5 Reasons to Publish Your Poems on Medium

Have you been hoarding your poems, afraid to share them with the world for fear of criticism? Or are you hesitant to post your poetry online, in the hopes of having your work accepted by a traditional publisher? If so, read on to find out five reasons to publish your poetry on Medium, which can also help you get published outside the platform down the road.

If you’re like me, you’ve been writing poetry for years — if not decades. You spend hours — alone — writing and polishing your work. You don’t mind the solitude, but then you wonder if your stuff is any good. You want to share it with others but are not sure where to begin and how to proceed.

You may have started submitting your poems to traditional publications and poetry competitions, for which you often pay out of pocket. Then you wait for months to receive what is usually a formulaic rejection letter, without any meaningful and actionable feedback explaining the decision.

Even when you’re accepted — after the euphoric, but short-lived, feeling of self-validation fades — all that you’re left with, aside from bragging rights, is your contributor copy.

Eventually, you come across Medium and wonder: “Should I publish my poems here?” You do some research and learn that, as with everything in life, there are downsides to posting your poetry online.

However, from personal experience with publishing my work through both traditional channels and on Medium, I’m here to tell you that there are five excellent reasons to entrust your poems — your precious brainchildren — to this platform. Here’s what you can expect after you hit that “publish” button.

1. You will get you useful feedback on your work

Although I joined Medium only recently, I’ve received more feedback through the platform than I have in years through traditional channels, like submitting my poems to publications, publishing my work, and attending workshops. By feedback I mean not only comments and claps, but also the behind-the-scenes stats that demonstrate how much time readers spent reading each of my poems.

In real time, I can see what resonates with my readers and what doesn’t. Some of the comments have even given me a new or deeper perspective on my own work. This is valuable information, not least because it will help me decide which poems to include in my first poetry book and which to submit to poetry competitions, so that I can be smarter with the money that I spend on future submissions.

Do keep in mind, however, that once a poem is published on Medium, from a copyright standpoint, it will be considered “published.” This will limit the publications to which you can submit it in the future, since many — albeit not all — journals, anthologies, and poetry prizes only accept previously unpublished work.

2. You will become more confident as a poet and writer.

In my experience, you’re far more likely to get encouragement from readers on Medium than from the editors and readers of the traditional publications in which your work is featured.

Sure, you’ll get an ego boost just from knowing your poems were selected for publication — competition can be stiff. However, most often that will be that, because there is usually limited scope for connecting with your readers directly and journal editors are not the most effusive bunch.

There is also something inherently empowering about pressing that “publish” button— and doing it frequently. The more you publish, the more confident you will feel as a poet and writer. Knowing that you need to consistently produce high-quality work to enhance your chances of success on Medium will also motivate you to work on your craft on a regular basis. Practice may not make perfect, but it does make better.

Here’s a link to the very first poem that I posted on Medium. The positive feedback it received gave me a huge confidence boost and inspired me to work even harder to become someone that can produce good work on a more consistent basis.

3. You can monetize your passion with no upfront costs.

Make no mistake — it is very difficult, if not impossible, to make a lot of money on Medium by publishing only poetry. However, the alternative — submitting those same poems to publications outside the platform — will cost you money.

Journal submissions are rarely free. With fees typically ranging between 3 and 25 dollars per submission, you don’t need me to tell you that this can add up over time. Moreover, even if you do get published, it is exceedingly rare to receive monetary compensation for your work.

Medium, on the other hand, offers you the opportunity to earn something from your writing with no upfront costs. You do not need to pay to publish on the platform or to submit your work to publications.

Even if you choose to become a full Medium member, the cost of the subscription that gives you unlimited access to Medium content is only 5 dollars a month — the equivalent of the average cost of a single submission to a traditional publication.

4. You will discover a community of other poets and poetry aficionados.

While writing is fun, it is also a solitary pursuit. And it can get quite lonely from time to time. Especially when almost no one around us understands or appreciates poetry as much as we do.

Truth is, we all want to connect and interact with others that share our interests. And sure, there are ways to do this outside of Medium. For example, you can sign up for poetry workshops and try to get to know the other participants. However, most workshops are structurally hierarchically, with the students there to learn from the instructor, which means limited direct engagement between participants (especially these days, with most meetings happening on zoom).

Medium, on the other hand, encourages horizontal interactions between readers and writers. We can directly comment on, and compliment, each other’s work. And by doing this again and again, whether we realize it or not, we become part of a community. It is only a matter of time before we feel like a part of one as well.

5. You will find a broad and diverse audience for your poetry.

Publishing on Medium can potentially get you hundreds, if not thousands, eyeballs on your work — far beyond what almost all traditional publishers can deliver. The latter tend to have small-scale operations and to be hidden behind a much higher paywall. This means that unless someone buys a copy of the journal or book in which your work appears, you cannot easily share it with them.

What will a wider and more diverse readership mean for you? More accurate feedback, greater scope for encouragement and engagement with your readers, and more of a chance to directly influence and inspire others, and to be influenced and inspired in return.

To produce high-quality work, poets like everyone else need to be part of broader conversations. And we need to listen and learn from others, whose perspectives and life experiences are different from ours.

There is no denying that every platform has its drawbacks, and Medium is no different. However, in my experience, there is no question that the platform provides tangible benefits that, if harnessed correctly, can help us grow not only as poets but also as human beings.

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By becoming a subscribing Medium member, you can get easy access to high-quality poems by many different writers, whose work you indirectly support. To grow in our craft as poets, we must read and interact with the work of others. There is no other platform that gets you this much high-quality content for so little money on a regular basis. Click here to join Medium.

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