4 Key Lessons From a Rejected Author

I learned the hard way so you don’t have to!

What made you click on the title? Having trouble getting your articles accepted by publication?

I can relate. It took me time to accept that my shit stinks too.

What if you were looking at this “M” for “Medium” in a completely wrong way?

Here I will share how I look at Medium and its associates and what are the 4 key lessons that I learned after getting rejected by various publications.

Let’s dive in.

Medium as a person:

Let’s face it — Medium is not a person who likes to bitch around! Medium only promotes information not mere opinions (we have comment section for that). The best part, it’s you who will decide how to convey that information.

Medium loves to test your resilience, it might be that you are here just for fun. So forget that you can lure Medium for a One Night thing! It will test your perseverance to its core. What should you do then? — fall in love with Medium.

Here is an article by “The Atlantic” — What is Medium? but you can read that later. First, let’s introduce you to someone.

Time to meet associates:

Fun Fact — the only relationship that you gonna have with Medium is of cash and few emails here and there! What more important are the Medium associates and they have a name: Publications.

How would you promote your article? Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or something else. Do you think every contact of yours will read what you wrote? You know the answer.

You would be surprised to know that majority of people read for “paltry 10-minutes a day”. No, we are not busy.

Publications are by far the best way to reach a bigger audience. Author, tell me something that I don’t know already! Wait…If you know this then why are you not able to form a relationship with these publications?

I will share the mistakes that you can do to sour this relationship or worst, form one by sharing my rejected articles.

Lesson 1: Stop Writing Opinions

We all love giving opinions period.

Medium is definitely not a place to do that specifically if you are not an established name. No, I am not discouraging you to write opinions. I am discouraging you to avoid drafting a whole piece as an opinion.

Rejected Article: “Building Skills To Survive In Any Universe”

It wouldn’t take a moment for you to grasp the idea of what this article would be about— “that you should have skills to survive in any universe.”

Instead, I should have drafted it like “7 Tips to Survive In Any Parallel Universe Financially”. Here lies the difference. I should have shared my experiences in detail, added quotes that come to my mind naturally from whatever I read and applied.

Medium gets interesting and challenging at the same time. It makes me think hard about what I read and do and how I can draft it to help others. What’s more blissful than that?

One of the best pieces that I read after joining Medium is by Yancey Strickler. It beautifully illustrates the above point.

Lesson 2: Not Understanding The Publication

Begin with an end in mind — Stephen R. Covey

I couldn’t connect with any better quote than this.

What do I mean by “Understand the publication”? Let’s say you are ready with your 1000 word draft about “Synesthesia”, would you submit to a publication that accepts articles about “Mindfulness”? Now, I know it sounds silly but a lot of people do it.

Go to the publication page and read it over and over again until you really understand what they want. Read as many articles as you can under a particular publication. This will not only help you to understand the publication better but will also introduce you to different authors.

What do I do? I read 3 articles on Medium from various publications that I am interested in. I note down down the title, author, and finally what I learned from that article. This practice has introduced me to writers like Sinem Günel, Ashley Abramson , Stacy Kam, and few others.

I begin with what publication or publications that am I writing this article for. Am I fulfilling all the requirements?

I will make mistakes for sure but I am increasing my chances too. Niklas Göke of Better Marketing have probably the most eloquent submission guidelines and so does ILLUMINATION and The Writing Cooperative .

Rejected Article: “STOP HEARING THOSE COLORS”

This article of mine talks about “Pruning” and how I related it with today’s society filled with distractions. I submitted it to a publication that writes about Wealth, Health, and Wise. Not a very wise choice I would say.

So remember, understand the publication first.

Also, don't be afraid to submit to a publication because of ambiguity, who knows your content is so good that they can’t resist.

I was afraid, and it didn’t serve any purpose.

Bonus: Top 100 Medium Publications

Lesson 3: Not Writing Evergreen Content

Writing, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger — Pico Iyer

Who stays? — Shout Forever! If you aren’t ready to use stall veggies, how can you draft something that won’t hold any value after some time? It’s lousy.

Are opinions evergreen?

So how does one generate evergreen ideas? Come here and I will whisper in your ear: Dive into the core of your problems! The further your dive, the more evergreen content you can think of.

Think about the title of this article.

As a practicing photographer, the more problems I locate in my own work, the more I can think about solving those problems in my next work.

A new idea is generated by focusing on the problems you have. It’s very likely that someone had, or has or will have that problem.

Rejected Article: “STOP AVERAGING, START ADDING”

This article is closest to my heart but again it’s more of like a semi-evergreen opinion. I didn’t back my philosophy with enough arguments thus the conclusion was weak and hard to validate.

So what sort of letter you want to leave? Absolutely the one that can be read at any point in time.

Lesson 4: Not Putting The Personal Punch

“I’m not ashamed to use my face, my voice, or my story to open doors and get our message out into the larger world. I try to create a “soft” introduction to engage people and bring them into the world of burns” ― Celia Belt,

Storytelling is the most underrated skill period. But why? Aren’t we creating enough experiences or aren’t we allowing ourselves to nurture the author inside is?

When you put a personal touch in your writing, you are taking yourself way ahead of others. Don’t contemplate, pour it out. Your story is the only thing that is going to connect you with others, everything else will be modified.

Had a harsh childhood and you dealt with that, came out beautifully then write about it. You never know but that can be a huge help to someone.

Writing an article becomes easier when you become a subject. Observe that statement for a while.

I used my photography side in the above section.

Scientists are using storytelling to communicate hard science research to people. Practice storytelling and see nature talking to you. Allow a beautiful poetry to fool your “this doesn’t sound rational mind.”

There is always a story to be shared right.

There is no rejected article that I can provide you for this section because I poured everything just like “John Legend’s — All of Me”.

I hope you will do the same.

Takeaway

Here are 4 key lessons that I learned from getting rejected from many publications:

1. Only writing opinions
2. Not understanding the publication
3. Not writing evergreen content
4. Not putting the personal punch

Believe in yourself and carry on writing.

Every beginner is overwhelmed by the idea of just writing 500 or 1000 words a day let alone being persistent on that.Rome was not built in a day so you got to start somewhere.

My first article was published by Toni Koraza 2-Minute-Madness. I started with 100 words a day. Drafted some, deleted some but I write.

Just write every day. There is no other secret sauce.

My very own one sided virtual mentor Tim Denning said — I make sure that I write specifically when I feeling not to. “Hi Tim”

Start writing, no matter what. The water doesn’t flow until the faucet is turned on — Louis L’ Amour

Remember the Inverse Law of Jacobi — Don’t ask what makes a happy life rather avoid those things which can make your life miserable.

That same goes with writing.