A Complete Guide to Submitting to Medium Publications

Including how to pitch thirteen of the biggest and one smaller one

Trying to work out how to get your story into a big publication? They don’t make it easy, do they? I’ve got you covered — I hunted around Medium for hours to find these so that you don’t have to. Best of luck!

This story has been updated as many of these publications have stopped publishing or changed their submission process.

See an updated version here:

Finding the right Medium Publication

Medium Publications are like magazines, and just like magazines they each have their own flavor and overall voice.

Before you pitch, it’s worth taking your time to:

• read through their topics
• browse stories they’ve published (and notice how often they publish)
• read their submission guidelines and get a feel for what they like to publish.

If you skip this step, you’ll waste a lot of energy pitching to the wrong places.

Remember there are hundreds of publications on Medium of all sizes and readerships, so keep sending your work in until you find a match.

You can see the size of a publication by adding after it’s name like this:

https://medium.com/inspired-writer/latest

You can always self-publish but, while you build your following, self-publishing isn’t always ideal. You’ll usually get more exposure in a publication. Borrow their audience while you build your own.

If your goal is to increase your readership, then applying to one of these larger publications may be the way to go.

If you become a member, you can read as many Medium stories as you like. When you use this link to join up, I get a small commission to help support the work we do here at Inspired Writer (we are volunteer editors). Thank you!

Fourteen places to pitch

In 2021, Medium took the emphasis off it’s large Medium owned publications.

This article by Medium has most of the contact details for pitching Medium owned publications, but scroll down this article and read up about the pub you’re interested in before you pitch, as many of them have stopped accepting pitches altogether.

However, many of the big ones are still worth a try as they have large audiences:

1. Forge

Forge say they are about how to get more done, invest in creativity and focus, and be happy doing it.

Update: Not currently publishing new stories.

2. GEN

GEN want stories about politics, culture, and power.

Update: Not currently publishing new stories.

3. Modus

If you’re a designer, Modus is your place.

Update: Not currently publishing new stories.

We want to create a place where designers can read high-quality, practical, thought-provoking pieces that will help them be better at their craft.

4. Zora

Zora centers on and celebrates the hopes, dreams, aspirations, and experiences of women of color according to their welcome page.

Update: tag with Zora and self publish your story to pitch.

Is there a way to pitch to Zora? You could try emailing [email protected] with your story draft, but the best way to get published in Zora seems to be with one of their “Calls for Submissions” like the one below. Keep an eye out for these on their homepage and be ready to write!

5. OneZero

OneZero says it is a forward-looking tech and science publication. For pitching, email [email protected]

Update: Not currently publishing.

6. Elemental

Elemental is a health and wellness publication.

Update: Not currently publishing.

Every story will be aggressively researched and will include perspectives from several — not just one — leading experts in the field.

Pitch to [email protected]

7. Human Parts

Human Parts publishes first person personal essays and perspectives. They are not currently taking submissions.

We’ll continue to scour Medium for great self-published stories and reach out to writers whose work fits the description below. The best way to contribute, then? Self-publish your story on Medium, and if it’s a fit for us, trust that we’ll find it.

Learn to tell stories readers and editors will love to read. Find out more.

8. Marker

Marker is focused on the world of business and the way business impacts our world.

Update: Not currently publishing.

9. The Writing Cooperative

This publication has a large following and is also great to write for (I do). It has a Facebook page and mentoring group. To get a story accepted you need to check and double check that you have met their requirements. They are really tough and even an incorrectly formatted heading will have your story rejected for violating the rules.

10. Better Humans

The “Better” group of publications includes: Better Humans, Better Programming, and Better Marketing.

Better Humans has 380K+ followers. In their guidelines they say they want articles with smart self-improvement advice. The advice has to be backed up by personal experience.

Learn to include your personal story in a piece. Find out more

11. Better Programming

With 193K+ followers, they are “always looking for great content to help programmers get better at what we do everyday.”

12. Better Marketing

BM has 105K+ followers. They want “new and interesting articles about marketing, business, and creativity.”

13. Start it Up

Start it Up has a huge following and takes a wide range of stories. They say in their guidelines that if you don’t hear back in 36 hours, assume your story has not been accepted.

14. New Writers — Inspired Writer

If you’re a new writer and want to hone your skills before submitting to the big ones, contact us here at Inspired Writer. We aim to give new writers a boost by helping them create better stories and get them out into the world.

Inspired writer takes personal essays. Learn what a personal essay is and how to write them better. Find out more at the Inspired Academy here.

Get familiar with the editor’s tastes

If you read stories the editors of each publication love and highlight in their “Editors Picks”, you’ll get a feel for where you might fit. Time to get exploring those publications, be brave, and submit your best!

If you want to begin a little more gently, some of the publications listed below may be easier to start off in:

Remember: If you become a member, you can read as many Medium stories as you like. When you use this link to join up, I get a small commission to help support the work we do here at Inspired Writer.