While it might not seem like it Medium is basically the same as any other for of product business. You the writer create a product and the readers are the customer who choose to read it or not. A lot of the big names and those who often complain about Medium not paying for poetry well or other topics well is because they are missing a key point. With any product you have supply and demand. If you over supply something that is not in demand it won’t get consumed. Just because some writers want to make money from one particular topic, does not mean that their is always an audience for that.
But sorry to go off topic a little. For me September was below my expectations, but that is because I did not put in the work to provide more stories ( I only wrote 4 or 5). So I earned $1 less than August. However, the currency exchange to Australia made up for it and I actually got $1 more in my bank.