Bluesky:

Some of you know this already, but I see no reason to keep it a secret. My oncologist told me on Friday that they had done all they can, the cancer is still growing, and that I have months, maybe weeks, left to live. I have no idea what's to come, but I'll be on here as long as I can.

You can cheer him up a little by putting in an order for his latest book (a collaboration with Miranda Kate, Lisa Shambrook, and Victoria Pearson ) titled Agents of Secrets and Lies (The Summer Realm Book 1).

A book cover with a grey and red parrot flying high over snow-covered mountains.

With those four writers, it's bound to be good.


That's about all for now!


© 2025 K. R. Smith All rights reserved


Posted by at 0 comments
Labels: , , , , ,

Saturday, September 27, 2025

More September Stuff

Just a reminder: It’s okay to leave comments!

Although I've already posted a few September updates I've posted on Medium, here are a few more for your viewing pleasure!



September 2025 Medium posts


And here's one on Patreon about the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention!

I'll also be posting a monthly update on Patreon soon. I put a link here for you when it's ready. 

Please feel free to let me know what interests you by leaving a comment!

TIA!


© 2025 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
Posted by at 0 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Friday, September 12, 2025

An Early September Update

Just a reminder: It’s okay to leave comments!


For those who still look here for news, I've decided to give an update on what I've been working on that might be of interest before my main monthly update on Patreon gets posted.

On Medium, I've posted a few things (2 articles and a haiku):

I am:

  • Working on a Shore Leave update (Patreon) and might have other convention news available by the time my monthly update comes out.

  • Looking at a possible short story submission. I have to think about how well it fits the guidelines.

  • Working on an article about poetry's conundrum (who reads poetry) for Medium. It might not be popular with some poets, but I hope it gives readers something to think about. Whether it's ready this month or next, I'm not sure...

  • I've even been playing with a few sketches! Who knows where that might lead.

  • Trying to decide if I should reconfigure my Patreon site (can't go back if I don't like it).


Also, feel free to leave a comment on whether you think it's worthwhile to continue on Blogger or just use Patreon as my default blog site. It would be much appreciated!


That's all. Carry on!


Photo Credit:

Photo by Andrii Babarytskyi on Unsplash

© 2025 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
Posted by at 0 comments
Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

What Have I Been Up To?

Just a reminder: It’s okay to leave comments!

Up to no good, it seems...

Well, I have been writing and have submitted a few stories. Just to prove I've been working a little, here are some link to my Medium articles , poems, and other stuff (as of September 2024)!



September 2024

August 2024

July 2024 

June 2024

May 2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024


I should probably post this again at the end of the year along with a summary of things not on Medium. But this is a start!


The photo used in this post is by bruce mars on Unsplash. 

© 2024 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
Posted by at 0 comments
Labels: , , ,

Sunday, October 8, 2023

No Room At The Inn

Just a reminder: It’s okay to leave comments!

As of this post, there is no news on possible new sites for the Shore Leave sci-fi convention. Or the Farpoint convention. I do wish the folks responsible for both con websites would remove the dates and location as they are no longer valid and are misleading at best. I know the Shore Leave staff has never been all that quick with their website updates, but still...

Even the hotel website doesn't say they are closing. You can try and book a room past the end of October and all you get is a message saying no rooms are available. That must be some sort of marketing strategy to keep the place full until the very end, I suppose.


If I find out anything for either convention, I'll post it here.

In other news, I am now on Bluesky social. It hasn't wowed me so far. Nothing bad, but not exciting, either. It's new, so I'll hang around and see what happens.

I'm working on what may be the last episode of my serial story, The Dark Scent of Rain, that I'll post on Medium. I don't think Medium readers are looking for that sort of content. You can read more on that HERE.

And, yes, I need to finish my Shore Leave posts on Medium, though it may not matter. Nobody read the first two.

In keeping with the holiday season (Halloween), I went to see a play last night in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at the Olney Theatre Center called Brothers Paranormal. Here's a synopsis:
It’s 2007 somewhere in the American Midwest, and Thai-American brothers Max and Visarut haven’t had a single case for their paranormal investigation business since they opened. Finally, a customer arrives, Delia, a Black woman who has relocated to the area after losing her home in Hurricane Katrina. She’s seen a female, perhaps Asian, maybe Thai-speaking ghost haunting her house for reasons unknown. Max, who doesn’t believe in ghosts, is most excited to sign her up for a deluxe investigation package. But when the brothers visit Delia and her husband Felix, strange things begin to happen. Prepare to be thrilled, chilled, and moved! 
It's a good play (maybe a few plot holes that won't affect your enjoyment) with good acting, but it's rated PG-13, so you won't be as traumatized as when seeing The Exorcist for the first time. You can view the playbill HERE. Also, for a play on a small stage, the visual effects were done well.
 
That's all for the moment. I'll be back soon...
 
© 2023 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
Posted by at 0 comments
Labels: , ,

Friday, October 8, 2021

The First Dollar I Ever Earned

Just a reminder: It’s okay to leave comments!

No, I don't mean that initial greenback I was paid in a previous century. 

Partial image of a United States one-dollar bill. Photo by K. R. Smith.

