You rush over to the poor tortoise with your last gasping breath to save it, only to discover that it’s a helmet filled with water. You drink the water and put the shade giving helmet on your head. Compassion saved the day! Hooray.
I’m reminded of my husband slipping off the ladder he was standing on while trying to install a curtain rod. Because he was standing on the ladder when he slipped he bumped into the top of the blue, leather couch we had moved to install the curtain rod.
Backwards momentum flipped him right over the couch and he landed on his back like an upside down tortoise in the desert.
His legs were wedged against the couch back and his torso was laying flat out on the cushions.
At first he looked at me by tilting his head back to see me sitting across from him.
“How did I end up here?” Bob asked me.
“Just stay still for a while and make sure everything is okay.” I cautioned.
“Nothing hurts. I can’t believe I didn’t hit my head on the coffee table.”
It had been moved too,and the hard corner was mere inches from where he landed.
“ I can’t believe you landed in the one soft spot. You look trapped like an upside down tortoise!” I said laughing.
Bob laughed too and wriggled against a plastic tool bin we had placed for access on the couch.
“I can’t get out of here. I can’t move to get up.” He added in frustration.
I got up and told him to do just what I asked him to do. He had to roll over on to his side. I carefully bent and positioned his legs urging him to roll slowly to the right.
It took another couple of careful placements of his legs to allow him to turn and finally tuck his legs under himself and I helped him roll right into a standing position.
Bob was a bit dizzy but that quickly changed.
In essence my 66year old sweet husband did a backflip over the couch to land like a tortoise tipped over in the desert.
As a Booster, I want to double click on a point you made:
Everyone should be writing with the goal of an article being "boost-worthy," even if you don't care about the program itself? Why? Because the criteria Boosters are using are the same goals writers should be aiming for: engaging content, informative, evergreen, etc.
And if you are looking to get boosted, delivering consistent quality is the best way to get on a nominator's radar. We're always looking for new writers work to surface, but there are a handful of writers I /know/ will consistently deliver top notch articles. I will always check in to see what they're doing.
Are you nominating stories for The Riff? Could you please add me as a writer (@walterrhein)?
I will take a closer look at your publication, but I used to be into music quite a bit more when I was in my 20s and it might be fun to dredge up some old concert stories and whatnot. I also have a friend who is big into music who I'm trying to recruit to write more on Medium. I nominated one of his stories and it was Boosted. I'll spread the word around a little more.
Yes, for my writers, I periodically send them emails asking them if they're working on anything. Good quality content is universal, and I appreciate that Medium has figured out a program to motivate us to do better. Cheers!
The hard part is to find the sweet spot. When you spend hours on your articles to make them Boost-Worthy, they don't get Boosted and receive 50 views, over time it becomes unsustainable.
That's a valid point. I think the takeaway is that your writing is getting better even if it doesn't manifest in compensation for that particular article. Are you sure the articles you're talking about were even nominated? I think it's worth building relationships with editors so that they'll tell you whether a submission will be nominated or not. It could be that you are writing boost worthy articles the curators haven't seen.
I'll have to make a note to myself to write an article about how to build relationships with Medium editors. That's a very important topic, but it will take me around 1,000 words to answer (and that will just be scratching the surface). I'll make a note to myself, but feel free to remind me if I forget. Thanks alberto!
I realized I built a relationship with one editor. But it was totally random. I started engaging with his articles and on X. Then he became an editor. But it's for a publication I rarely submit to.
The publications I submit to the most are very large.
The platform itself doesn't make it very easy for editors & writers to connect. I finally just set up a Discord server for my pub, and tell people that's the easiest way to get ahold of me with any questions/comments/concerns.
Mr.MacRae, I enjoyed reading your anecdote. I hope you don't mind that I restacked (I hope that’s correct-it’s late) your response. I particularly liked the quote you selected from Mandela.
