September Update from the Partner Program
Story spotlights, equations, writing tips, and September payments
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In this month’s update we’ll cover a few story spotlights across publications, with feedback from the editors on what was compelling about the stories. We’ll have some tips on submissions and using the Medium editor, followed by writing advice.
Introducing Marker
Marker is a new publication from Medium looking to make leaders smarter about the world of business — and the way business impacts the world. We help readers make better decisions by giving them accurate, thoughtful, and actionable information, written by, for, and about people who create and destroy value across the global economy. You can submit stories at marker@medium.com.
Story Spotlights
Medium editors are always on the lookout for great stories published on the platform. Just like last month, we’ll spotlight a few stories that Medium editors found and brought into their publications. They’ve worked with the authors to edit and produce the stories. Read more to learn what the editors found compelling in these stories.
Marker
In “Why Aren’t Business Schools Like Harvard Doing Case Studies About Motherhood?” Francesca Furchtgott wrote “a compelling and eye-opening argument for the inclusion of more case studies and training in business schools that reflect the perspective of working mothers, rather than defaulting to the perspective of male parents or nonparents,” shares Jean-Luc Bouchard, senior platform editor at Marker. “She provides a unique insider point of view as both a working mom and a graduate of Harvard Business School.”
OneZero
In “Facing the Great Reckoning Head-On,” danah boyd shares her speech after receiving an award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “It was compelling because of how she managed to write so eloquently about how she both benefited and suffered from some of the worst offenders of discrimination in the tech industry,” says Megan Morrone, platform editor of OneZero.
Elemental
Robert Roy Britt explores the mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping in “What’s Known and Not Known About the Mysterious Vaping Illness.” “Rob is a regular contributor to Elemental,” says Kate Green Tripp, senior platform editor at Elemental. “He writes both commissioned pieces and tackles topics himself, sending drafts our way to consider. This story caught our eye because it provides a solid roundup of the messy confusion that is the vaping public health crisis. Elemental has been reporting on a range of health issues surrounding vaping, so this was a perfect fit.”
GEN
Amanda Sakuma, platform editor at GEN, spotlights “Alaska’s Swimsuit Scandal Unfairly Polices Young Girls’ Bodies” by Lauren Langford. “Her story made national headlines by exposing how a high school swimmer in her community had been unfairly disqualified from a recent race that she won. In response to the public outcry sparked by Lauren’s Medium post, school officials later reversed the disqualification and took steps to address the underlying controversy. This story shows the awesome power of speaking out and inspiring actionable change.”
Modus
“Why Truly Accessible Design Benefits Everyone” by Tyler Yearling Hively describes the importance of Universal Design. “Accessibility gets a lot of lip service in the design world, but this piece stood out because Tyler’s perspective on accessible design comes from personal experience,” says Killian Piraro, editor at Modus. “As he points out, lots of design ‘checks the box’ on accessibility but actually fails to provide a good experience to a demographic we’ll all eventually find ourselves in.”
Forge
“How to Lose a Third of a Million Dollars Without Really Trying” by Heather Demetrios “launched a critical conversation in writers’ circles about how the publishing process really works,” says Michelle Woo, senior platform editor at Forge. “And it all happened because one author, Heather Demetrios, dared to be vulnerable about her financial mistakes.”
Human Parts
In “When You’re Ready, This Is How You Heal,” Brianna Wiest “reminds us that the emotional experiences we don’t process stay with us, transforming the way we see the world and ourselves,” says Harris Sockel, deputy editor at Human Parts. “It’s a soulful, honest perspective on confronting unresolved conflict in our lives. It’s also beautifully written and worth revisiting — in the words of one reader, ‘I think I’m going to print this out and keep it in my purse.’”
Technical story spotlights
This month, we’re bringing in the editors from a couple of publications on Medium that cover technical topics to share their spotlights. There’s a broad range of publications on Medium you can submit to, including these two.
Towards Data Science
Towards Data Science covers data-science-related topics such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, programming, and visualization. Editor Ludovic Benistant spotlights “The Inspection Paradox is Everywhere” by Allen Downey. “This story is exactly what Towards Data Science is about: sharing concepts, ideas, and codes,” says Benistant. “The author decided to explain something complex, in his own words and style. The result is a unique article that we are thrilled to promote to the data science community. Now I do see the inspection paradox everywhere.”
Better Programming
Better Programming covers a range of topics under the umbrella of “advice for programmers.” These include technical deep dives and tutorials. Editor Zack Shapiro spotlights “Advanced TypeScript by Example: React Form Carousel” by Ross Bulat. “Ross is a phenomenal technical writer and author,” says Shapiro. “He’s prolific across a few different topics, JavaScript, React, TypeScript, and blockchain as well. I think he writes accessible tutorials that others can easily follow along with and not only feel like they’ve learned something at the end, but that they’ve also built something they can reference in the process. React and TypeScript are areas that people are writing and learning a lot about on Medium every day, so this piece really resonated.”
A note on submitting to publications
Publications can be an effective avenue to distribute your stories. When you submit to a publication, please note that publication editors have the power to change your story, including adding content to it. This sometimes takes the form of a “call to action” that benefits the publication, usually added at the end of the story. Remember that everything in your story is subject to the curation guidelines, including anything added by a publication editor. When submitting to a publication, be sure you review and are comfortable with any changes made to your work.
Equations in your stories
We’ve received requests for the ability to embed equations in stories. You can include equations in your stories using Embed Fun. You can write equations in LaTeX and embed them automatically by pasting in the URL of the formula in the Medium editor.
Tips on using blockquotes and pull quotes
In “The Definitive Guide to Medium’s Quotation Feature,” K M Brown describes the blockquote and pull quote features on Medium. This guide includes best practices and advice on using each in order to help “turn you into the skillful, polished writer you always knew you could be.”
September payments
On October 2, we processed payments for the month of September. As usual, these payments were based on the depth of engagement from our members (distributing each member’s $5/month based on their engagement last month).
Based on member engagement from September:
- 58% of writers or publications who wrote at least one story for members earned money.
- 8.9% of active writers earned over $100.
- $30,638.81 was the most earned by a writer, and $5,957.56 was the most earned for a single story.
Words to write by
In “Start Before You’re Ready,” Marie Forleo describes the power of just getting started instead of waiting for inspiration, emphasizing the move from the comfort zone to the growth zone. Her story applies broadly to creative initiatives.
Momentum is the secret elixir, and the only way to get that momentum is this: You must disobey the voice in your head that says, ‘I’m not ready yet.’
For more writing inspiration, check out the stories in the Writing topic.
This monthly newsletter is emailed to all writers enrolled in the Partner Program. Learn more about earning money for your best work on Medium here.
