Hi Monica, Gosh, you've had some horrible things happen in life. I'm glad you've got your mum looking out for you and her support through all this. I can completely understand you not wanting your children to be taken by their father's parents if his brother has a history of abuse. I think if that does keep coming up, you need to tell social services what your finance told you about what had happened to him, because they wouldn't want your children placed in a home where it could happen to them.

As for this person who took $600 from you for a course. I think you should report this to Medium. Cut to the bit when you say, "I found this writer on Medium..." And tell them as much as you like. I wonder if they don't know how bad this situation is.

On the topic of the membership referral, I'd suggest you cancel your membership. That will stop the referral payment going to the person who conned you.

If you want to re-join, you can then join either through medium's re-join link, or by using someone else's referral link. That will mean you are no longer supporting the person who conned you.

You will not lose your stories, or your followers. All that will happen is that you'll see the paywall once you've read three stories per month.

You probably don't get more views because you haven't been around long enough. It takes ages and the more you publish, the more you'll accrue a following. But it's not worth your time trying to publish daily if you need a decent income right away.

Focus on some big wins. Write "I spent $600 on a Medium course and feel conned" - that's the kind of title that could take off. It's relatable, it's about money, and it's relevant to Medium members.

Keep it no more than 5-7 minutes because people have short attention spans and if it's too long, some people won't read it. I can't guarantee it'll do well, but it's the kind of story that does well on here.

Also, publish it through a publication. Illumination has done well for me, and they'll add you quickly, I think.

In the long term though, treat Medium as a hobby and focus on something with more of a guaranteed income until you can build up the writing work. I appreciate that's difficult if you have a troubled work history etc.

I don't know what the employment situation is like over there, but a dead-end part-time job might be worthwhile, if it helps you get the money you need to complete your studies. I know it's hard though. I wrote about the time when McDonalds wouldn't employ me either!

You did brilliantly to get A grades on some of your studies - and your writing is good. I spotted you're writing about politics. Some people do well with politics. Some people don't. If you have a unique angle, it might be worth trying the newspapers, but I have to admit, they can take months or years to pay, and the communication is often diabolical. So again, if you need money now, freelancing isn't the best. I tend to say if you need money now, build your freelance stuff up slowly, but don't quit the day job until you have a reliable freelance income.

I'm not sure how helpful that is. I wonder if your local careers advisors or job centre advisors can help you find part-time employment while you try to build up your side hustles to make them pay better.