There was a young man, restless by nature, who entered a new town looking for a place to settle down and begin anew his life. Upon his arrival, he went to the local monastery and asked to see the abbot, an old man both venerable and wise. He asked the abbot, ‘What are the people like in this town?’ The old man paused for a moment and then asked the young man, ‘What were people like in the last town that you lived in?’ The young man replied, ‘Oh, they were horrible folk: greedy and lustful and mean-spirited!’ The abbot replied, ‘That is exactly what people are like in this town.’ And so the young man moved on from town to town and never found a home to settle down.
A few days later, another young man entered the town looking for a place to settle down and like his predecessor, sought out the advice of the venerable old abbot. ‘What are people like in this town?’, he asked. ‘What were people like in the last town that you lived in?’ asked the abbot. The young man replied, ‘Oh, they were kind and generous and filled with the joy of living. They were wonderful folks!’ The abbot replied, ‘That is exactly what people are like in this town. You are in luck!’ And so the second young man settled down in the town, married, raised his children and lived a long and happy life.
There is an old Buddhist teaching which says ‘Most people appear as pigs in the eyes of a pig, whereas, other people appear as buddhas in the eyes of a buddha.’
If we are always looking for and expecting the worst from people, that is exactly what we will see, what we will get back. On the other hand, if we make an effort to always look for the good in others, that is exactly what we will see in others and will get back. Our perceptions of others determine how we interact with them. If you treat others with kindness and respect, more often than not, you will receive kindness and respect back.
“It never hurts to think too highly of a person; often they become ennobled by it and act better because of it.” Nelson Mandela
Your article helped me understand the value of the boosting structure on Medium. I also have a renewed reverence for personal anecdotes and authentic personal stories.
Hello Marie. The thing that indicates if something is Boosted is the circle with the upward arrow through it. You also receive an email notification when something is Boosted.
I get a lot of stories Boosted because I'm very meticulous about following Medium's requirements, listening to the feedback of editors, and submitting to publications that have Boost nominators. I also regularly read the stories of the publications where I submit so I get a better expectation of the editor's preferences.
It takes a lot of work. Not every story gets Boosted and not every Boosted story finds an audience, but it's all part of the quest for better writing. I'll write more on this topic in upcoming newsletters. Thanks for the question!
Thank you so much for sharing this Walter. I really appreciate your insights! I'll have a deeper look at your work on Medium to understand it better myself how to write quality pieces.
You think it's essential to be part of publications with Boost nominators? I now got into 1, Illumination.
I like Illumination, but I haven't written for them in a while. They get so many submissions that it's easy to be overlooked. To improve your chances at getting a boost, you should seek out smaller publications and get to know the editors. This post might be helpful: https://walterrhein.substack.com/p/why-your-articles-fail-on-medium
Wow! I'm going to read back over your entire article once again tomorrow! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and want to make sure I was able to pay specific attention to all the points being made. You have cultivated what I consider an easy-to-follow, enjoyable-to-read writing voice. To my reading ear, your writing is almost sing-songy as I read through your piece.
You rush over to the poor tortoise with your last gasping breath to save it, only to discover that it’s a helmet filled with water. You drink the water and put the shade giving helmet on your head. Compassion saved the day! Hooray.
Compassion is what separates us from the bots... that's as good a lesson as any for today I think :)
I subscribed today Walter, I like this kind of content, thank for sharing this.
I appreciate that, thank you very much!
Excellent, Walter. Thanks for sharing about the boost process.
Congratulations on your boosted stories, that's wonderful.
Thank you! Kristina God will be interviewing me on this next Friday.
Yes, I know. I'll be watching.
I’m reminded of my husband slipping off the ladder he was standing on while trying to install a curtain rod. Because he was standing on the ladder when he slipped he bumped into the top of the blue, leather couch we had moved to install the curtain rod.
Backwards momentum flipped him right over the couch and he landed on his back like an upside down tortoise in the desert.
His legs were wedged against the couch back and his torso was laying flat out on the cushions.
At first he looked at me by tilting his head back to see me sitting across from him.
“How did I end up here?” Bob asked me.
