A List of 40 Publications With Boosting Powers!

And how to apply to them…

Getting boosted is like winning the Medium algorithmic lottery. While there’s nothing that guarantees you that sweet, sweet boost juice — there are things you can do to increase your odds of getting boosted.

Since some of us might be against blowing or motorboating the boosting editors, submitting your story to a pub that has boosting powers is a good start. Another good start is to write something ‘boost-worthy’, which I wrote about here.

If you want your story boosted, the 40 pubs below certainly increase your odds.

[*Edit: I have added 9 more pubs to the original 18 — bringing it to 27. More may be added as I come across them so perhaps bookmark this story? Third edit July 21 2023 — I just added more bringing it to 39 Aug edit: 40]

Hmm…so, maybe it’s less like the lottery and more like The Hunger Games. I guess the boost curators are the Woodward English in this scenario. But let me be the first to say…‘May the odds be ever in your favor’.

Without further ado, here are the 38 pubs (if there is a name next to it, then that is the person from that publication with the booster juice):

*All pub images are ‘screenshots by author’ of their pub profile page (ooh — that alliterated!)

1. Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs — by Jason Provencio

Let’s start this list with a little nepotism here, and my buddy Jason’s Bouncin’ and Behavin’ blogs. It’s a smorgasbord of topics but tends to pick up some really intriguing (and sometimes off-the-wall) stuff.

JPro is an awesome editor to work with, he gets articles posted quickly — and for some insane(ly awesome) reason they picked this renegade maverick for the early boost team. To join the pub email him at [email protected]

2. The Taoist Online — by Patrick Stewart

My second nepotistic pub on this list is my buddy Patrick’s pub — The Taoist Online. He is also so incredibly nice to work with, patient with new writers, approves posts quickly — and was just added to the booster team.

Submission Guidelines:

Application Form (comment on this post):

Topics: Personal life stories about the human experience, Eastern Spirituality, Stoicism, General Philosophy, Christianity or any other Western religion (Islam, Judaism, etc), Rhetoric, Nature or the Environment, Peace and Harmony, Mindfulness, Veganism or vegetarianism, and Alternative lifestyles.

For the next pubs, I just don’t know them personally (but they are hopefully super nice as well). Since I don’t have the same personal experience or relationship with them, I will just include the details on how to apply and their topics. I’m sure they’re all run by utter rockstar community peeps.

3. UX Collective — by Fabricio Teixeira

Submission Guidelines:

Submit Draft To: [email protected]

Topic(s): UX, Visual & Product Design

4. Runner’s Life — by Jeff Barton

Submission Guidelines:

Application Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoQVXr2-zYJoafa6-4EgfcFo81hwab-vYzuNiPx9L9WsffJw/viewform

Topic(s): running (yes…I realize I probably didn’t need to say that)

5. Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age — by Nancy Peckenham

Submission Guidelines:

Email address to apply: [email protected]

Topics: life as we age

6. The Belladonna — by Kristen Mulrooney

Submission Guidelines:

Email address to apply (specific instructions in guidelines): [email protected]

Topic(s): humor/women

7. The Writing Cooperative — by Justin Cox

Submission Guidelines:

Application Form: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/624c48402d66a653a854bd9b

Topic(s): writing advice

8. ZORA — by Maia Niguel Hoskin, Ph.D.

ZORA doesn’t have a submissions guidelines page (that I can find), so they may or may not be open to new writers. I hope they are, because giving early boosting privileges to a closed pub would be a bit of a dick move on Medium’s part in my (probably worthless) opinion. I do think it is a great pub though!

But if you write about women of colour you could try reaching out to the editors and inquire if they are open to new writers. It looks like the editors are Medium employees, so this looks like it could be a long-term, old-school legacy pub.

Topics: for women of color and our allies

9. Sybarite — by Adeline Dimond

Ditto for the above pub. I can’t find if they are open to new writers — but you could give it a whirl and contact them.

Topics: all forms of indulgence, pleasure, and luxury

10. Towards Data Science — by Ben Huberman

Submission Guidelines:

Application Form: https://towardsdatascience.typeform.com/to/feqmih

Topic(s): data science

11. Fanfare

Submission Guidelines:

Email address to apply (with writing sample): [email protected]

Topic(s): culture

12. Scribe

Submission Guidelines:

Email address to apply: [email protected]

Topic(s): personal stories

13. Mystic Minds

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: Spirituality, mindset, and various other topics

14. Curious

Submission Guidelines (and writer application form):

Topic(s): self improvement

15. The Generator

There isn’t a submission guidelines page (that I could find), but you could email the pub owner on this page:

Topics: generative AI

16. Modern Women — by ADEOLA SHEEHY-ADEKALE

Submission guidelines (and comment on this post to apply):

Topic(s): women

17. Middle Pause — by Debbie Walker

Submission guidelines, ladies:

Topics: life relating to menopause

18. The Memoirist — by KiKi Walter

Submission Guidelines:

Application Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPShhsRI22m7C7XbZKV1gpIZzTnOTo2zmjFCMTbHPaz4iGWQ/viewform

Topic(s): memoirs (I know, I know — I didn’t need to say this right)

19. The Narrative Arc

Submission Guidelines:

Topic: Memoirs & Personal Essays

20. Frame Rated by Dan Owen

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: Film & TV

21. Ellemeno by David Todd McCarty

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: politics, culture, travel, writer lifestyle, +

22. The Gray Area by Graham Zemel

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: computer science & cybersecurity

23. Mac O’Clock by Nassos Michas

Submission Guidelines (requirement of minimum 500 followers):

Topics: Apple/Mac

24. The Signifier by Remy Dean

I couldn’t find the submission guidelines, but there are some details on their ‘about’ page:

Topics: art, design & media

25. Wise &Well by Robert Roy Britt

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: health, exercise, fitness, and more.

26. Data Engineering Things by Xinran Waibel

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: …you get 3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count.

27. The Riff by Kevin Alexander

Submission Guidelines:

Topic: music

28. Symbiotica by Kelly Baldwin Heid

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: the environment

29. Black Bear by KiKi Walter

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: addiction and mental health

30. Bitchy by June Kirri

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: mental health, men, LGBTQ+, relationships, politics, feminism, women

31. History of Women by Linda Caroll

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: women (surprise!)

32. The Wind Phone by Christine Schoenwald and Debra Groves Harman

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: Memories, memorial pieces, and creativity with loss

33. Age of Empathy by KiKi Walter

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: essays

34. AfroSapiophile by Johnny Silvercloud

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: black thought

35. Rainbow Salad by Sadie Seroxcat

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: Poetry and fiction

36. Counter Arts by Sadie Seroxcat

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: art, culture, photography, equality, design tech, literature

37. In for a Penny by Christine Schoenwald and Debra Groves Harman

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: listicles

Scrittura by Marilyn J Wolf

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: Poetry & Prose

Prism & Pen by James Finn

Submission Guidelines:

Topics: LGBTQ+

39. BetterHumans

Last, but certainly not least — BetterHumans, one of the platform’s biggest pubs.

Submission Guidelines:

Application Form: https://form.typeform.com/to/pmIWrYCh

Topic(s): Self-improvement — backed up with personal experience.

Pheww.

Now go forth and boostify yourself!

~Robin Wilding, reporting from…a big-ass hamper of dirty laundry