A Decade on Hive

Prior to 2016, if you would have told me a relatively niche, decentralized social media platform that paid in cryptocurrency would have been the key to making my dreams come true I would have told you you were smoking something. However, this is precisely what happened.

When I was just starting out as a writer in the early 1990s the old gatekeepers of the publishing world still, very much had the industry locked down. Back then the literary world was more like an exclusive club that you had to be invited into than a meritocracy. Opportunities were nearly non-existent for indie authors.

The widespread growth of the internet in the mid-90s changed the literary landscape tremendously. The internet made it possible for exceptional writing to get noticed outside of the traditional publishing world. Next came social media and self-publishing through Amazon. This allowed indie authors to share their work with millions of readers for almost no cost if they could market themselves effectively.

2006 to 2012, these were the golden years.

I created an author page on Facebook, began building a global audience, and for the first time in my life began selling enough books that it made a real difference in my life. Facebook changed everything in 2012 when they started requiring businesses to pay to reach their own audiences. This change didn’t impact most businesses because paying for outreach reliably translated into more sales so it made sense to fork over some bucks to Zuck. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for a lot of indie authors. Indie authors needed extraordinarily large audiences to generate even moderate sales. The readership we worked so hard to build withered, almost overnight.

2012 to 2016 were some seriously challenging years for me. My corporate job became unbearably stressful and book sales dried up. Honestly, I nearly was ready to throw in the towel. Almost like magic, Hive (I don’t use the “S” word anymore) appeared at precisely the perfect time.

I published my first post here on the blockchain July 5th of 2016. At first all I heard was crickets, nada, almost no engagement. It took over a month of writing and patience before I started getting noticed here. When people finally did discover me it felt as though I was swept up into a cyclone of good fortune for the first time in my life. I started posting my poetry and my novel, Alarm Clock Dawn, in installments a little later that summer.

What happened next changed my life more than any other single thing ever has. Post payouts eventually grew larger than my monthly income. By the end of that year our debts were paid off. By the autumn of 2017 I handed in my two week notice at my corporate job, at long last, writing full-time after about twenty-three years of trying.

Having the privilege of doing what I love for a living has been one of the greatest joys and blessings of my life. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself. Hive, and each of you who supported me along the way, gave me that gift. I’ll never be able to sufficiently thank the community for that.

I ask myself two things fairly often:

1. What did I do to deserve all this? For the life of me, I can’t come up with any good reasons. There are probably a million writers out there who are more talented than me; and

2. What would my life have been like without Hive? Every time, I shudder at the thought.

Both of these things keep me humble, grateful, and posting.

When we begin to get disappointed about token prices and lack of growth/engagement here on Hive it’s very important to step outside of our bubble and look around. Inarguably, this is still the best there is and, quite honestly, it’s not even close.

To my friends who are still here and those who no longer are, you will forever hold a special place in my heart. I appreciate all of the kindness, support, friendship, and wonderful memories we’ve made throughout these last ten years. A few of us who began in 2016 are still here, a great many have left, some have even passed on. To the mentors who’ve helped me on this platform—thank you for being the only ones who ever opened this kind of door for me. You didn’t have to do it. I hope you realize what a profound significant difference you made in this author’s life.

Hive has been a consistent blessing in my life—through all kinds of changes, ups and downs, losses and wins. Despite how you might be feeling about Hive at present, keep something in mind. Even after the epic payouts ended Hive remained a valuable motivator and incubator for my writing. My last four published books were born from Hive posts.

If nothing else, my story serves as proof of the value and potential of this platform in changing peoples' lives. If it can happen to me it can happen to any one of you. You only have to create your niche and build your brand. Don’t give up, keep writing, keep connecting, above all else keep caring for and supporting one other. Despite how bleak things might look, lightning can strike twice. We can overcome whatever challenges we face if we work together.

I’ll be hitting the road in a few days to help celebrate my Mom's 82nd birthday and will be away until July so I wanted to get these thoughts down and posted while I had sufficient time to do it.

Thank you all and much love to you! Cheers to another ten years.

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www.ericvancewalton.net