After self-publishing the first edition of “Tiered Democratic Governance” in 2000, I got a writing internship. A weekly rural newspaper — the Brooks & County Chronicle — asked me to write a weekly social/political column. “Volek’s Voice” it was called.
The publisher gave me two restrictions: not too much direct promotion for the TDG and a 600-word limit!
At first, the word limit put a damper on my creativity. That’s like asking Mozart to use only three notes or Picasso to use only three colors!
But I understood the reason. Space was limited. So I accepted the challenge. I was forced to cut out unnecessary words. I was forced to combine several ideas into one sentence. I was forced to toss out less relevant concepts. It took me about six hours to put an article together. But towards the end of my tenure, maybe one hour. This writing assignment was where I learned to be efficient with words.
I came to see that my first edition of the TDG was not written all that well.
The newspaper and I parted company. They got a free writer for a time. I got valuable skills. I thank the newspaper owner, Joanne Brees, for the opportunity.
I had been developing a business English program, focusing on the language around expressing business numbers. Skills learned at the newspaper were applied to the reworking of that project. Other inventions also got the benefit of my improved writing skills.
In 2008, I blew the dust off the TDG project. I rewrote the book. Not only was the third edition written better, it also showcased how the various parts of the TDG fit together.
I made a new website, bringing my inventions under one banner. The TDG was the flagship section of this website.
New Perspectives
“New Perspectives” was another section of my website. That’s where I put my short newspaper articles.
I also wrote new short articles, keeping to the 600-word limit. I cross-posted these articles to other forums: LinkedIn, Facebook, G+, Reddit, debatepolitics, Writerbeat, MeWe, Ello, and a few more I cannot remember. Unfortunately, the response from these forums was poor, which discouraged me from writing more articles. After 2011, I put a minimal effort into the TDG and New Perspectives.
Last November, I put 22 of my “newspaper articles” on Medium.
Even though I am a bottom writer, some of my articles do better than others. Here is the Medium result from these 22 short articles:
· 7 went above-average: (>$1.60)
· 5 went average: ($0.80<__<$1.60)
· 10 went below-average (<$0.80)
When compared to my other works on Medium, this series of short articles was a little under average.
I posted one article per day in November. I did not sense any upswing in traction with this increased frequency of publishing.
These articles were already written, so I did not spend any writing time into them. But each article takes about 10–15 minutes to turn into a Medium work. My Medium wage was better, but . . .
I have also posted these articles on my new TDG’s Blog.
Further Reading
Here are the blog links to the 22 articles.
I consider “Scrawny Ronnie” as my third most important work on Medium. It really speaks to our dysfunctional state today. This story still brings tears to my eyes. I so screwed up as a kid.
All articles are about three-minute reads.
Scrawny Ronnie
Internet Democracy
The Passing of Jack Layton
Impedance of the American Constitution
Funding University Education
Myth of Responsible Drinking
The Unfortunate Necessity of Fear Mongering
Negative Welfare
Jubilee 2000
Rationality & Poverty
BP Macondo and Cognitive Dissonance
Big Brother Database
Chemistry: Most Practical High School Subject
Minus Sign — And Professionalism
Higher Fuel Prices
Public Sector Wages
Germany Goes Non-Nuclear, Maybe
Vilification of the Petroleum Industry
The Overpaid CEO
Hydrogen Plants
Published on Medium 2024
