66 Comments

Linda,

I probably see it a little differently, but that's maybe because I've not been boosted. I think I fall into the camp of writing about things that won't get a huge readership, but the people who read me communicate genuine appreciation. I used to get "curated" all the time, but in the new world, I think I would need to pick a popular topic or write about a forbidden sin to get a massive number of readers.

As an aside, I just finished a Colleen Hoover novel (the first and only time I've read her) and have since followed it up with Dickens' David Copperfield. Hoover would do great on Medium and Dickens? Not so much. Modern tastes have changed. I am no Dickens or Hoover, but I am more of a classicist in terms of taste and style. I suspect that means I am very unlikely to get boosted.

Therefore, I can't rave about the change, but it also doesn't matter so much...

Expand full comment

I completely agree with you. I’m a poet that actually often uses real forms. The people who get to see them on Medium are very positive. Of course I have 800 followers and only get about 30/40 reads a day there. On the other hand on Substack, my readership is much more active.

Expand full comment

Before this latest iteration I had many more reads. Just in the supposedly “inferior” distribution. They have taken 2 huge steps backwards in my opinion

Expand full comment

FWIW, I am able to Boost stories, and rarely-if ever- pick stories that are generally considered popular (productivity, health/wellness, etc.). It's not a mandate, but we have been encouraged to seek out stories/topics that might otherwise be flying under the radar.

Expand full comment

Good to know. I currently have a young adult fictional series going on. Alfred is on the spectrum but with the help of "Coach," he is starting to see and experience his world differently. This is very definitely under the radar and is being test-marketed so that I can get feedback. When it's positive, it's my equivalent of a "boost."

Expand full comment

It is possible that it is just a blind spot for actual poetry. I know the publishers that I've worked probably don't have boost options, except for one who does NOT actually seem to understand what is poetry very well.

Expand full comment

That could be. I can tell you that there have been a lot of questions about poetry and fiction. Both are as eligible as anything else to be Boosted.

Expand full comment

There are very few actual "form " poets anymore on Medium that get any traction. Most articles are free verse, prose-verse, articles "about" poetry, Haikus or Tankas which are like poem-memes :-). Lyrical poetry rarely gets boosted though they are popular when actually read. I think it a blindness in Medium, actually.

Expand full comment

Kevin, I respect your response, and it's good to know that you are encouraged to go off the beaten path. Still, where I sit, there are "eligible" and "likely." Poetry might very well be eligible, but if the readership it engenders is small, then it's not likely to be boosted as I understand it or as Linda explains in her support of the new boosting program. I don't find so much fault with it, but I consider my odds to be small.

Expand full comment
author

Just to clarify, Jill, it's not that poetry is any less likely to get boosted. It's that the audience to boost "to" might be smaller than the list for technology, for example. But it's just as "likely." Likelihood and reach aren't the same. A lot of poets would be over the moon to get 1000 extra reads.

Expand full comment

Sorry, who does NOT seem to understand what poetry is very well.

Expand full comment
Jun 2, 2023Liked by Linda Caroll

Sounds like the TikTok algorithm!

Expand full comment
author

lol. It might be. I'm not on TikTok so I have no idea, but it makes sense.

Expand full comment

I read Tony's post. Then I waited for your take on Boost. Thanks.

Expand full comment
author

Hah. lol Linda

Expand full comment

I would be so excited to never see another post about how to make money on Medium or anywhere else, or about how much someone did or didn’t make, or about stats. I’ve never seen more garbage in my life, and the pathetic thing is this sh*t is constantly showing up in my feed, so it’s clearly loved by many. I don’t get it. I’d be thrilled to see genuine, quality writing boosted.

Expand full comment

Same here. I think this program could go a long way towards making sure those stories no longer surface on our respective pages.

Expand full comment
author

Totally agree, Kevin. :)

Expand full comment

It's hard to say for sure, but at this stage I think you're right. Of course, time will tell if it can be corrupted- and if it can, it will. Let's hope there's too many hands in the cookie jar to corrupt it. 😉

Expand full comment
author

That's what I think -- they've added layers to prevent what happened before. An editor isn't going to submit garbage because it will affect their own reputation as a boost nominator. So there's no one to hassle.

Expand full comment

I disagree with you. I think Medium has picked its curators in such a way as to breed insulation and a two-tiered gatekeeper system that eliminates many possibilities for very good writers to get an audience, much like the music industry was before it imploded.

Expand full comment
deletedJun 2, 2023Liked by Linda Caroll
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

I would believe that if I didn't see what my numbers were in the past when folks actually were given the chance to see the work.

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

Ah, which would be sad, since we are trying to get people to truly think rather than consume.

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

I hear you, but it doesn’t help when the gatekeepers keep you from distribution.

Expand full comment
author

Holly, you should go look at the list in Ariel's post. It's pretty obvious that there isn't an "audience" Medium is trying to reach. It's rather the opposite -- they're trying to bring in more diverse voices. But until you see the list, it's easy to think it's the same old thing as before. Keep in mind I started skeptical, too. I have had HISTORY posts boosted. That never happened in the past. It's why History of Yesterday left Medium. Now they're boosting freaking History posts.

