My short take on “Buy me a coffee”.

I just read this story: I Will Not Ask My Readers to Buy Me a Coffee Like a Homeless Person.

I disagree strongly. I respect the opinion but I consider it arrogant.

I thoroughly enjoyed the months when I made meaningful money on Medium, but I don’t write for the money. Well, it’s not my short-term goal. Even if it were, it’s impossible to make quick money writing. I am focusing on consistency and building my audience. Good things will come, I’m sure, and making money will be one of them. In fact, I have already had several business opportunities arise unexpectedly because of my writing.

So, while I’m not chasing money from my writing, I’ve gone through several stretches of hardship where I did softly — or not so softly — solicit tips. What I received was hugely precious. I also received tips without any solicitation. The Ko-fi tipping tool is there somewhere at the bottom of my stories, sometimes as a direct link or as a tipping tool on Medium. I can’t emphasize enough how humbling and encouraging it is to have people ‘buy me coffee’ (I call it ‘buy me a pair of running shoes’). The knowledge of the consistency and hard work I’ve been putting into writing was not undermined in any way.

More generally, as I go through life, I’m increasingly aware of the importance of unselfish support. I have received help on many occasions. While I wish I could be more charitable, I try to contribute, even if in very small ways, to matters close to my heart.

I do agree that it can be a little offputting when you see someone rushing to monetize their content too fast. I once unsubscribed from some fitness author on Substack because the story had too much self-pity and the request to subscribe to the premium version of the newsletter was too strong. So there is a fine balance to maintain. But I think the homeless person analogy is misplaced and condescending at many different levels.

Thanks for reading!