How Participating in a Community Is the Key to Finding Success as a Writer

Tricks to keep you from spoiling a great opportunity with your very first submission

Hello Everyone!

It’s April 1st so watch out today. Don’t believe all the social media posts about how your favorite celebrity has died—for some reason, human tragedy is considered comedy gold in the USA.

People say that the digital age has divided us and desensitized us. That might be true, but the fact remains that succeeding as a writer requires you to build a community.

But what does “build a community” even mean? Well, sit tight because I’m about to tell you.

Don’t send in 6 submissions without reading anything

After Medium’s pub crawl, I had a couple of people reach out to me to inquire about writing for my publication. I added one writer, received his submissions, rejected his submissions, and removed him from the publication.

Opportunity gone!

Why did I remove the writer? Because he sent me 6 “articles” that appeared to be AI generated. I don’t have time for that. Honestly, I don’t have time to read 6 submissions. I don’t get the mindset here.

Why does this writer have the time to send 6 submissions, but not read a single article on the publication? Why does he want his “work” featured in a publication that he’s never read. What is going on here?

Never mind, don’t answer that, I’ve heard enough. Removed, blocked, email blocked, as far as I’m concerned that writer never even existed.

Also, for all you kind and wonderful people out there, rest assured that I’m not talking about you. What I’m referencing above is an extreme case. If you’re reading this, it means I haven’t blocked you. Why is it that the awesome people always think I’m talking about them, and the horrible people assume I’m talking about somebody else?

Don’t blow your opportunities right out of the gate

I keep saying this over and over but writers never listen. You have to build a community. You can’t just be wrapped up in your own little bubble fixated entirely on your own work.

Writers often talk about rejection. Yes, it hurts to send off an article and get the dreaded news that the publication isn’t going to take it. But we almost never talk about how often writers send off their work to publications that they’ve never even read.

Editor: “Dear writer, your article about making world class brownies is entertaining (and the brownies sound delicious) but I’m the editor of an automotive magazine.”

Writer: “Why was that editor so MEAN to me? My article was GREAT! It’s so unfair that I was rejected!”

95% of all rejections are of this variety. I mean, I’m sorry writers but in order to give yourself a chance at success, you have to do a little research.

Follow the editors, follow the publications, comment on the stories

Before you submit a story anywhere on anything, there’s one thing you MUST do: READ!

This is particularly true on Medium, but this advice applies to anything writing related. You have to read the publications, you have to read the newsletters, you have to read the other books the publishing house releases.

This is the reason I do book reviews for independent presses. I want to see what those presses are willing to publish. This is how I do my research on where I’ll send off my next manuscript.

What I’ve learned over the last 4 years of running a book review site for independent books is that GETTING WRITERS TO REVIEW IS LIKE PULLING TEETH!

The whole problem with the “make money writing” mentality is that it should be written as “make money writing without doing any work.” That’s what everyone wants. I’m really, really, really sorry but anyone who tells you you can make money writing without doing any work is LYING! I realize that the people saying that have 50,000 subscribers and I have less than 400, but go ask those subscribers how many of them are rich?

ZERO!

They want to believe the myth rather than put in the work.

As for me, I can guarantee you’ll find people who read THIS newsletter who have had their stories Boosted after following my advice (because they’ve written me and told me). Unfortunately, much of modern society is holding steadfastly onto a logical fallacy because the functional, applicable truth is just too ugly to behold.

Truth isn’t meant to be beautiful, it’s like a tool you hang up in the garden shed. It’s the one you grab when you want to get something done.

What to do to get Boosted on Medium

Again, writing is about building a community. I know, I know, I prefer to be an introvert too. I like sitting in my office in my pajamas thinking about mythical creatures and pretending that reality doesn’t exist. That’s pretty much the definition of writing to me.

Writing allows writers to experience the joys of a community from a safe distance. When you want to get away from the community, you turn off your computer to recharge. But you do have to participate when the computer is on. You can’t just tie your story to a brick and throw it through the monitor. You have to send it with a cordial greeting like everyone else.

Robin Wilding published this excellent resource of publications on Medium that can nominate your work for a Boost. Study it!

Here’s what you do:

• Find the publications that cover topics that interest you

• Go to the “About” page and follow all of the editors

• Go to the stories of the editors, read them, leave claps, leave comments, discover if these are people you agree with or not

• Share the stories you read on social media (this allows the editors to get to know you)

• Send ONE submission that you feel is a good fit for the publication

Here’s what not to do:

• Sign up for random publications

• Spam them with 50 AI written posts

• Disregard all submission guidelines

• Throw a fit when they request simple edits

This is what’s meant by “sincere and legitimate” interaction. Tap the breaks on your publishing ambitions. First, find your community, then establish yourself as a contributing member within that community.

Don’t just submit and bolt.

Lost opportunities

I try to help as many people as I can, but there are a lot of demands on my time. This week, I had a really positive interaction with a writer. She sent me a draft, we went through 3 rigorous rounds of editing on Google Docs, she then submitted it to one of my publications. I published it and nominated it for a Boost. I got the notification that it was accepted this morning.

I’m always relieved when that happens because the editing process can be harsh. When I edit somebody else’s work, I use the same process that I use to improve my own work. If you think I’m hard on you, you should see what I do to myself!

But, I have pretty decent success on Medium. Still, there are other very good writers who write on different topics and who use a different style that is equally successful. If those people send me a draft, I’m not going to radically change my editing style to accommodate them.

So, anyone who wants to appeal to me for advice needs to look at my articles first. If my articles do not appeal to you, that’s fine! That’s the whole idea of “building a community!” Find a writer who already writes more like you. Diversity is good!

This week, I received a draft from an author who wanted to argue that there are decent Trump supporters out there. If she’d bothered to look at my articles, she might have read about how my immigrant wife and kids have been subjected to racially based harassment based on Trump’s hate rhetoric.

Hmmmm, do you think I’m the right editor to send a story about how great Trump supporters are? Take all the time you need.

To be absolutely honest, I’ll be in less of a rush to read the next thing this author sends. You don’t want to burn bridges like that.

I guess what it comes down to is this, we get in such a rush to chase down money that we forgot to hit pause and take some time to read.

We have to learn that in the business of writing reading isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Thanks for reading this newsletter!