Service Excellence
Essential Checklist for Writers and Bloggers
Improve the quality and readability of your stories by reviewing your content with an established measure
Writer applications to Illumination via our registration portal
New writers, please review the onboarding pack after reading this checklist. It includes essential information that can help you.
Introduction
Dear Writers,
Thank you for joining my publications. I am excited and feel privileged to serve you. To show my appreciation for your contributions, I prepared this checklist for writers planning to submit to ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications on Medium.
However, these points can be used for any publication on Medium or other content platforms on the web. I prepared this article to give back to the writers’ community. These points reflect my 40+ years of writing experience, mainly non-fiction.
Let me give you a quick background before introducing the checklist.
One of my goals is to increase the reading times of our writers and contribute to their income. My publications hosted many viral stories bringing thousands of dollars to writers.
Last year a single viral story posted by S M Mamunur Rahman on Illumination earned around $20,000, inspiring, informing, and entertaining over half a million readers on Medium.
Therefore I want every writer to taste this feeling at least once in their lifetime. I tasted it a few times, which inspired me to write better by putting more effort into editing. I used to undermine the importance of self-editing in the past.
Editing does not guarantee virality, but it can increase the chance of your story being featured, curated, or boosted. From my several years of editorial and analytical experience, without these interventions, your stories do not go viral on this platform.
You may check my review of viral stories in 2021.
Based on my experience, I guided increasing reading times that matter for writers.
I believe that anyone can be a prolific writer. I explained this in this story.
Being a prolific writer might also make you a top writer on Medium.
I am grateful for the feedback provided to the story, informing me it raises the quality bars of ILLUMINATION. Our readers are impressed and delighted by the improvement.
Please review our position as we will implement the rules in these guidelines. Publication Conduct Guidelines
Some writers at Level 1 want to move to Level 2, and many writers at L2 wish to progress toward L3 goals. This initiative is an ongoing process. As an editorial team, we will continue to support these transitioning activities and help you transform your writing to the desired levels.
Based on the request from some committed writers who take personal responsibility for their progress, I prepared a checklist to help with the submission process.
You can use this checklist before submitting your stories both to ILLUMINATION and to ILLUMINATION-Curated.
Well-written stories from ILLUMINATION can be nominated to be transferred to ILLUMINATION-Curated using various ways. You can learn the approaches from this article.
You Can Directly Write For ILLUMINATION-Curated
But your stories must meet Medium curation guidelines
Checklist for Quality Improvement
This checklist is a pragmatic approach that does not lead to perfection, which I refrain from, as explained in a story titled Why I Find Perfection in Imperfection.
Here is a summary of our editorial criteria in a checklist format. Using this checklist might also increase the chance of your stories being boosted on Medium.
1 — Did I write my story for the reader?
Who is my audience?
Did I write this story for a specific or a broad audience?
Is my writing at an appropriate level for my intended audience?
2 — Does my story have value for the reader?
What value do I give in this story?
What takeaway points did I provide?
Do these takeaway points matter to my audience?
Does my story make an impact?
3 — Is my story easy to read?
Did I use a logical structure?
Did I choose simple and useful words?
4 — Does my story meet high editorial standards?
If I were the editor to review this story, would I accept it?
Did I use Hemingway Editor to check the editorial quality of my story?
5 — Does my introductory paragraph align with my conclusion?
Is there a clear link between my introduction and conclusion?
Can I make my introduction more attractive?
How can I make my introduction and conclusion more memorable?
6 — Did I make my content interesting and engaging?
Did I use a dull or exciting style?
Did I choose lively words?
Did I use analogies and metaphors to make my content enjoyable?
Did I use a conversational tone to make my story engaging?
7 — Does my story provide my intended messages?
If I were the reader of this story, would I understand the intended message?
Are my points clear?
8 — Is my story rigorous for facts?
Did I check the facts from reliable resources?
Did I provide adequate citations for borrowed content?
9 — Did I write my story honestly?
