The Ultimate Guide to 43 Active Publications on Medium
A massive curated list of publications with topics, followers, tags, and how to apply
One of my recent hobbies has been deep-diving into Medium and all of its fun facets. One area in particular that I’ve focused on is all of the varying publications here.
And boy is it a big area to dive into! Smedian, a third-party website that assists publications and writers, tracks 10,486 different publications at the time of this writing!
The crazy part is, I wager there are thousands more that they don’t track.
But don’t get overwhelmed with the huge numbers, because I let myself get overwhelmed for you!
Note: Just in case you haven’t become a Medium member yet, I’d love you eternally if you signed up using my referral link! I’ll get a small commission at no cost to you and you’ll get eternal love — win-win!
What Is This Article?
The below information is a full summary of 43 different active publications from small to large.
I’ve cut them down to their most essential points, and reorganized them for easier reading and to better show the useful information.
Importantly, to the best of my knowledge, all of the below publications are actively accepting new writers.
For easy reading, each category shows a ‘Quick List’ with links to the publications, followed by an expanded ‘Long List’ of each publication with useful and efficient information such as followers, tags, topics, and how to apply.
The lists are organized by most followers to least.
Lastly, I’ve categorized this article to help fellow Mediumites use this list in the future when looking for publications to apply to:
1. Getting Started
2. Quick Lists:
- Medium owned publications
- Smaller publications for good beginnings
- Medium-sized publications for Mediumites
- Large publications for pros
3. Long Lists:
- Medium owned publications
- Smaller publications for good beginnings
- Medium-sized publications for Mediumites
- Large publications for pros
4. Publication Thoughts & Strategies
- A few lessons learned
- New to Medium?
- Graduate to Medium-sized publications
- Head for the big leagues
- Arrive at Medium owned territory
- Last bit
Ready for this? It’s a doozy — here we go!
1. Getting Started
Who should use this list? Well, that’s up to you! But I created it for anyone that is trying to get published on Medium or interested in learning more about the publications on this platform.
Whether a newbie or a pro, this list shows a huge amount of active publications that are still accepting writers.
Are you brand new to Medium?
- Start at section four, where I explain my thoughts on publications, then head over to Smaller publications for good beginnings.
Are you a Medium pro?
- Then start at the Long Lists in the Large publications for pros section and see how to apply with links.
Trying to find the biggest, baddest, most-active Medium publications?
- Head on over to the Quick Lists section, point four — Large publications for pros.
2. Quick Lists
Medium.com-Owned Publications
- Human Parts — 158,000
- OneZero — 102,000
- Elemental — 82,000
- Forge — 51,000
- Gen — 32,000
- Marker — 22,000
- Modus — 19,200
- Heated — 17,900
- Zora — 17,700
- Level — 2,000
Smaller Publications for Beginners
- Journal of Journeys — 1,000
- Med Daily — 1,000 [Discontinued]
- Writers Blokke — 200
- Pop-off — 200
- Feedium — 55 — (Disclaimer: This is my own publication)
Medium-Sized Publications for Mediumites
- Extra NewsFeed — 40,000
- Better Marketing — 31,000
- Literally Literary — 27,000
- Data Driven Investor — 24,000
- The Post Grad Survival Guide — 21,000
- Festival Peak — 18,000
- Predict — 7,900
- Live Your Life on Purpose — 7,600
- The Partnered Pen — 7,000
Large Publications for Pros
- The Startup — 552,000
- Mission.org — 539,000
- Personal Growth — 453,000
- Towards Data Science — 322,000
- UX Collective — 313,000
- UX Planet — 234,000
- The Writing Cooperative — 182,000
- Muzli Design Inspiration — 171,000
- P.S. I Love You — 168,000
- Be Yourself — 157,000
- Prototypr.io — 154,000
- Entrepreneur’s Handbook — 119,000
- DailyJS — 103,000
- Slackjaw — 101,000
- Art + Marketing — 89,000
- The Happy Startup School — 85,000
- Better Programming — 79,000
- The Ascent — 79,000
- The Creative Cafe — 72,000
3. Long Lists
Medium.com-Owned Publications
Human Parts
Followers: 158,000
Topics: Personal Stories & Perspectives
Useful Tags: Relationships, Self, Family, Mental Health, Love, Life
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Human Parts on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Stephanie Georgopulos (Editor)
Extra Info: Note, they state they’re not accepting applications due to overwhelming numbers, and instead will try to find new writers through self-published works. I’d still suggest emailing as you never know.
