Starting publications on Medium

Becoming a More Responsible Publication Owner

Lessons I learned from starting two publications about how to treat our writers and supporters.

I read an article this morning called How to be a crappy Medium publication owner by Kristi Keller. It was a wake-up call about starting publications and following through with the responsibility that we have to the writers who submit work.

This was something that I’ve been dealing with in regards to my publication Mental Gecko which to date I’ve used as a place to collect mental health related articles. But it applied even more to my other publication Promposity, which is for prompt related stories and poetry. Though both of these publications got a strong start, there were things that I should have done differently.

I’ve been thinking about what I need to do to try to get them back on track in terms of growth and development, but because of other projects I have going that I’ve kept pushing to the back of my mind. Seeing this laid out in black and white in Kristi Keller’s article however, made it something that I could no longer ignore.

In an effort to re-establish the energy so my own publications will head back in the right direction, to get my mojo back, I’ve decided to call myself to task with some pointers of my own. I am mostly speaking to myself, but again, putting it in writing I hope will lead me to be a better publication owner though the suggestions may help others out there as well.

A Special Thank You To All The Writers Who Have Submitted Pieces So Far

Before I go into some of the things I learned about being a respectful publication owner I want to thank those who make my publications possible. I want to make sure that all the writers who have submitted to Promposity so far as well as those who have supported both both Promposity and Mental Gecko know how much they are appreciated and valued. A publication is nothing without it’s writers, it’s readers and it’s fans who follow, support and share the articles

Basic Suggestions for Being a Respectful Publication Owner

Soliciting Writers

When I decided to start Promposity, I made the decision to kick it off with a month long competition. From the beginning, I increased my reading on Medium especially in regards to Poetry and Fiction. When I came across a piece I really loved, I sent a private note to them expressing my hope they would submit something to the contest. Many did. In addition to those writers, others did see the announcement and submitted as well.

It’s important to remember if we solicit articles for a publication, to thank the writers who reply, and keep up with them. They did us a favor and may not have otherwise sent anything in. Plus, when we are approaching the best writers, they don’t really need to publish something in a brand new publication.

So we need to be gracious and not forget them once we get their article. We should make sure they feel appreciated. We shouldn’t just do whatever it takes to get more stories for our publication but should follow up on those who respond with a submission, especially those who submit regularly.

Don’t Do Everything at Once but Also Don’t Let It Slide

When I started the publication, I wasn’t sure whether I should create a dedicated Facebook page and Twitter account for it right off the bat. Although they were simple to set up, I realized that it would mean two more things to oversee and manage. Being the only editor at the time, I was concerned with spreading myself too thin, and decided to put those things off for a later date.

I did start a Mix channel and Pinterest channel for accepted stories but even those were not easy to manage on my own and sometimes they fell by the wayside. I also set up a dedicated email for the publication which was something else to monitor and sent out letters to followers regularly.

With only a few submissions a day it wasn’t hard to keep up with them. But there were periods when I got overwhelmed for days at a time and wasn’t able to review and publish stories as quickly as I should have.

I think when starting a publication, we need to understand that it’s going to be slow at firs. But if we keep our attention focused on it and don’t neglect it for weeks on end, we will see it grow.

When we neglect it however, it can be a hard road to bring it back. We don’t need to have every aspect in place as soon as we start it. It’s better to add things slowly and only when you know you will have the time to keep up with them.

Meeting Schedules and Deadlines

I’ve submitted a number of pieces for different contests and calls for new work and new writers. Many of the editors for the publications involved have dealt with my submissions in a professional manner and kept to the schedule they’d announced. Editors communicated with writers regularly through newsletters with updates.

I’ve also submitted to several publications that say they’ll do certain things but then don’t actually do them. I have no problem when the instructions say that piece won’t be published until after a deadline has passed. As long as I know up front when this will happen I am fine.

But when an editor doesn’t publish when they say they will, forgets to review a story they said they had received or doesn’t announce winners when they said they would do so, I get a bit annoyed. This makes me less likely to submit for their events in the future. I know this is also the case with my own publication.

Twice during the contest for Promposity, I had life come up and slap me in the face. This meant I was offline for a couple of days. Then at the end of the contest, I had a problem with Medium and I wasn’t able to access much of the platform including my publications for the last week.

This threw a rather large wrench into the monkey-works and in order to finish processing the submission from that week and be able to throw the end event, I had to push the end date back a week. This meant winners weren’t announced when I said they would be. I’m not sure whether I should have handled this differently, perhaps ending it, forgoing the closing event, and making the announcements a day late when I was able to get back online.

When something occurs to throw us off our game, those who submit for a specific deadline don’t really care why we can’t meet the deadline. So it’s important to do everything possible to keep to the schedule we announce.

Get Enthusiastic Writers Involved

This is the next step for me with Promposity. I am signing up editors to help run the publication in different capacities. So far I have two possible additions as editors, one for poetry and one for fiction. I’m thinking of other roles for additional editors as well, as we expand the publication and it’s reach (if anyone might be interested, please let me know in the comments.)

Take Away

It’s not easy to do everything that is needed to get a new publication off the ground. Trying to do all of this means that we are spending a lot of time promoting other writers which can limit the time we have for our own writing. It can be hard to stay motivated to keep up with everything, especially when it means our own numbers are beginning to slip.

But if we decide to start a publication, we need to be committed to not just see it succeed for our own reputation but should also be dedicated to promoting the writers who submit the work that makes up the publication. We should also show our writers and our audience the respect they deserve by meeting the goals that we set and keep the promises that we make. These are the areas I intend to focus on in the coming weeks with my own publications.

Natalie Frank (Taye Carrol) has had work featured in Haunted Waters Press, Weirdbook Magazine, Siren’s Call Publications, Lycan Valley Press and Zero Fiction among others. Her poetry has been featured in several anthologies. She is Editor for 1-One-Infinity, The Partnered Pen and One Table, One World and is Editor in Chief for Promposity and Mental Gecko. She is also the Managing Editor for Novellas and Serials at LVP Publications.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also like these:

You can find links to my other work on Medium and follow me here. Thanks for reading!