Do I believe in my content?
Did I write this story to create a sensation or provide useful messages?
Are the messages aligned with my genre, e.g. fiction, non-fiction.
10 — Does my story give a pleasant reading experience?
Did I reflect the correct mood aligning with my content?
Would the reader show disgust with my points?
11 — Is my story formatted attractively?
Did I check my paragraphs to ensure they are short?
Are my sentences complete?
12 — Is my story clean and uncluttered?
Did I remove unnecessary objects from my story?
Did I remove obsolete words or phrases?
13 — Are my title and subtitles formatted correctly?
Did I use a standard title formatting style?
Did I check titles are not all caps?
Did I use short headings?
Did I check heading and subheading are not more than 200 characters?
14 — Are the photos of my story appropriate and captioned?
Does my photo align with the theme of my content?
Did I use copyright-free images?
Did I caption photos with correct source links?
15 — Did I address potentially ambiguous points in my story?
Is my story understandable from the level I set?
Did I remove obscure words and phrases?
16 — Did I choose the proper tags for my story?
Did I use relevant tags representing the messages of the story?
17 — Did I add at least one of the publication tags to make my story visible to the followers?
This is optional but highly recommended. Our publication has seven tags: business, science, technology, self-improvement, philosophy, fiction, poetry. Using these tags captures your story in the relevant tab. Some readers only follow specific tabs which are interest to them.
18 — Did I apply one final spell-check and grammar check for my story?
Is my story free from spelling mistakes?
Are the sentences grammatically correct?
If I purposely use incorrect words, did I indicate their use to the reader?
19 — Did I read my story backward to ensure no typos remained?
Did I remove all typos?
Did I ask a friend or colleague to read it for me?
20 — Did I check numbers and bullet points are correct?
Are numbers in my lists correct?
Are bullet points standard and aligned?
21 — Did I test the web links?
Does the link go to the correct address when I click on the link?
22 — Did I disclose affiliate links?
Are affiliate links mentioned clearly in the beginning and at the end of the story?
Are the affiliate links relevant to the theme of the story?
Do the affiliate links offend my audience?
23 — Did I check Medium Rules to ensure my story complies with the rules?
Does my story meet Medium Rules?
Did I particularly check my story to ensure it does not include hate speech?
Is there a possibility for my story to offend my readers?
If there is a potential offense, how can I prevent it?
24 — Did I ask a trusted editor to help with blind spots?
If my content is controversial, did I ask an editor to provide guidance on my blind spots?
Did I follow the advice from the editors?
25 — Did I provide relevant references at the end?
Are references about cited content provided at the end of the story?
Conclusions
I believe using this checklist for beginners can be helpful. This is just one form of checklist, so you can customize it by using your experience and insights from other top writers on this platform.
Our memories are limited. When we consistently use a checklist tool, we not only submit high-quality materials with confidence, but we turn these useful points into habits.
Our long-term memories (procedural memory) can also get more robust with consistency.
This checklist is by no means a comprehensive list. I only focused on the frequently repeated errors causing delays in publishing. This story reflects my personal views with a pragmatic approach.
As I do, you may also use this checklist for writing books. If you plan to turn your stories to book chapters, you may gain some insights from a guide used by many writers who became published authors. Please feel free to join my publication, Illumination Book Chapters.
Some accomplished writers may disagree with some points in a different context. I am open to suggestions and making this list more useful.
This checklist is a giveback activity for the writers’ community.
Please enhance this initial checklist (first version) by adding points you learned from the body of knowledge, your experience, and the experiences of other writers.
Please leave comments for other important topics to improve quality. I plan to provide an update with your feedback and add this resource to our submission guidelines for writers who can join our publication.
I explained each item in this checklist in a new story highlighting their contributions to the boosting system on Medium.
Five Questions to Increase Curation Chance And the Number of Loyal Readers
Here is my writing collection guiding new writers.