OneZero
Subscribers: 102,000
Topics: Tech & Science
Useful Tags: Digital Life, Industry, Technology, Science And Medicine, Tech, Consumer Tech
Submission Page: Here (General Medium owned publications)
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to OneZero on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Damon Beres (Editor)
Extra Info: N/A
Elemental
Subscribers: 82,000
Topics: “Science-backed health and wellness coverage”
Useful Tags: Health, Body, Life, Mental Health, Brain
Useful Tags: Science And Medicine, Health, Body, Life, Mental Health, Brain, Science, Food
Submission Page: Here (General Medium owned publications)
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Elemental on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Sarah Collins(Editor)
Extra Info: N/A
Forge
Subscribers: 51,000
Topics: “A toolbox of research- and expert-backed strategies to be more productive, inspired, and whole, and mind-expanding ideas.”
Useful Tags: Ecommerce, Live, Startup, Work, Entrepreneurship, Succeed, Writing, Money, Productivity
Submission Page: Here (General Medium owned publications)
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Forge on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Ross McCammon (Editor)
Extra Info: N/A
Gen
Subscribers: 32,000
Topics: Politics, power, and culture
Useful Tags: Millennials, Gen Z, Politics, Marketing, Technology, Social Media, Gen X, Culture
Submission Page: Here (General Medium owned publications)
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Gen on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Brendan Vaughan (Editor)
Extra Info: One of the newer publications on Medium. Note that Medium often pushes its publications to the front page and through other methods, so this is a great goal to strive for if your piece is of very high quality.
Marker
Subscribers: 22,000
Topics: “Making you smarter about the world of business — and the way business impacts our world.”
Useful Tags: Business, Startup, Entrepreneurship, Leadership
Submission Page: Here (General Medium owned publications)
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Marker on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Paul Smalera (Editor)
Extra Info: N/A
Modus
Subscribers: 19,200
Topics: “Helping designers thrive. A Medium publication about UX/UI design.”
Useful Tags: Design, Ideas, UX, Craft, Careers, Leadership
Submission Page: Here (General Medium owned publications)
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note, and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Modus on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Siobhan O’Connor (Editor)
Extra Info: N/A
Heated
Subscribers: 17,900
Topics: “Our is to showcase the links between food and just about everything else: agriculture, politics, history, and labor; culture and cooking; identity, family, and love.”
Useful Tags: Food, Cooking, Politics, Health, Recipe, Restaurant, Life
Submission Page: Guidelines
How to Apply: Read the above guide first. Then email your draft link, username, a nice note, and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and/or [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Heated on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Mark Bittman, and Melissa McCart (Editor)
Extra Info: N/A
Zora
Subscribers: 17,700
Topics: “A Medium publication for women of color.”
Useful Tags: Culture, Race, Women, Opinion, Equality, Politics, Identity, Black Women
Submission Page: Welcome message
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note, and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Zora on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Vanessa K. De Luca (Editor)
Extra Info: N/A
Level
Subscribers: 2,000
Topics: “A Medium publication for Black and Brown men. LEVEL offers the best commentary on race, identity, and culture for men of color, as well as tips on how to live your best life.”
Useful Tags: Culture, Race, Opinion, Equality, Politics, Identity, Men
Submission Page: Here (General Medium owned publications)
How to Apply: Email your draft link, username, a nice note, and mini introduction, and perhaps some links to previous related work. Send it to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Level on Medium.