“Just stay still for a while and make sure everything is okay.” I cautioned.
“Nothing hurts. I can’t believe I didn’t hit my head on the coffee table.”
It had been moved too,and the hard corner was mere inches from where he landed.
“ I can’t believe you landed in the one soft spot. You look trapped like an upside down tortoise!” I said laughing.
Bob laughed too and wriggled against a plastic tool bin we had placed for access on the couch.
“I can’t get out of here. I can’t move to get up.” He added in frustration.
I got up and told him to do just what I asked him to do. He had to roll over on to his side. I carefully bent and positioned his legs urging him to roll slowly to the right.
It took another couple of careful placements of his legs to allow him to turn and finally tuck his legs under himself and I helped him roll right into a standing position.
Bob was a bit dizzy but that quickly changed.
In essence my 66year old sweet husband did a backflip over the couch to land like a tortoise tipped over in the desert.
Who said old guys don’t got what it takes!
No AI story generator beats real life!
:) That's a lovely story! You should post that somewhere!
Perhaps you’re right!
Wow, Walter - that is insane. Nice work.
You deserve it as your stuff is really good.
Something for all of us to strive for.
Thank you John, that's very nice of you to say and I really appreciate it.
I had 12 of 18 stories Boosted for a rate of 66%. I'll add this to today's guest post from you, Walter!
INSANE!!
I also sent you a DM via our Online Writing School for an AWESOME opportunity :D
Thanks Kristina! Yes, that is a very good idea!
Just sent it, Walter! Hoepfully more people will SEE you and SUBSCRIBE. You're awesome. More people need to see this. I'm here to help ^^
I appreciate that Kristina! It's fun to stumble into these other opportuities and you've been an enormous help navigating Substack!
Does Substack of a program like this?
No, Medium is unique with the boost program, although I expect there are internal ways for Substack users to get more views.
Fantastic work, Walter!
As a Booster, I want to double click on a point you made:
Everyone should be writing with the goal of an article being "boost-worthy," even if you don't care about the program itself? Why? Because the criteria Boosters are using are the same goals writers should be aiming for: engaging content, informative, evergreen, etc.
And if you are looking to get boosted, delivering consistent quality is the best way to get on a nominator's radar. We're always looking for new writers work to surface, but there are a handful of writers I /know/ will consistently deliver top notch articles. I will always check in to see what they're doing.
Are you nominating stories for The Riff? Could you please add me as a writer (@walterrhein)?
I will take a closer look at your publication, but I used to be into music quite a bit more when I was in my 20s and it might be fun to dredge up some old concert stories and whatnot. I also have a friend who is big into music who I'm trying to recruit to write more on Medium. I nominated one of his stories and it was Boosted. I'll spread the word around a little more.
Yes, for my writers, I periodically send them emails asking them if they're working on anything. Good quality content is universal, and I appreciate that Medium has figured out a program to motivate us to do better. Cheers!
Done & Done!
The hard part is to find the sweet spot. When you spend hours on your articles to make them Boost-Worthy, they don't get Boosted and receive 50 views, over time it becomes unsustainable.
That's a valid point. I think the takeaway is that your writing is getting better even if it doesn't manifest in compensation for that particular article. Are you sure the articles you're talking about were even nominated? I think it's worth building relationships with editors so that they'll tell you whether a submission will be nominated or not. It could be that you are writing boost worthy articles the curators haven't seen.
I never built relationships with the editors. I don't even know where to start.
The only kind of feedback I ever got was:
- accepted
- rejected
- Boosted
Not knowing the reasons why leaves a lot to imagination.
I'll have to make a note to myself to write an article about how to build relationships with Medium editors. That's a very important topic, but it will take me around 1,000 words to answer (and that will just be scratching the surface). I'll make a note to myself, but feel free to remind me if I forget. Thanks alberto!
Thank you!
I realized I built a relationship with one editor. But it was totally random. I started engaging with his articles and on X. Then he became an editor. But it's for a publication I rarely submit to.
