Great read. I love your writer's voice. What has worked for me is zero expectations on the money front. I have found using Medium as a playground to get better at writing works for me. The money is a bonus. Interestingly though . . . the days I get the most engagement (and money) are the days when I write nothing and ONLY engage with others. I think that is because for the most part people here are really good at the reciprocal read thing. I did read some great advice from someone once who was getting overwhelmed by the need to engage: he set aside 4 days (i think it was) when he only focussed on writing. And then he aside one full day a week when he caught up with all the responding and engagement. It didn't work for me. If i see the little green bell light up I'm ON IT! Oh those little dopamine hits i get every single time. I rarely submit to publications. I like to keep full control and be able to delete stuff when I go off it. OR be able to go back and edit at will. A🙏