avatarChristina M. Ward

Summary

The article discusses the challenges and strategies for getting curated on Medium, highlighting the existence of curation droughts and offering advice on improving one's chances of being curated.

Abstract

The author, Christina M. Ward, reflects on her experience with Medium's curation process, noting that writers often face periods where their work is less likely to be curated, which she refers to as "curation droughts." These droughts can affect individual writers, publications, and specific topics or tags, such as poetry. Ward suggests that the choice of publication can influence curation rates, and she has observed that certain publications like "P.S. I Love You" tend to favor her work. She emphasizes the importance of tracking one's curations to understand where one's writing performs well. The article also touches on the mysterious nature of Medium's curation guidelines, which rely on both human judgment and technology, and outlines specific criteria that curators look for in quality writing. Ward offers practical advice for aspiring writers, such as studying curated work, seeking feedback from experienced writers, and adhering to Medium's standards. She concludes by encouraging writers to persist through curation droughts and to focus on producing impactful, high-quality content.

Opinions

  • The author believes that there is a disparity in curation rates across different topics, publications, and individual writers, suggesting a potential bias or favoritism.
  • Ward questions the thoroughness of the curation process for poetry, implying that some curated poems may not deserve the recognition and that curators might not always read the submissions carefully.
  • She suggests that self-owned publications may have lower curation rates compared to larger, more established ones.
  • The author emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity and encourages writers to focus on creating work that resonates emotionally and intellectually with readers.
  • Ward advises writers to be adaptable and to learn from the success of others, advocating for a proactive approach to understanding Medium's unique writing and formatting standards.
  • She acknowledges that curation is not the sole determinant of success on Medium but admits that it can significantly extend the reach and longevity of an article.
  • The author expresses a personal desire to overcome her current curation drought, indicating a level of frustration but also resilience in the face of Medium's curation challenges.

MEDIUM

Curation Droughts Seem to Be Real Thing

It’s time to dig deep

Image by Jose Antonio Alba from Pixabay

If there’s anything I’ve learned about curation practices in my year’s time here on Medium, it’s that there seem to be curation droughts. For publications, for topics and tags, and certainly for people.

For Tags and Topics

Poetry is experiencing a very long curation drought. It is as if there are only a set number of curations to give out per topic at a given time and poetry receives the short end of that stick. It is also possible that we Medium writers put out a ridiculous amount of poetry and the curators’ eyes just decide at some point, they’ve seen enough.

I’ll attest — it is not always true that the best poetry receives the curations. (I have even seen poetry curations with misspellings in them. Do they even read the poetry or just toss out a few curations each day?)

I think which pub the poetry is published into makes a big difference. My poetry published in my self-owned Fiddleheads & Floss publication and those that I publish in certain other pubs like P.S. I Love You get the most curations out of my poetry work. Nearly 50 percent of my writing here on Medium is poetry, so when these curations run dry — it hurts.

For publications

I highly suspect publication favoritism, which makes a lot of sense given that certain publications bring more traffic to Medium and rank higher on search engines. I keep track of my curations so I am aware of where my work performs well and receives more curations. Again, I do well in P.S. I Love You but for my article work, there are also certain publications in which I do well.

But I’ve noticed occasionally my work is ignored by curators in a certain pub for awhile — then it picks back up again. I’ve learned to chase the waves of curation interest per publication. When curation rates are suffering, I use this time to write for lots of smaller pubs to get myself noticed by readers. But it’s hard to do this if you don’t keep track of your curations.

For people

Every single Medium writer knows this is true. Some people take months (or longer) to even get noticed by curators. Others get their first several articles curated soon after joining Medium and posting their work.

Others have never been curated.

I have noticed there are real droughts on my curations. I have bounced between about 60% curations in my best months to about 10%. Those low months are disheartening and frustrating. To focus my efforts on quality and to continue writing even in the dry spells are fundamental, I think, to finding my way back into the good graces of the curators.

Getting curated

It took me 8 weeks to receive my first curation. I was frustrated that I hadn’t gotten curated so I set out to find out why my work wasn’t being curated. Here’s how I broke into the ranks of curated writing.

First

Read the curation guidelines. These are the guidelines, although a bit generalized and mysterious, put out in the Help section of Medium.

Here’s a brief excerpt:

Our curation process relies on both human judgment and technology. We use algorithms to help us find high-potential stories. Our algorithms are designed by humans who spend a lot of time looking at stories on Medium to understand quality and design an algorithmic model that takes important story elements into account. We then use human judgment and these standards to confirm the quality of these stories, selecting those that meet a high bar for quality for curation.

