Some great points here.

I submitted to several publications when I started, some of which I really like, but these days I tend to stick to Fanfare (Eric Pierce is a Knight of the Dillon Empire after all) or my own review publication, with occasional pieces in The Writing Cooperative, and some self publishing.

Much as I enjoy Medium, and some of the writers here (including you), I am deliberately spending less time here, as it simply doesn't pay enough to justify the investment. It is especially galling when I make (on average) half as much on a monthly basis from Medium with over sixteen thousand followers, as I did with less than two thousand followers eighteen months ago. Whatever changes have taken place at Medium have not worked out in my favour financially, so that's why I've cut back. It isn't worth my while. Plus my novels and short stories have always been the top priority.