Happy Friday,
There are two kinds of weeks, it seems. There’s the kind that goes mostly the way you planned or at least expected. Morning coffee. Time to read. Checking the boxes on work tasks or other things you needed or wanted to get done that week.
Then there’s the kind of week where you skid into Friday, hair disheveled, dirt on your face and blood on your knee screaming how the hell is it Friday already and where the Sam hell did the whole damn week go?
It has been the latter.
They happen to everyone, I know. I just prefer when they happen to someone else. lol.
Last week I happily announced a new publication on Medium called On Reflection, and got a whack of submissions. (yay) Right before work got crazy.
Sigh. Murphy’s Law. Anything that can go wrong probably will.
Honestly, I had no idea so many people would love the idea of this publication. I have already received two, three four submissions this morning. I pasted them in the list under the ones I have not yet done from yesterday and the day before.
In case you didn’t guess, this is the bust part from the title.
Beginnings are sometimes rough and rocky. But eventually we find our stride. The same will apply to this amazing little publication.
Over time, we will get to know each other. Me and the writers. I’ll know each writer a bit better and writers will get to know me and also what works best in this publication. Then it will be smoother sailing. For all of us. I know because this isn’t my first rodeo.
Which is a long way of saying if I have not replied to your submission yet, thank you for your patience. I will catch up on the weekend if nothing else. :)
2. A Boost…
Here’s what I’ve started doing. Instead of just accepting or declining, I’ve been reaching out to each writer to tell them how I think their story could be stronger. I always say this — it’s my opinion only, but here’s what I think.
Mostly, writers have been super receptive and that does my heart good. We got our first story boosted this morning, which is amazing considering I don’t need two hands to count the number of posts we have so far. Here’s hoping for many more of those.
I feel like we are going to build something amazing here. If you haven’t checked it out yet, we’re at: https://medium.com/on-reflection
3. A Total Turnaround…
Late last year I wrote a scathing commentary on the changes at Medium. The “new” CEO had made a video that made me angry. It said stuff like that writers need to promote their own work and if writers aren’t driving traffic to their writing, why should Medium. I’d included snippets and links along with my angry kickback.
Not very many people stand up in public and say look, I was wrong.
He did. Last week.
And I think it would be wrong of me to be vocal in my criticism if I don’t also acknowledge when people admit they were wrong. Not only did he say they were wrong, but screen-capped the stats to show how very wrong they were.
Last Saturday was Medium Day. A celebration of Medium’s 11th anniversary that over 25,000 people attended. There were talks by Medium staff and sessions with writers.
The keynote speech by Tony is not a 60 or 90 minute interview with some “how to make money on Medium guru” like videos of the past. Sorry, that’s blunt.
It’s a 38 minute talk about what Medium did wrong in the past, what they’re doing different now, and where they’re going. It’s worth a watch.
I will warn you up front. What worked in the past probably won’t work going forward. What people like and what algorithms like aren’t always the same.
But it’s worth a listen, I think. It’s made me rethink how and what I write. But it also makes me hopeful that Medium is finally heading the right direction.
Give it a listen, see if you agree. I’d love to know what you think.
On Medium…
One Little Old Man Gifted Me A Miracle And Didn’t Even Know It
Is This What Aging Really Means, Losing All The People You Loved?
Thanks for reading. This is a free publication. I don’t charge a monthly fee, so if you enjoy my writing, please click the heart or share this post to say thanks. :)
xo,
Linda
I'm glad "On Reflection" is doing well right from the start. It gives me hope for some future publication ideas I had for Medium.
Hi Linda - each time I read your post I learn something new 😊 From the moment you announced your pub On Reflection, I knew I wanted to write for it 💙 Happy to be onboard 👍