Owner: Medium.com and Jhall (Editor)
Extra Info: N/A
Smaller Publications for Beginners
Journal of Journeys
Followers: 1,000
Topics: Anything nonfiction and related to yourself — stories, epics, poems, etc.
Useful Tags: Life, Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Inspiration, Writing, Personal Growth
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Reply to this article here and say that you’d like to join. They have many writers on this publication and I can see several got in touch through this method. Or, as Brian Brewington commented below, you can reach out to him, Tammy Hader or Brian Kurian on Medium or Twitter.
Owner: Brian Brewington, Tammy Hader (Editor), Brian Kurian (Editor)
Extra Info: Brian also pointed out you can reach out to him or the editors on Twitter (just go to their profiles to see the Twitter links).
Med Daily — [Discontinued]
Followers: 1000
Topics: Anything nonfiction and related to yourself — stories, epics, poems, etc.
Useful Tags: Writing, Medium, Life, Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Poetry, Entrepreneurship, Self, Productivity, Writing Tips
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Go to this page, read and send an email to [email protected] with a link to your draft. They’ll add you as an editor, so you can post at your leisure.
Owner: T.S. Johnson
Extra Info: This is an editor/writer publication, so all members can publish at their own will, any time.
Writers Blokke
Followers: 200
Topics: Everything!
Useful Tags: Writing, Life, Life Lessons, Poetry, Writing Tips, Self, Fiction, Self Improvement, Love
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Reply to the story on this page. Just be sure to write your username in the reply to make it easier for them to add you as an editor.
Owner: Benny Lim
Extra Info: This is an editor/writer publication, so all members can publish at their own will, any time.
Pop Off
Followers: 200
Topics: Pop culture — TV, media, music, content.
Useful Tags: Television, Movies, Entertainment, Film, Pop Culture, Music, Film Reviews, Movie Review, Netflix, TV Series
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Reply to the story on this page. Just be sure to write your username in the reply to make it easier for them to add you as an editor. The owner of the publication will clap 50 times on your reply to let you know you’ve been added.
Owner: Melissa Miles McCarter
Extra Info: This is an editor/writer publication, so all members can publish at their own will, any time.
Feedium
Followers: 55
Topics: “Medium is hungry. Feed it.” Everything related to Medium and advice to improve on the platform.
Useful Tags: Writing, Medium, Blogging, Lists, Life Lessons, Curation
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Read the article here, then send an email to [email protected] or arturner67@icloud.com stating your username, an article draft or pitch for a Medium related article. You can also reply to that article as an alternative — just state “Add me as a writer!” You can also reach out on Twitter.
Owner: J.J. Pryor and Robert Turner
Extra Info: Disclaimer, this is J.J. Pryor’s (my) own publication.
Medium-Sized Publications for Mediumites
Extra NewsFeed
Followers: 40,000
Topics: Real and satirical news all mixed in together.
Useful Tags: Politics, Donald Trump, Satire, Humor, Election 2020
Submission Page: N/A
How to Apply: I found two ways to apply. You can try emailing your draft, a note, and username to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to ExtraNewsFeed. Another method is on the AMI publication website where you can fill out a short application on the web form here. (Just scroll down to the ‘Contribute’ section).
Owner: AMI Publications and David Smooke
Extra Info: One of the 15 AMI publications on Medium, but one of the five active pubs that are likely accepting new writers. It’s possible that you can get curated by being published in this magazine.
Better Marketing
Followers: 31,000
Topics: Business and marketing related articles.
Useful Tags: Marketing, Writing, Business, Social Media, Entrepreneurship
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Fill out the form on the above page, there’s a link if you scroll down. They do state that if you don’t hear from them within three days, then you should consider the draft passed on.
Owner: Coach Tony and Niklas Göke
Extra Info: One of the three publications owned by Coach Tony as stated on his LinkedIn profile.
