Quick Tips for New Medium Writers
10 Quick Tips for New Medium Writers
It took me months to discover these
Are you a new Medium writer? Welcome to the community. You must’ve figured out by now how to write a story, format titles & subtitles, add links & images, and a few other things.
But there is more to it. When I joined Medium more than a year ago I wish someone had written these 10 Quick tips for New Medium Writers. So in this article, I am going to list them👇 .
Clap 👏
Claps are one of the ways to appreciate👍 a writer’s work ✍ on Medium. You can give 50 claps max to a story you like. Yes, you read that right.
The number of claps you give will depend on the value the writer has added to your life.
Just hold the “clap” button till the number reaches 50.
Highlight 🖊
This is by far the best thing I‘ve come across on a reading platform. While reading💻 a story you might stumble upon a part that really resonates with you. The medium allows you to highlight 🖊 that.
This is a powerful way of communication between a reader and a writer. It informs the writer specifically what touched your heart. 💖
Select the text, click right, and hit the “Highlight” icon.
You can view whatever you‘ve highlighted so far by selecting “List” from the drop-down menu located at the top right corner on your story page (where you write your story). This option only seems to work on the laptop.
Write Private Notes 📝
I knew that you could exchange private notes with publications’ editors, but I had no idea you could send messages to fellow writers ✉ and write notes📝 to your story as well.
Notes to your story are visible only to you and your editors in case you have submitted your draft to a publication.
To leave a private note select any text from a story and click on the “lock” icon. A window will pop up. Use that to send and write notes.
Pin Articles 📌
I scroll down to the last page to find every story my favorite writer✍ has written. But generally, I prefer to read the latest stories from the writers I follow. The medium allows you to pin 5 articles at any given time on your profile.
Go to your profile page which displays your published stories. Choose the story you want to pin. Click on the three dots and select “Pin Story” from the drop-down menu.
You can create and pin an “about me” story or a “table of Content” to facilitate your readers. Here is an article that explains 3 ways to keep your profile in order.
Tag A Writer 🏷
Imagine your favorite writer ✍has written a piece that inspired you. You can tag them to offer your gratitude for evoking that creative energy in you.
Put an @ symbol to tag a writer. Type and select their name from a drop-down menu.
Do not ❌ tag writers unnecessarily. They may find it annoying. So far I’ve tagged 3 writers and they didn't complain.
Publish Comments On Profile 🗨
Not saying you should do that but just so you know when you post a comment you have an option to publish it directly on your profile. Just check the box ☑ below where it says “also publish to my profile” and it's done.
Consider turning a detailed reply into a story and publishing it directly on your profile. You might want to tag the writer to let them know this is in response to their article. (Reminder: tag wisely💡 .)
Write For Publications 📰
Medium has stories from individual writers and publications. A writer✍ or a group of writers run the publication and their stories have a common theme.
For instance, I published two articles in “Inspirational Human”, a publication that the publication owner has archived. But I loved the idea of talking about people who inspired me on my journey.
There are some publications that welcome new medium writers. Look for them, and read their submission guidelines. Remember before you submit your draft they have to add you as a writer.
Whether you are looking to grow your readership or hone your craft the publication is a valuable platform to showcase your talent.
I recently became part of “the writing experiment” and this is going to be my first submission there. I chose to apply because I love to experiment with my writing. Choose a publication that is aligned with your intent.
Use Kicker 🤾♀️
The medium allows you to add a “Kicker” along with “Titles” and “subtitles”. A kicker is a short phrase that precedes the title.
Note the phrase I’ve added before the title of this article i.e. “Quick Tips for New Medium Writer.” That is a Kicker.
Write your kicker before the title. Select it, right-click, and hit the small T which is also used for the subtitle.
Build Or Be A Part Of Writing Community 🤝
Medium writers have created various groups on social media platforms to uplift each other. As a new Medium writer you can join Facebook groups and follow hashtags on Twitter like #writingcommunity to meet fellow writers and build a community.
Personally, I’d like to make meaningful connections so I read the work of my favorite writers as much as I can. I follow them on all social media platforms only because I absolutely love their work. One such writer is Steve Fendt.
Building a community takes time and effort. But in the end, it’s all worth it. You will earn wisdom🧠 , insight💡 , and probably a good friend🤝 for a lifetime.
Gain 100 Followers💯
You need 💯 followers to be eligible to earn from this platform. The medium does not❌ offer a partner program where I live. So this rule does not make any difference to me but those of you who are looking to make some extra bucks should remember this.
You must be wondering what am I doing here, then? Well, Medium is just a personal space where I share my thoughts, ideas, and experiences to make sense of the world around me. While doing that I keep experimenting with my writing.
Basically, I am having fun here and so should you. There is more to medium which you will find out in due course. But these were the top tips that I think you should know as a new medium writer.
I wish you well in your quest 👍
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Thanks for reading 💖
You can connect with me on my Facebook page, Linked In, Twitter and Instagram.
