Why Writers Need to Keep Their Finger on the Pulse of Their Market
The expectations of your platform and your audience change all the time—here's how you keep up!
Hello Friends!
It has been an extremely busy two weeks. I’ve been scheduling articles just so I can consistently release something new at 7AM and at 2PM. Occasionally I’ll sprinkle in a third article if inspiration strikes me that day.
I see that quite a few of you have adjusted your settings and opted out of one section or another. That’s perfect. Again, for instructions on how to do that, check this link. I don’t want to overwhelm your inboxes with content, but I have a lot to say, particularly now.
I’ve been doing a lot more video conferences lately. Last week, I jumped on a call with
and Justin Cox of The Writing Cooperative. Justin said something that I’ve been thinking about for the last few days. We were talking about the differences between Substack and Medium and he mentioned that Medium probably doesn’t think of Substack as its competition.For me, that comment helped provide clarity on the writing that succeeds on Medium versus what works on Substack.
Medium is designed to get excellent visibility for great writing with the Boost program, but they’re looking for something specific. “Quality” can mean many different things, so it’s important to walk through the particular form of quality Medium wants to feature.
Recently I’ve nominated a couple excellent stories that were not taken for a Boost. Although that’s disappointing, it helps provide data points, which help provide clarity to my perspective. Whether an article I nominate is rejected or accepted, I often find myself thinking about it for the next few days.
Justin mentioned that Medium aspires to be more like “The New Yorker,” or some other similar publication. They want to be an online journal with literary aspirations. I think that’s both interesting and admirable.
But let me back up for a second and mention that I consider everything I post to Substack to be “quality” work. All my work has to meet a certain standard. The difference is that many of my Subtack posts are informational or conversational.
The work you post to Medium has to be literary. It’s a place to experiment with the poetry of words.
I made a deliberate effort to write that way in the last piece I wrote that was Boosted. By the way, that one has continued to earn well despite a slow start:
If you are still uncertain what I’m talking about, go and read that one and then compare it to this article. You’ll see a difference. The harvest article has more of an emphasis on emotion and imagery. It’s one of those pieces of writing that’s designed to make you feel something.
I don’t speak the message of that article, you feel it.
Contrast that with this article, where my objective is to provide you with information in plain language. Both are valuable, but this article wouldn’t get Boosted on Medium.
People have been complaining that payouts are down on Medium. That’s been my experience too. But I’ve been taking a harder look on the types of stories that are no longer earning well. I find that the literary style content still performs (your assessment might be different than mine—that’s okay).
The idea that literary content is still appreciated on Medium is positive because there aren’t a lot of places on the internet that you can necessarily place something like that. Yes, you can do the “old-school” method of submit and wait, but many of the journals out there take months to respond.
Come to think of it, if you post something on Medium and it’s not Boosted, it might be worthwhile to delete the post and go the old-school submission route.
For as long as I’ve been on Medium, I’ve always had to adapt to the expectations of the platform. This is an ongoing process that is at play no matter where you submit your writing. Usually, I can figure out what’s working within a week or two, but lately it’s taken me a little longer.
Going forward, I expect I will publish as few as 7-8 articles per month on Medium, but I’m going to make an effort to meet a certain literary standard. I have to approach these articles with a completely different mindset. Honestly, I can put myself in that mindset by sitting down and reading some poetry before I get started. That does something to my brain. It’s like flipping a switch, it makes me want to write like that.
Then, as always, if the article doesn’t get Boosted, I can import it to Substack, make some changes, and add a voice recording. Quite often the version that ends up on Substack is quite a bit better.
I can’t help but edit again every time I post something.
A surge in interest
I’ve had a nice uptick in views lately. I haven’t quite hit 10,000 views in a single day, but the day before yesterday I had 9,749. On both those days I posted 3 articles, so that has something to do with it.
Also, I’ve had a nice uptick in subscribers lately:
That sharp incline at the end happened during the inauguration. What that tells me is that people are looking for community right now. The community of this newsletter is gaining in prominence, and I’m very proud of that. Thanks to all of you who come and read these words. I feel as if we’re able to exert a positive influence on the world.
Honestly, there’s so much negative programming out there that we all need to find a little oasis of kindness where we can relax, feel accepted, and regroup. When people are whispering malice into your ear non-stop, it is exhausting.
Let’s continue to support each other and offer words of support. Our perspective is not represented in the media, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a LOT of people out there who agree with you. They DO agree, and if we find the courage to speak our message, likeminded people will flock to you.
Oh we need them! We need them right now! We need support and organization and kindness! It’s going to take all of you to make the world better. Every single one of you is vital to this cause. Every single contribution helps increase our forward momentum. It’s so necessary.
The next question and answer session
The next question and answer session will be:
Jan 28, 2025 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Here’s the link:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77636330670?pwd=TXtqx3h1JLy1tw7Tu3fNkLbYSbbbEs.1
Jump in if you’re available and I’ll chat with whoever shows up. Bring in any questions you have about Medium, or almost anything really.
We’ll see you then. In the meantime, here’s a writing chat I recently had with
:As always, leave your questions and comments below:
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