Literally Literary
Followers: 27,000
Topics: All kinds of prose. “We’ve Got a Story for You”
Useful Tags: Poetry, Love, Fiction, Life, Short Story, Relationships, Writing, Life Lessons
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: First read their extensive guidelines, this publication is a bit of a stickler for quality writing! (Nothing wrong with that of course!) Then go to this page where you need to fill out some information including a draft, your username, and agree to some of their rules.
Owners: Jonathan Greene
Extra Info: N/A
Data Driven Investor
Followers: 24,000
Topics: A wide variety of topics all geared around data, business, and investing.
Useful Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Investing, Startup, Entrepreneurship, Data Science, Business
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: First read through this article they published. Then send an email with your draft submission and your Medium username to [email protected].
Owners: John DeCleene
Extra Info: N/A
The Post Grad Survival Guide
Followers: 21,000
Topics: Aimed at fresh grads — topics can include anything related to that, as long as there is some aspect of advice or learnings for their readers — work, relationships, travel, finances, etc.
Useful Tags: Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Life, Writing, Productivity, Entrepreneurship, Travel, Personal Development
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Fill out the google form on this page with your username after reading through their guidelines.
Owners: Tom Kuegler
Extra Info: N/A
Festival Peak
Followers: 18,000
Topics: All about music.
Useful Tags: Music, Jazz, Album Review, Hip Hop, Music Review
Submission Page: N/A
How to Apply: I found two ways to apply. You can try emailing your draft, a note, and username to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Festival Peak. Another method is on the AMI publication website where you can fill out a short application on the web form here. (Just scroll down to the ‘Contribute’ section).
Owner: AMI Publications, David Smooke, and Jay Zalowitz
Extra Info: One of the 15 AMI publications on Medium, but one of the five active pubs that are likely accepting new writers. You may be able to get curated by being published in this magazine.
Predict
Followers: 7,900
Topics: Future predictions and related topics
Useful Tags: Machine Learning, Future, Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, Technology, Data Science, Science, Blockchain, Bitcoin
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Go to this page here for full instructions. Send an email to [email protected] with your draft or published work that you think would fit. If they like it, they’ll add you as a writer.
Owners: Eric Martin
Extra Info: N/A
Live Your Life On Purpose
Followers: 7,600
Topics: Articles on how to do well in life, including Life & Learning, Personal Finance, Productivity & Purpose, Individual Success
Useful Tags: Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Life, Self, Inspiration, Productivity, Personal Development, Health
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Reply to this story with your username and the phrase “I want to be a writer!”
Owners: Steve Spring
Extra Info: N/A
The Partnered Pen
Followers: 7,000
Topics: Any topics written by MPP members
Useful Tags: Poetry, Writing, Self, Life Lessons, Life, Relationships, Love, Mental Health, Humor, Creativity
Submission Page: Here ****
How to Apply: Although not officially stated, they have a huge amount of writers. I recommend emailing them at their official email and include a draft or two, with a nice note and your username: [email protected]
Owners: Unknown
Extra Info: This is a huge editor/writer styled publication. If you get accepted, you can submit your work to be published whenever you want.
****Updated: As of 6/10/2020 their submissions page states they aren’t currently accepting new writers now. I’ll update this when I hear otherwise.
Large Publications for Pros
The Startup
Followers: 552,000
Topics: Everything business and startup related.
Useful Tags: Startup, Tech, Growth, Entrepreneurship, Business
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Fill out the form on the above page. Note that they state if you wait more than 36 hours that they’ve probably passed on your draft submission, so try again with another one later!
Owner: Ali Mese
Extra Info: One of the largest publications on Medium and posts several articles every day.
Mission.org
Followers: 539,000
Topics: Tech and business learnings.
Useful Tags: Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Entrepreneurship, Productivity, Startup
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Fill out the form on the link above and hope for the best!
Owner: Chad Grills
Extra Info: This is one of Medium’s biggest publications and they have a lot of writers. There is little activity in the past few months, just a few posts each month. That being said, they may just be taking a vacation. Being published here could potentially get you in front of over half a million people, so it may be worth your effort.
Personal Growth
Followers: 453,000
Topics: Personal ideas and experiences.
