One thing the best writers have in common

Happy Friday,

Life is funny. Sometimes you learn things you didn’t expect, in the weirdest ways.

I have a little publication (on Medium) called History of Women. Two months ago, I opened it up to writers. My hope was that it would grow. And it has. Tripled in size in just 2 months.

Here’s what I didn’t expect.

I didn’t expect it to show me, so clearly, what makes some writers rise to the top while others struggle. But it did. Loud and clear.

Small, but powerful

It started with a strange experience, before I opened to other writers.

I’d published two stories. One to Mind Cafe, with 120,000 readers. It got 569 views. Then I published to my own little publication with 237 readers. It got 9,500 views. Wth?

Now, let me tell you something about getting views — and this works everywhere. It works on Amazon, social media, and Medium. Response fuels views. If a book is getting views and sales on Amazon, they push it to more people. If it’s not getting views and sales, they stifle it. In favor of books that get better response.

Same thing happens on social media, and on Medium. Views fuel more views.

The readers of my publication are avid readers. That’s how a post published there got 9,500 views even though the publication only had 237 readers. (Now over 600)

So, my hope was that I could give the same boost to struggling readers. Come. Publish here where we have avid readers, and get a boost in views.

Some writers floated to the top

Publication owners see stats for all the stories in their publication. Didn’t take long to notice that some writers floated to the top.

Interesting was what I noticed. The few writers who floated to the top quickly have one thing in common. They all work (or have worked) with kids in some capacity.

No—you don’t need to go work with kids to be a better writer. lol.

It’s cause and effect. A man who moves 50 pound pipes all day for a living probably has muscular arms. That doesn’t mean you have to move pipes to have muscular arms. See what I mean? Cause and effect. There are other ways to get muscular arms.

Same thing. Writers who spend a lot of time working with young people learn to nail two things. Clarity and storytelling. Because you have to be clear and compelling to catch a young person’s attention. Otherwise, they tune you out. Boring.

America has a comprehension problem

The news media loves to say America has a stellar literacy rate. And they do, if you’re counting the “ability” to read. Your name. A street sign. Facebook posts.

99% of Americans “can” read. One of the highest literacy rates in the world.

But reading comprehension? It’s abysmal. More than half of Americans have a reading comprehension level below fifth grade.

Here’s an easy way to say it. Harry Potter is the bar they can’t leap above. They can comprehend a Harry Potter novel, but not much that’s harder.

We’re not talking kindergarteners. We’re talking tweens.

When I look at the stories that rise to the top, a tween could read them and understand. But not just understand — want to continue reading. Because it’s clear and it’s compelling. It’s interesting enough to pass the “boring” test.

The stats make it crystal clear

Sometimes, I look in my publication stats and see two stories published the same day. One will have hundreds of views, the other barely makes two digit views.

Before I even look, I know what I’m going to find. One will have a title you can’t “not” click, followed by a story told like a story.

The other will have a weak title, followed by a story that was almost good. A story that tried really hard to be good. Except it’s not madly compelling. It reads more like Wikipedia than the Brothers Grimm.

Sometimes, I want to reach out and ask the writer of the struggling story — is this how you would tell this story to a bunch of tweens?

Like, if you were sitting in front of them. A dozen tween faces, shining up at you because you’re going to tell them a true story. Because I’m sure it’s not.

I’m really, really sure that faced with shining young faces awaiting a story, you’d tell it different. Not using those Wikipedia styled paragraphs. You’d drop the idea of sounding like a “writer” and just tell those kids a story.

You’d want to keep them at the edge of their seat. You’d watch their faces for response and lean into the parts that make their eyes go wide.

That’s what it takes.

And I know— that is easier said than done. Trust me, I have my fair share of duds.

But clear and compelling are what it takes to float to the top. I see it clear as a bell in my stats. It’s been eye opening to see more story stats than my own. I look at my duds in a whole new way. I can almost see where they tripped and fell.

Want to help make the point?

I imagine all publications experience the same thing mine does. That clear, compelling stories float to the top. Storytelling truly makes the difference.

I’m going to write about this on Medium, with examples of stories that took off and did really well. If you have one of those, would you share it in the comments?

Just share the link and tell me how many views it got. Doesn’t matter what publication it’s in. I’d love to read and share your winner.

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Did you miss any of these?

• Hansel and Gretel Was A True Story And A Horrible Tragedy

• They Gave Her A Lobotomy So Her Brother Could Be President

• Joseph Pulitzer Sent Her To An 1887 Insane Asylum

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Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

xo,
Linda