Thanks for your transparency. I had no idea Medium was still contracting directly with writers; I had - perhaps naïvely - thought that all of us were writing "on spec" at this point. I'm not sure what to think about this.

As a fellow trans writer, I'm sad to see you go. I have not been gainfully employed in some time, so I can't afford to pay for separate subscriptions to a lot of individuals' newsletters. As a reader, the primary advantage of Medium for me has been paying one subscription fee to get access to many people's writing. I've also pitched Medium subscriptions to my own Patreon followers for that reason.

Based on my low number of Patreon subscribers and current lack of social media presence, I doubt I could attract as many followers on another writing platform as I have here on Medium. Then again, many of my recent followers seem to just be adding large numbers of writers in the hopes of being followed back, rather than specifically interested in my work, which is depressing.

In any case, I wish you continued success in your career, wherever it takes you.