Useful Tags: Personal Growth, Personal Development, Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Self-awareness
Submission Page: N/A
How to Apply: If you are lucky enough to be listed as a writer here, then you’ve pretty much made it on Medium. I believe the only way to get accepted as a writer is to try getting in touch with the owners below and send them with your top work while hoping for the best! They don’t list any formal method of contacting them via email or social media.
Owner: Personal Growth and Dan Pedersen
Extra Info: This magazine posts quite frequently and has a huge amount of readers. Just take a look at their list of writers, they are all quite Medium-famous.
Towards Data Science
Followers: 322,000
Topics: Everything machine learning, data science and AI related.
Useful Tags: Machine Learning, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Programming
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Please read the guidelines on the link above. Note they want you to send them an email with your Medium username, draft, and your LinkedIn profile or resume to [email protected].
Owner: TDS Team
UX Collective
Followers: 313,000
Topics: Everything related to user experience and product design.
Useful Tags: UX, Design, Product Design, UI, Design Thinking
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Review the submission post above and then send an email to [email protected]. Be sure to include your Medium username and draft. It seems like they also accept published articles for review too. They are also open to many different types of submissions like videos and pictures etc.
Owner: Fabricio Teixeira and Caio Braga
UX Planet
Followers: 234,000
Topics: Everything related to user experience.
Useful Tags: UX, Design, Product Design, UI, Design Thinking
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Review the submission post above and then send an email to [email protected]. They state they’ll try to get back to you within two business days.
Owner: Nick Babich (*his medium username is ‘@101’, definitely the oddest one I’ve seen, cool!)
The Writing Cooperative
Followers: 182,000
Topics: Everything related to writing and blogging crafts.
Useful Tags: Writing, Writing Tips, Creativity, Self Improvement, Productivity
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Wait until January and fill out the form on the above page that they should have by then. They’ll release updates for accepting new writers on the above link. Note they have a lot of requirements for posts so be sure to read their submission guidelines.
Owner: Justin Cox 🍩 and Sand Farnia
Extra Info: This publication is known for giving some feedback to submissions, they’ll usually point out one of their rules that it might violate if they don’t accept your submission. Many people have said they got curated after being posted here as well.
Muzli Design Inspiration
Followers: 171,000
Topics: Design inspiration in all forms.
Useful Tags: Design, UX, Inspiration, Creativity, Art
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Review the submission post above and then send an email to [email protected]. They give some specific requirements about your email so be sure to read the post. They also say to only wait three business days before assuming a draft is passed on.
Owner: Ohad Aviv and Eyal Zuri
P.S. I Love You
Followers: 168,000
Topics: Anything related to being human and relationships.
Useful Tags: Love, Relationships, Poetry, Life Lessons, Life
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: They only accept new writers from the 1st to 7th of each month. Send an email with your draft, a brief description, your Medium username, and some past work to Dan Moore at [email protected].
Owner: AMI Publications, David Smooke, and Dan Moore (Editor)
Extra Info: One of the 15 AMI publications on Medium, but one of the five active pubs that are accepting new writers. People also say you can get curated by being published in this magazine.
Be Yourself
Followers: 157,000
Topics: Everything related to self-improvement and helpful articles.
Useful Tags: Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Life, Love, Inspiration
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Send an email to [email protected] with your username, a brief note, and a draft submission.
Owner: Joel Mwakasege
Prototypr.io
Followers: 154,000
Topics: Prototypes, UX, and product design.
Useful Tags: Design, UX, Prototyping, UI, Tech
Submission Page: N/A
How to Apply: You can try emailing your draft, a note, and username to [email protected] and state that you’d like to be added as a writer.
Owner: Prototypr.io and Graeme
Entrepreneur’s Handbook
Followers: 119,000
Topics: Everything entrepreneurial.
Useful Tags: Entrepreneurship, Startup, Business, Marketing, Ideas
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Fill out the form on the above page, note there’s also a style guide and some recommendations on what they’re looking to publish.