Valuable and Inspiring Reference
You may also review resources summarized in a short time by Katherine Myrestad titled Elevating Your Non-fiction: Must-Read Books to Refine Your Craft published on Illumination-Curated
Thank you for reading my perspective.
You can find these questions in the video on Illumination YouTube Channel.
You can also join our new publication for YouTubers.
ILLUMINATION on YouTube
This specialized publication is owned by Illumination YouTube Coordinator. The aim of this pub is to create a bridge between YouTubers and Medium writers using our YouTube channel and seven prominent publications. YouTubers are also bloggers. Thus, we believe that Medium is an excellent platform for them to tap into a new audience.
Besides regular stories, you can also submit short-form stories. You can write a few short paragraphs introducing your YouTube videos and creating links to your channels. While writers can earn income from stories on Medium, they can also gain new subscribers to YouTube channels. Link to publication: https://medium.com/illumination-on-youtube
Here is a YouTube video introducing the purpose of this publication by Illumination YouTube Coordinator posted recently.
Here Are Some Useful References I wrote for Writers
I created these stories to guide new writers of my publications on Medium.
Copyright Matters Zero tolerance to plagiarism on ILLUMINATION
How to Survive and Thrive on Medium Essential guide to new writers
A Practical Guide for Writers: My collection for writing and writer performance on Medium
100 Day Challenge For New Writers How to grow and become a top writer on Medium in three months
Invitation To A Writing Challenge Share your concerns and aspirations in a story
Storybooks and Indexing Publications They work. Here is the evidence.
Short-Form Stories Not For Income But For Visibility. Think Of Them As A Tripwire
Mentoring on ILLUMINATION Peer support is essential for success.
The Beginner’s Guide to Write Viral Articles & Blogs Learn 17 proven techniques and unique metrics
Purpose of Synergy And how to publish your stories in this publication
SYNERGY on Medium Upon reader request, we renamed Passive Income for Writers publication
Introduction to Technology Hits Scope, overview, and participation methods
ILLUMINATION Book Chapters: A publication giving voice to published authors on Medium
Learn About ILLUMINATION-Curated Essential articles about ILLUMINATION-Curated publication
Paradigm Shift in Content Curation, Distribution, and Marketing
Self-Presented Collections Annotated stories by writers of ILLUMINATION-Curated
ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR A publication created to address Medium constraints for editors
Testimonials for ILLUMINATION Thoughts and sentiments of ILLUMINATION writers.
How to Get Started with Quora and Amplify Your Medium Stories
How to Get Started with Pinterest and Amplify Your Medium Stories
Curated Writer Bios Learn about contributing writers of ILLUMINATION written by their pen
Interviews with Writers Featuring inspiring writers of ILLUMINATION
Meet Top Writers on ILLUMINATION Featuring writers with top writer status writing for ILLUMINATION
Six Reasons Writers Need Bios The most compelling one is visibility.
I host my health and well-being stories on Euphoria for easy access.
If you are a new reader and find this article valuable, you might check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting on my reviews, observations, and decades of sensible experiments.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
Petechiae, ALS, Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorders, Anemia, Dysautonomia, cardiac output, and urinary track disorders.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients.
Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Finally, After Burning Her House, Georgia Found Enlightenment
Hilarious Tips to Prevent Brain Atrophy and Keep the Gray Matter Giggling
8 Psychological Points I Had to Unlearn and Relearn the Opposite
Based on my writing experience and observations, I documented findings and strategies that might help you amplify your voice, engage your audience, and achieve your desired outcomes in your writing journey.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on cellular, mitochondrial, metabolic, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
You might join my six publications on Medium as a writer by sending a request via this link. 22K writers contribute to my publications. You might find more information about my professional background.
As a writer, blogger, content developer, and reader, you might join Medium, Vocal Media, NewsBreak, Medium Writing Superstars, Writing Paychecks, WordPress, Cliqly, and Thinkers360 with my referral links. These affiliate links will not cost you extra to join the services.