Thank you for this piece.

I started writing on Medium because I felt I had things I wanted to say, creativity I felt a need to express. I continue writing because I feel that some of those things are worth saying and because I get a lot of positive feedback from people who seem to enjoy what I write.

I hope that some day in the future I might make enough money from writing to make a living from it, but right now that is far from the case.

I've toyed with other ways to make extra cash from my stories - affiliate links, building an external mailing list, etc. - but it all seems too manipulative, insincere.

And so I have been adding a 'Buy me a coffee' link to the bottom of my stories. I did feel a bit uncomfortable with it at first, but figure it's no different to stores having a tip jar on the counter, and if it helps me pay the bills while staying true to my principles, then so be it.