Owner: Dave Schools
DailyJS
Followers: 103,000
Topics: Everything related to JavaScript in any form.
Useful Tags: JavaScript, Programming, React, Web Development, Software Development
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Review the submission post above and then send an email to [email protected]. Be sure to include your Medium username and draft. Note they are also okay with you sending them pitches instead of drafts.
Owner: Chris Brandrick and Peter Cooper
Slackjaw
Followers: 101,000
Topics: Anything funny or related to humor.
Useful Tags: Humor, Satire, Comedy, Politics, Writing, Fiction
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Go read this page here first, then send an email to [email protected] with your draft and username.
Owner: Alex Baia, sarah james, and tongue-in-cheek Matthew McConaughey
Extra Info: Keep in mind they like most pieces to be within 300–750 words.
Art + Marketing
Followers: 89,000
Topics: Everything related to the art of creating.
Useful Tags: Marketing, Art, Creativity, Startup, Social Media
Submission Page: N/A
How to Apply: Their submission post doesn’t state how to apply. I found two ways to do so. You can try emailing your draft, a note, and username to [email protected] and state that you’re applying to Art + Marketing. Another method is on the AMI publication website where you can fill out a short application on the web form here. (Just scroll down to the ‘Contribute’ section).
Owner: AMI Publications and David Smooke
Extra Info: One of the 15 AMI publications on Medium, but one of the five active pubs that are likely accepting new writers. You may be able to get curated by being published in this magazine.
The Happy Startup School
Followers: 85,000
Topics: All about happiness and startup life.
Useful Tags: Entrepreneurship, Startup, Happiness, Community, Business, Purpose, Creativity, Life Lessons
Submission Page: N/A
How to Apply: Although not explicitly stating they accept new writers, they do have a lot and it can never hurt to try. I would send an email with a draft and some previous related examples, as well as a nice note and your username to [email protected].
Owners: Laurence McCahill and Carlos Saba
Extra Info: N/A
Better Programming
Followers: 79,000
Topics: Everything programming related.
Useful Tags: Programming, JavaScript, Software Development, iOS, Web Development
Submission Page: Submission Post
How to Apply: Fill out the form on the above page, there’s a link if you scroll down. They do state that if you don’t hear from them within three days, then you should consider the draft passed on.
Owner: Coach Tony and Zack Shapiro
Extra Info: One of the three publications owned by Coach Tony as stated on his LinkedIn profile. Also suspected to curate articles if your post is published there.
The Ascent
Followers: 79,000
Topics: A community of storytellers documenting the journey to happiness & fulfillment.
Useful Tags: Life Lessons, Self Improvement, The Ascent, Life, Personal Development, Entrepreneurship, Productivity, Self
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Go to this page and fill out the Google Form to be added as a writer.
Owners: Steve Campbell
Extra Info: N/A
The Creative Cafe
Followers: 72,000
Topics: “Dedicated to supporting and fostering the creative writing community. This is a place for compulsive creators, their work, and their stories.”
Useful Tags: Poetry, Fiction, Love, Life, Short Story, Writing, Life Lessons, Creative Writing, Creativity
Submission Page: Here
How to Apply: Go to this page here, read the instructions then visit their link on that page to get added as a writer.
Owners: Jake
Extra Info: They also have two writing prompts per month.
4. Publication Thoughts & Strategies
When I first started applying to publications on Medium, I faced a lot of rejection and lack of responses from editors. Of course it got me a bit down for a while, but it spurred me to go take a deep dive into the subject of publications on this platform.
As part of that research, I started building lists of Medium publications that are still active and accept writers (like this one!). I felt like sharing it with the greater Mediumite community here to help them save time and improve their publication chances.
I’m by no means an expert on Medium, nor do I have a crazy amount of followers (but hopefully will someday). What I can point out are the lessons I’ve learned in these last few months of research.