Because of the volume of stories that are published every day on Medium, curators are not able to review every story. — curation guidelines

Here’s what the guidelines look for in quality:

Does the story meet a high editorial standard? — Is it well-written, easy to follow, free of errors, appropriately sourced, narratively strong, and compelling?

Does it add value for the reader? — Does it share new insights or perspectives? Offer an original take on a familiar issue? Does it stir emotions and/or thinking? Provide meaningful advice? Enrich a reader’s understanding of the topic? Does it feel like time well spent?

Is it written for the reader? — Is the story written with the reader in mind? Does the story make a connection with the reader or to a larger issue?

Is it complete? — Is it a finished, polished piece of work? Considered? Concise? Will a reader walk away satisfied?

Is it rigorous? — Are claims supported? Sources cited alongside stated facts? Does the story hold up to scrutiny?

Is it honest? — Is the story written in good faith? Is it truthful?

Does it offer a good reading experience? — Is it properly formatted for the web/mobile? Does it have a clear and relevant headline that lets the reader know what the story is about? An easily readable story body — paragraphs/spacing/styling/section breaks/quotes?

Is it clean? Is it free of typos and errors?

Is the imagery appropriate? Is the imagery relevant and appropriate to the story? — curation guidelines

Second

Study-up on curated work by other writers, especially in the topics on which you write.

Pay attention to:

  • format — especially with regards to the editorial options such as quotes, pull quotes, and headings (I recommend using drop-cap very sparingly.)
  • pacing and white-space
  • tone
  • writing quality
  • depth of the writing
  • quality and presentation of research

Third

Ask for help. No, do not ask the curators for help via email. They are inundated on a daily basis and according to their guidelines, they do not give curation advice.

I mean ask other highly-curated writers. Ask them what works for them and if you can find a well-curated writer to take a look at a piece of yours to make curation suggestions, then do so. Be willing to accept criticism. Work with publication editors on your pieces and take their suggestions to heart. Be willing to work on your writing and tailor it to the standard of Medium.

Lastly

There are several things to do to improve your writing style.

  • Every platform you write for wants something different from you. It does not matter how long you nave been writing, your credentials, or how well you write. You must learn how to write what medium wants. This includes topic and format. Study Medium!
  • Work at your writing. Make sure that there are no hurried spelling errors or “creative” formatting that simply does not fit the standard that Medium looks for in curation. Grammar and spelling are non-negotiable. Your work must be polished. If you are an ESL writer, have a native English writer proofread for you and help identify grammar and sentence structure issues.
  • Dig deep. Curators seem to have a knack for selecting work that comes straight from the heart. The reader should feel connected to the article or poem in such a way that there is an impact. This is a sweet spot that curators like.
  • Do not edit your work to the point of making it bland. Curators like work that has impact, message, and something unique to offer. Cookie-cutter is boring. Boring won’t cut it for curators.
  • Pacing. Learn about white-space and how to use it wisely. Look hard at curated work to see how the stories are paced. How long is the introduction? The body and close? How long are the paragraphs?
  • Do not include elaborate CTAs (Calls to Action), identify affiliate links (and use them sparingly), and don’t go over-the-top with your self-promotion.
  • Properly credit your sources. This includes pictures, research, back-links and charts. How much research is enough to support your claims? Take a look at other research articles in the same genre to see how other curated articles used research. Don’t simply throw in a bunch of facts without proving it via research that backs up what you are saying. Are you an expert in a certain field? Show that and give credibility to what you are saying.
  • You can find other curated works by looking up the topic tags (search a topic and then select “tags” or choose tags from the Medium homepage)

Curation is not necessary to participate in Medium, to find a generous following, or to make money with the Medium Partner Program. But it gives your stories longevity. Stories from months or years before can receive a new influx of engagement and reads due to Medium distribution of those stories. If you sort your stats by reads and fans, you’ll notice the top 20% (or more) are largely made up of curated articles (and articles about Medium or writing).

I wish you the best of luck with curation — and I secretly hope to get out of my current curation drought soon. It’s a place all-too-familiar and it sucks. At least, I’m still on the curation radar. For those of you who are not — keep trying. Keep learning. And certainly, keep sharing your world with us. From a reader’s perspective — quality matters much more than curation.

If you enjoyed this Medium article, perhaps these will also be helpful to you:

Curated in Creativity and Writing:

Curated in Writing and Mental Health:

Thank you for reading.

Christina M. Ward is a creative and research content provider, often writing in topics such as marketing, productivity, wellness, chronic illness, climate change, social justice, politics and parenting. You can join her Author Newsletter, or follow her on social media.

Writing
Medium
Curation
Advice
Poetry
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