A few writers get a ton of reads and you wouldn't know it by looking at the engagement on the article. For example, they might have 3 comments and get thousands of reads. However, this doesn't apply to 99% of the writers on Medium.

Many writers barely get 10-15 reads for an article. I can see this information because I'm an editor with different publications related to Illumination, my own publication, and Write a Catalyst.

So, if someone is getting a ton of reads a month, they can still earn on Medium, but the problem is distribution because hardly any articles ever reach many people, and that's why it often feels like it's just writers instead of readers on Medium.

I also have no idea how to reach more readers unless it involves writing longer articles. My audience is mostly built on supporting others for around a year and a half. My articles hardly ever get distributed outside of my network.