Here Are 5 Answers to Questions Commonly Asked by Medium Writers
By: Smillew Rahcuef
Tags: Writing, Writer, Writing Tips, Writers On Medium, Writers On Writing

Here Are 5 Answers to Questions Commonly Asked by Medium Writers

Questions from Mayank and answers by Smillew — https://www.pexels.com/@pixabay

Reading Mayank Pamnani’s article 5 Common Questions By Medium Writers, I got inspired to write a follow-up. Questions are borrowed from Mayank.

My answers are assuming you’re trying to be read on Medium :)

1. Which publications shall I write for, when I am new on Medium?

Any publication!

Writing for a publication is much better than publishing by yourself at the beginning. You need to grow a follower base for self-publishing to make sense.

Without this base, go for a publication to significantly increase the number of views, reads, and any of the stats.

It will even bring you some followers! Hence building in the long term the base you lack today for self-publishing.

2. How to approach any publication on Medium?

Be cocky! In the sense that you shouldn’t be afraid of the number of followers or the big names writing there. As long as your article is good (and is in line with the guidelines and publication’s interest), there’s a chance it will be published.

If you don’t submit your story to a publication, there’s a 100% chance they won’t publish it.

Ok, maybe 99,99% as some publications might be regularly checking what’s new on medium and find your story by sheer luck. But I wouldn’t count too much on that one.

Also, be respectful. Cockiness is ONLY to trigger you into submitting. The submitting letter or form should be written in a respectful, polite manner. As Tim Denning wrote, “Treat [the editors] well, and publications will show your story love.”

3. What do publications expect in stories from you?

They expect kick-ass content that will entertain their readers and make them come back for more each day.

Stories so good that their readers will be recommending them to their friends and sharing them on social media, enabling the publication to grow their followers.

But publications will settle for good content that their followers enjoy reading. That’s already a good goal to achieve.

4. Can I publish my stories on multiple platforms?

As Mayank explained, yes, it’s possible. It might even be recommended.

First, it’s always good to have a backup plan or a side gig.

You never know what can happen. Maybe Medium will disappear in a year from now as MySpace or Google+ did. Although I hope it will stay around for some time.

This brings us to point number two. Publishing your articles on other platforms and linking to your medium profile increases the views of your profile and Medium in general. Good for both!

You could imagine that your stories are only partially shown on other platforms to drive traffic to your Medium profile. Or maybe they’re shown in several installments. Or they’re summarized to be sent as takeaways through your newsletter on Substack. Many possibilities are out there. Pick yours.

Finally, different platforms have different content, different atmospheres. It can be an interesting writing exercise to take a story you wrote first for Medium and adapt it to WordPress, for example.

5. What strategies are best for you writing on Medium?

Self-publishing gives you freedom. Nobody’s going to reject your submission. Except that, see first answer above, no one’s going to read it either.

As a new voice, try to get curated. What you want and need is feedback.

A rejection from any publication is feedback.

Sure enough, most of them won’t take the time to explain in detail why they rejected your piece. But the simple fact your article was not scheduled is already a sign that your article might need some more editing or rewriting.

Getting as much feedback as possible is the best strategy for new writers. And I think for any level of experienced writers. Experienced writers get feedback from peers, but also from the comments and the statistics. As a beginner, statistics are not so relevant (numbers are too low). A possibility is to join writers’ circles to share stories and ask for constructive critics. The Illumination slack community is a good example of such a community.

Bonus answer!

The most important advice I would give is to remember having fun while writing.

I don’t have any scientific study to back up this one.

But a friend of mine, a very successful salesperson, told me he always smiles when talking on the phone with potential clients. Why? Because people can hear the smile in his voice.

In the same manner, I’m convinced readers are more engaged when you had fun while writing. And if I’m wrong, well, at least you had fun!

Have fun and good luck with the publications!