Writing
In 3 min read. More on Medium.
Writers: Keep your readers in the loop by letting them subscribe to email updates. You own your subscriber list.
This past year, Medium has given readers and writers more control over the stories they see by emphasizing follows over algorithms. Now, writers, you can take your follower list one step further. Let your fans know when you’ve published something new from their email inbox, in addition to when they come to Medium, by adding the option to subscribe to story updates. You control which stories get sent and your subscriber list is portable.
We made the tool simple, here’s how to use it.
First, go to your Settings page and find a new Followers section. You’ll see the option…
Tips from Medium’s Platform Editors
Write something valuable. A common strategy for this is to share your own life lessons. There’s plenty of advice around. In books, online, and on Medium, you can find tips on everything. It’s a pretty generous collective gesture. Still, even with good intentions, not all stories will land well. What makes one article more compelling than another?
Jean-Luc Bouchard, platform editor at Marker, shares insights recently given to a contributing writer. Marker helps their readers make better business decisions. Presenting lessons in a compelling, original way is crucial.
Be concise, give actionable and practical advice, and have a clear audience…
In Medium’s Partner Program, writers earn daily through a new model to reward quality writing
In 2017, we launched the Medium Partner Program to fairly compensate writers for their quality stories, with unlimited potential to earn. Since then, we’ve paid more than $6 million to over 30,000 writers, increasing payouts year over year.
Today, we’re excited to announce an updated earnings model to improve how writers earn for their stories through the Partner Program.
Instead of paying based on claps as the main signal, we will now reward stories primarily based on reading time, which we’ve seen to be a closer measure of quality and resonance with readers. …
Simple tips from Medium Curation
Every day the curation team reviews stories for distribution through Medium’s topics. Curators are looking for great stories to distribute, but in addition to quality, stories must meet some minimum guidelines. (Read the full curation guidelines here.) Some of the issues that disqualify a story from curation can easily be fixed. So before you hit publish, check to see if you’ve met these commonly missed guidelines.
Note that you can still publish on Medium without meeting these guidelines (except for rules violations), but you will not be eligible for curation.
1. Write quality headlines
We could fill a whole post with headline best practices…
A Q&A with Shannon Ashley and Shaunta Grimes, two top Partner Program writers
Writers come in many forms.
Shaunta Grimes has been one for a long time. She has a Master’s in writing fiction, is a published author, and runs the Every Day Novelist publication on Medium. Her third novel, The Astonishing Maybe, was published by Penguin Random House in March.
There is also Shannon Ashley, who began writing independently only a year ago, when she quickly went from writing social media posts for companies to publishing popular stories on Medium about the topics that interest her: sex, family, and mental health.
Both women work full time as writers and support their families…
A follow-up to our Q & A with Stephanie Georgopulos and Harris Sockel, editors at Medium who search for great stories on the platform
Recently, we interviewed Stephanie Georgopulos and Harris Sockel, editors at Medium who work with independent, self-publishing writers on the platform to help their work reach a wider audience. Steph and Harris spoke about the benefits of publishing on Medium, shared a few of their favorite stories, explained how the metered paywall works, and gave their advice for writers.
In response, many Medium writers (and readers) expressed gratitude and excitement about our efforts to “elevate” independent voices on the platform. Many were inspired to self-publish more stories this year and to — in Georgopulos’ words — “focus on finding their voice.”
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Stephanie Georgopulos and Harris Sockel spend their days searching for great writing on Medium
Stephanie Georgopulos and Harris Sockel are editors at Medium who started out using the platform back in 2013, writing and publishing stories that explored the human condition. Now, they work to “elevate” with independent, self-published writers on Medium. Georgopulos and Sockel scour Medium to find great stories they think deserve a wider audience than they may otherwise be getting.
They reach out to the writer and work with them on improving their piece, then distribute it broadly through Medium’s topics, publications, homepage, emails, and social channels.
Medium VP, Editorial Siobhan O’Connor explained the various ways that the editorial team works…
We’re investing heavily in editorial and the Partner Program
As many of you have noticed, we’ve been building out a team of editors and curators at Medium over the last several months. This is exciting. Our goal is simple: put terrific stories in front of our readers and, notably, our subscribers.
Writers are motivated by different things, so we work with them in a number of ways. Some writers want to work with an editor, others do not. Some want to reach as many people as possible, others want to reach a targeted, hyper-engaged audience of their industry peers. …
Now, writers in Medium’s Partner Program can earn money for stories they publish in publications and can share Friend Links that guarantee that fans and followers can view their work
Today, we’re making two improvements to the Medium Partner Program that have been among the most-requested features since we launched the program in 2017. Both changes are designed to reduce trade-offs for writers: Writers no longer have to choose between earning money and submitting their story to a publication, and writers no longer have to worry about their fans not being able to read their work because of our metered paywall.
Partner Program stories can now appear in publications
First, we’ve removed the limitation that writers could not add Partner Program stories to publications on Medium. …
Recent stories that take a deeper look at the effects of technology on youth
TThe impact of technology is something that concerns us all, whether or not we have kids.
From infants and toddlers to teenagers and young adults, new generations are being exposed to emerging technologies, apps, and devices, and they’re having an effect that we are only beginning to comprehend.
What we do know is this: The decisions tech companies make about their products — and the way parents police their kids’ interaction with their digital selves — can have a lasting impact on the well-being of generations ahead.
We’ve curated a set of four powerful essays that raise important questions about…