The publications I submit to the most are very large.
The platform itself doesn't make it very easy for editors & writers to connect. I finally just set up a Discord server for my pub, and tell people that's the easiest way to get ahold of me with any questions/comments/concerns.
Yup, that's good advice. I use that and email.
You are very generous.
I understand spam can be a problem. But I can't understand why they haven't implemented Direct Messages yet.
On Medium? I don't think I'd like that, but maybe there would be benefits. I don't use it much on Substack.
Mr.MacRae, I enjoyed reading your anecdote. I hope you don't mind that I restacked (I hope that’s correct-it’s late) your response. I particularly liked the quote you selected from Mandela.
BUDDHAS AND PIGS
There was a young man, restless by nature, who entered a new town looking for a place to settle down and begin anew his life. Upon his arrival, he went to the local monastery and asked to see the abbot, an old man both venerable and wise. He asked the abbot, ‘What are the people like in this town?’ The old man paused for a moment and then asked the young man, ‘What were people like in the last town that you lived in?’ The young man replied, ‘Oh, they were horrible folk: greedy and lustful and mean-spirited!’ The abbot replied, ‘That is exactly what people are like in this town.’ And so the young man moved on from town to town and never found a home to settle down.
A few days later, another young man entered the town looking for a place to settle down and like his predecessor, sought out the advice of the venerable old abbot. ‘What are people like in this town?’, he asked. ‘What were people like in the last town that you lived in?’ asked the abbot. The young man replied, ‘Oh, they were kind and generous and filled with the joy of living. They were wonderful folks!’ The abbot replied, ‘That is exactly what people are like in this town. You are in luck!’ And so the second young man settled down in the town, married, raised his children and lived a long and happy life.
There is an old Buddhist teaching which says ‘Most people appear as pigs in the eyes of a pig, whereas, other people appear as buddhas in the eyes of a buddha.’
If we are always looking for and expecting the worst from people, that is exactly what we will see, what we will get back. On the other hand, if we make an effort to always look for the good in others, that is exactly what we will see in others and will get back. Our perceptions of others determine how we interact with them. If you treat others with kindness and respect, more often than not, you will receive kindness and respect back.
“It never hurts to think too highly of a person; often they become ennobled by it and act better because of it.” Nelson Mandela
Your article helped me understand the value of the boosting structure on Medium. I also have a renewed reverence for personal anecdotes and authentic personal stories.
Hi Walter, can you explain a bit how so many of your stories get selected? And how do you know? Is it the little arrow next it that means 'boosted'?
Are all of these stories published in different publications who can boost?
Hello Marie. The thing that indicates if something is Boosted is the circle with the upward arrow through it. You also receive an email notification when something is Boosted.
I get a lot of stories Boosted because I'm very meticulous about following Medium's requirements, listening to the feedback of editors, and submitting to publications that have Boost nominators. I also regularly read the stories of the publications where I submit so I get a better expectation of the editor's preferences.
It takes a lot of work. Not every story gets Boosted and not every Boosted story finds an audience, but it's all part of the quest for better writing. I'll write more on this topic in upcoming newsletters. Thanks for the question!
Thank you so much for sharing this Walter. I really appreciate your insights! I'll have a deeper look at your work on Medium to understand it better myself how to write quality pieces.
You think it's essential to be part of publications with Boost nominators? I now got into 1, Illumination.
I like Illumination, but I haven't written for them in a while. They get so many submissions that it's easy to be overlooked. To improve your chances at getting a boost, you should seek out smaller publications and get to know the editors. This post might be helpful: https://walterrhein.substack.com/p/why-your-articles-fail-on-medium
Thank you for taking the time and sharing the article Walter!
Wow! I'm going to read back over your entire article once again tomorrow! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and want to make sure I was able to pay specific attention to all the points being made. You have cultivated what I consider an easy-to-follow, enjoyable-to-read writing voice. To my reading ear, your writing is almost sing-songy as I read through your piece.