And I made $0.01 last month.
A paying member, but dissed from publishing on Medium in my first six months of 2020. Due to changing incentives to publish wordy crap over quality content. We are a forum to read and comment without hope for any compensatory pay.

As for connections with other writers, I do better in my online and Facebook cohorts, at our local coffee shop, and busking with my fiddle on Xenia Avenue. In broad daylight!