A few lessons learned
- Follow the curation guidelines as a minimum before applying to publications
- Join Medium Facebook groups to find writers, share your work, and get great advice from the community
- People skim on Medium — your work needs to be optimized for that
- Titles in title case, and subtitles in sentence case
- Colorful, relevant pictures work wonders — but not too many
- Keep paragraphs much shorter than you would usually do
- Include one-liners and bold or italicize parts that you want to highlight
- Page breaks are your friend (CTRL + Enter for Windows users)
- Publications don’t often like excessive bio’s, links, etc at the end of articles (and may delete them if you have)
- Publications can take from one day to one month to reply to you (but if you follow the lists above, the smaller the pub, the shorter the response time — usually)
- Some publications have very strict guidelines, so read those if they have them before submitting drafts
- Record your submitted drafts in an Excel sheet or notepad — if a publication doesn’t ever reply you might forget you wrote a piece!
- Read five to ten popular articles on any publication that you want to apply to to get a good feel for what they’re looking for
- Getting published doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get more views, but it’s a great place to start
- Getting published in some publications will get your piece curated
New to Medium?
Join one or two of the Smaller publications for good beginnings publications listed above. Even better, start with the writer/editor type publications (identified in the list). Why?
- You can get used to publishing
- You get access to a decent amount of potential viewers at the beginning
- You can submit when and what you want (within guidelines of course)
- You can find new Mediumites like yourselves to help each other
Once you get the hang of these groups, you don’t have to leave them. They are great as an alternative to self-publishing and getting feedback from other writers here.
Graduate to Medium-sized publications
After a while, when you are getting comfortable with what kind of writing style works on Medium (and perhaps what doesn’t), you can start looking at applying to bigger publications.
I’d suggest starting with the Medium-sized publications for Mediumites section to find a few that have topics that appeal to you. Why?
- You need to submit your drafts to these pubs and may be rejected
- They’re often a good source of editor feedback and how you can improve
- Many of them will reply within a week
- They have a greater audience reach (10 to 100k)
- Your writing will improve in the process of getting accepted to these
Head for the big leagues
By this time, you may have more of a blogging niche worked out. Your Medium articles will probably have developed to a certain style that suits your personality and the readers on the platform.
What does that mean? Well, it may be time to try to compete to get into the bigger publications. Nothing is stopping you from doing this earlier, of course, this is just a development path that I’m following myself.
For the Large publications for pros section, there will be new challenges. Most of these publications get insane amounts of submissions every day, let alone requests for new writers. That’s why you’ll see many of them not even have an easy way to apply (ex. submission section).
But if you want to graduate to the next level in Medium, these are a good place to head towards. But you should know some things about them.
- They have a greater reach
- Their writing requirements can be pretty stringent — good for further improving
- Most of them will get back to you within a week or two
- You will get rejected or have no response more than not — especially at the beginning
- Some have strict style guides that need to be adhered to
Arrive at Medium-owned territory
If you venture into the Mediumite Facebook groups or other communities, any mention of trying to get published in one of the Medium-owned publications will result in immediate depression from many of the users.
Why’s that?
- These publications often act a bit more like a private magazine (Time, Economist, etc)
- The number of applications they receive is huge, but they can only publish a few
- Many of them can take up to a month to reply, and many of us Mediumites simply don’t wait that long
- Some have professional staff writers that do this for a living with extremely high quality of work to set expectations
As such, getting published in one of the Medium-owned publications is like the World Series of blogging on here. It’s certainly something to aspire to, if you can have the patience and humility to be rejected even after waiting a month.
Not an easy ask.
But if you have the ideas, writing quality, and patience to get accepted into one of these publications, it could pay off. Medium has stated that they give preference to their publications for things like the front page and mailer blasts.
So if you feel you can reach this level of quality and acceptance, then, by all means, strive for it!
Last Bit
I hope this massive article is helpful for anyone reading this. If you’ve made it this far to the end, congratulations!
Then go put your creatives juices to work, adapt a bit to their preferred style (without selling your soul), and get down to business! The one last piece of advice on this, which I find the most difficult, is waiting a long time for responses.
