I bet Katie was the one who told you percentage of reads was the best indicator of how good your stories were. I've been writing here on Medium for over 2 years now. I don't set myself any writing goals. I write when I feel like it. I've written over 900 stories. I've made lists too. I'm making decent money now but mostly from a few stories. A couple of stories have earned more than a thousand dollars each but most of my stories don't earn nearly that much. It's nice to get some $$$$ I'll need for my trip.