The Attention Economy Is Killing Good Writing

 

AI-generated illustration comparing fast, highly promoted online content gaining massive attention with carefully crafted writing receiving minimal visibility.

When Attention Beats Talent: Why Good Writing Is Losing the Market

I recently came across a Medium article that made a blunt claim: mediocre writers often make more money than talented ones. At first, it sounded unfair. Maybe even cynical. But the more I thought about it, the less shocking it felt.

Because this isn’t really a story about bad writers.

It’s a story about how the market for writing has changed.

The Shift No One Talks About

There was a time when writing lived in a world of editors, gatekeepers, and slow judgment. Quality mattered because space was limited. Only the best work made it through.

That world is gone.

Today, writing competes in an attention economy. The scarce resource is no longer publishing space. It is reader attention.

And attention behaves differently from quality.

Attention rewards:

Speed

Volume

Emotional hooks

Searchable topics

Strong headlines

Quality helps. But visibility comes first.

A brilliant essay read by 100 people loses to an average post seen by 50,000.

The market is not judging your prose. It is measuring your reach.

Why “Average” Writers Often Win

Many writers who earn well online are not literary masters. But they understand something more important.

They treat writing as a product.

They:

Publish consistently

Study what readers search for

Optimize titles and keywords

Design eye-catching covers or thumbnails

Promote their work aggressively

Meanwhile, highly skilled writers often spend weeks polishing a single piece. They perfect every sentence. Then they publish quietly and move on.

In today’s system, perfection without distribution is invisibility.

And invisibility pays nothing.

The Algorithm Effect

Platforms like Medium, Amazon, and social media do not evaluate depth. They evaluate signals:

Clicks

Read time

Shares

Engagement

The algorithm does not ask, “Is this well written?”

It asks, “Did people react?”

This creates a subtle shift in incentives.

Writers adapt. They simplify. They shorten. They chase trends. They write what performs, not always what matters.

Over time, the ecosystem fills with content designed for attention rather than insight.

Depth becomes slower. Slower becomes risky.

And risky content rarely scales.

The Real Problem Isn’t Bad Writing

It’s tempting to blame “bad writers.” That misses the point.

The system rewards visibility first, quality second.

In economic terms, writing has moved from a merit market to an attention market.

When attention is the currency:

Frequency beats craftsmanship

Packaging beats polish

Speed beats reflection

Good writing isn’t losing because it lacks talent.

It’s losing because the market values something else.

What This Means for Writers

The lesson is not to write badly.

The lesson is harder.

Writers today need two skills:

Craft

Distribution

Visibility brings the first reader. Quality earns the second. Sustainability requires both.

Those who ignore marketing stay invisible.

Those who ignore quality burn out their audience.

The winners understand the balance.

A Quiet Reality

The internet did something unexpected.

It democratized publishing.

But it also commercialized attention.

In this new economy, talent is not enough.

Consistency matters. Positioning matters. Reach matters.

And perhaps the uncomfortable truth is this:

Good writing still matters.

But without attention, it does not exist.