I'm talking about a monetary milestone for on-line writing, Medium to be precise. While I've sold stories and poems for considerably more, breaking the dollar barrier for web content was a big thing for me.

I've been writing on Medium for a while now, mostly haiku and other poetry with a few flash fiction stories thrown in for good measure. For all my efforts, I had only earned a few pennies through the Medium Partner Program and I had just two followers. I wasn't exactly setting the world on fire. 

Then in August, Medium changed the rules. To stay in the Medium Partner Program, I needed to have 100 followers by the end of 2021. I had been on Medium since July of 2020 and had garnered only two. Doing a quick calculation, I determined it would require a bit over fifty years to reach that goal at my current pace. Although I figured this was the end of my time on Medium, I could understand their reasoning. It probably cost more than a penny to pay me that penny every month. My slow-and-steady plan was not going to cut it. 

Still, I wanted my pennies. I wasn't sure what to do. The chances of reaching 100 followers by year's end seemed slim and none. Then, two events took place, rather serendipitously. 

The first was the Medium Writer's Challenge. I'm sure the folks at Medium sent me an e-mail about it. I'm also sure I ignored it. It wasn't until writer Terri Deno mentioned she was entering that I decided to take a look. There wasn't a lot of time left in the contest, but I wrote articles for three of the four categories. I didn't get any new followers, but I did get a lot more people reading my stories and my earnings soared. By "soared" I mean that instead of pennies, I was up into nickel and dime range. All three of my contest articles had been selected for what Medium calls "further distribution." This means they promote the story to other readers. Without this, you're basically hoping someone stumbles over your writing and reads it. This limited success pushed me to write more articles and stories for Medium.

The second  event was a post by JL Matthews titled Who Needs 100 Followers? He said that if you had less than 100 followers to leave a comment on the article and he would follow back and encourage others to do the same. He was an interesting writer, so I did. 

That's when it all started to snowball. The people in the responses started to look at each other and follow other writers there. Within a few weeks, I had over 60 followers. I reviewed these and followed back almost all of them. There were a good number of interesting articles by these folks and I will need to go back and do a bit of reading!

My next step was to search for and follow writers who had similar interests. I found and followed them. Many of them followed back. And quite a few others followed me on their own. Some of these I followed back, too. I'm not on Medium to get into politics or to promote someone's personal cause du jour, so I didn't follow them all, yet I was soon above the Medium Partner Program cutoff number. I went from 2 to over 130 in a single month (I'm currently at 155). And I've learned a few things from the articles I've been able to read from my new followers (unless you're a paying member, you get three free reads per month). I think this will work out well.

Most amazing of all was that I not only earned my first dollar on Medium, but my second as well.

Chart from Medium showing I had earned $2.15 for September.

Whether or not I can continue (or perhaps increase) this earnings pace remains to be seen. But it is nice to know I have the chance. I'll have to keep writing there to keep up reader interest, but I've never had a case of writer's block in my life. So, I'll keep at it for a while and see how things go.

I don't know if Medium is where I need/want to be long-term, but now I have a reason to give it a try. Maybe in another year I'll have a better idea where to concentrate my efforts. I want to try Kindle Vella. And I continue to work on my flash fiction collection (albeit at a glacial rate). And I need to get back to doing artwork. And my guitar hasn't been picked up in how many months? 

So, yes, there's a lot going on. But it's nice to have options.

© 2021 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
Posted by at 0 comments
Labels: , ,

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Does Twitter Really Help Beginning Writers?

Just a reminder: It’s okay to leave comments!

I don't get a lot of feedback via Twitter about my writing and I've often wondered if others writers at a similar level have the same experience. Obviously, I don't have a huge following like the major authors, so I'm sure that's a large part of the problem. Yet some (all?) of my tweets with the most interactions are those having nothing to do with writing. Perhaps the folks on Twitter aren't looking for what I'm offering.

Twitter logo

Recently, I saw this and knew there were others experiencing the same response to their tweets about writing.


I know there are many variables involved here, most of which I have no control over. Are folks on Twitter really looking to find out what new writers are doing? I'm sure some are, but 99% of what I see on Twitter is:
  1. Hey, look at my new book/story/poem (I fall into this category)
  2. (fill in name of politician/leader/celebrity) is a (fill in expletive)
  3. Here's my cat/dog/nature picture! (Okay, I do this, too, sometimes...)
I see many more authors hawking their wares than people who are only looking for a book or story to read. I'm sure they're out there, but I wonder if Twitter is the best way to reach them. With so many writers competing for attention, the chances of getting noticed are pretty slim. If I was Stephen King or a large publishing house, my tweets might reach the desired audience. I am neither.

I've cut back a bit on Twitter because I'm not receiving a lot of productive responses from my tweets. Getting feedback is always tough for beginning writers, so I'm looking around for new ways to get the word out. For example, I'm watching Terri Deno's use of Medium to see if that is a better way to gain an audience. I'm also exploring other outlets for flash fiction and poetry.

And, yes, I do need to produce more, both writing and artwork. It's difficult to do while working a full-time job and dealing with life's other responsibilities. Still, a reliable flow of material keeps people involved.

If you have any thoughts on this, please pass them along!

© 2019 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
Posted by at 2 comments
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)