Expand full comment
author

That's okay, you can disagree. Here's the thing. There are 62 curators so far, and I bet most people who are people disagreeing can't name even half of them. 27 of them announced it publicly on Medium. That leaves 35 no one knows. Pretty hard to say Medium "picked" their boost editors to breed insulation without knowing who they are. Know what I mean? If you look at the 27 posted on Medium, I promise you there's nothing there to indicate any handpicked insulation of a gatekeeper system. It might surprise you to go look for yourself. :)

Expand full comment

I did look. Since I'm a poet, I specifically looked for those, and my position is unchanged. There is obviously no apparent sincere interest in poetry on Medium. I guess that I just see the platform bias for what it is. I cannot speak for the 35 unknown, though the publications that did find distribution for me and others are not likely there. You are correct that I'm blind to those who are still hidden from me.

Expand full comment

I don’t share your enthusiasm.

Expand full comment
author

That's okay. I didn't share my enthusiasm in the beginning either. lol. Hopefully it brings you back to where you were before everyone nosedived.

Expand full comment

Interesting read, as always!

Expand full comment

Thanks for this, i had NO idea how boosting works. Not that I've been boosted often but at least I know what's going on!

Expand full comment

I am very hopeful that you are correct, Linda. My only real concern is that writers will find out who the publication editors are who are able to recommend stories to the Medium staff, and then those poor editors will be as besieged as the Medium curators once were. If they can figure out how to keep that from happening, I think the Boost system has great potential.

Expand full comment

I know, Jan. They get lots of stories. I shared a list of 13 editors today: https://kristinagod.substack.com/p/13-medium-publications-that-can-nominate

They outed themselves and there are many more. Ariel from Medium shared that in the future there will probably be a special badge or something like this so that people know who those curators are. It's a privilege. However, I know it's a whirlwind. Writing your own stories, reading the stories of others and nominating stories.

But $900 per month (max) is a good compensation ^^ if one of your nominated stories got Boosted

Expand full comment

Hi Kristina--

That's incorrect. $900 is the maximum amount a nominator can earn total during any given month. It was mentioned in the post linked below, but maybe could've been worded better.

https://medium.com/blog/a-nosy-faq-about-nominating-stories-for-our-boost-44bbf79549c

Expand full comment

Hi Kevin, edited it. It's 900 bucks max.

Is there a tier (as with the bonuses or minimum earning models) it something that says you get x when y? Ariel just mentioned that if a story you selected really gets chosen for further distribution you get up to 900.

Have you been paid yet? Was one of your nominated stories Boosted? Thanks. Have a nice weekend

Expand full comment
author

It's not $900 per boosted story. It's a maximum that they "can" earn in total per month. Whether anyone actually earns that is another story.

Expand full comment

I hope you are right about the boost effect because the crap you mention is increasing and I suspect chatbots are behind it. If I was not a writer and I paid for Medium, I’d be pissed off at the lack of quality- it’s out of control and it directly hits those of us who write about what we are passionate about. It’s good to hear that they’ve diversified the people doing boosts. I’ve been boosted, got 10k+ views, so I get it. Now get rid of publications and get some top writers to curate. And give me the option of only seeing boosted stories.

Expand full comment
author

I suspect chatbots are behind the crap, too. Plus people using ChatGPT and not disclosing it. The list of publications are really diverse and should help find some good stuff to boost. Whether or not they'll let us just see boosted stories, that I don't know. :)

Expand full comment

"Diverse stories", huh? (He said with a side eye).

I hope that will include the history and fiction I write.

But, since I'm primarily a self-publisher, I know they think I don't exist, anyway....

Expand full comment

David, I'm pretty sure *everyone* on Medium knows who you are! :)

Expand full comment
author

Wish I could like this 50 times here. lol

Expand full comment

I don't write one of My stories very often anymore. I usually just have tea and a chat about other peoples works. It's fun. My little stories were 98% distributed but more than that had thousands of external views and strong reads ratio. I've always been a happy camper. My readers got sick of the "crap" Medium sent along with my pieces so I said it's fine to leave Medium and I'd send them stories. (I need to follow your instructions for Substack). I just wrote a simple piece for Medium to see what happened and it was Boosted. You may be correct about it being a good thing, We need more writers writing for readers not for writers wanting to make money from other writers. I always value your opinion.

Expand full comment
author

That is awesome! And you're right -- we need more writers writing for readers. I'd love to come read your boosted story, but there's a LOT of people named Catherine on Medium and I can't find you. lol

Expand full comment

My Medium feed and reading recommendations are SO MUCH better now than before. Your insights help me to understand this Linda.

I've got a question: is there any chance of being Boosted if you don't submit stories to publications, but just publish to your own profile?

Expand full comment
author

Absolutely -- if you read the post I linked to, it confirms that stories don't need to be in publications to get boosted!

Expand full comment

great to know, thank you for the insights, Linda!

Expand full comment

Thank you for this. I'm learning a lot. I started up with Medium last year, then got in consistent. But, during the last 2 months, I decided to give it a chance again and became a top writer for photography. Learning these tips are helpful and I really appreciate 🙏🏽

Expand full comment
author

That's awesome and good to hear!

Expand full comment

This really sounds promising. I’ve more or less left Medium for Substack, but I haven’t given up my member status. Can you tell me if crossposted stories can be boosted or do they have to be original to Medium? Thanks.

Expand full comment
author

They don't have to be original to Medium, so you can cross post your heart out.

Expand full comment