Summary

The article argues against the common advice of publishing content every day on a single platform like Medium, suggesting that this practice may not be beneficial for all writers.

Abstract

The author of the article, "The Writing Biz," challenges the pervasive notion that writers should publish daily on a single platform, such as Medium. They posit that this approach can lead to a decrease in content quality due to the pressure to produce large volumes of work quickly. The article suggests that daily publishing could also make a writer appear desperate or needy, potentially alienating their audience. It emphasizes that over-posting might result in lower reader engagement and could overshadow the importance of reading and supporting other writers within the community. The author advocates for a more balanced approach, where writers focus on the quality of their content, engage with their peers, and publish less frequently to achieve higher engagement with their stories.

Opinions

Publishing every day may lead to rushed, lower-quality writing that can deter readers.
Frequent posting could give the impression that a writer is desperate for attention, which might be off-putting to the audience.
Over-saturation of content from a single writer can result in readers unfollowing or ignoring their work.
Engaging with other writers by reading and commenting can be as beneficial for a writer's visibility and growth as publishing regularly.
Aiming for quality over quantity allows writers to produce more impactful content that resonates with readers, leading to higher engagement on individual stories.
The writer suggests that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to publishing frequency; it's about finding what works best for the individual.
The article encourages writers to consider the community aspect of writing platforms, emphasizing the value of mutual support and learning from peers.

The Writing Biz

Five Reasons Why You Should NOT Publish Every Day on One Single Platform

Dispelling the myth of what could prove to be bad advice for many writers on Medium

Should you publish every day on one single platform? Say, like, Medium?

This chunk of advice has been lurking around for years now — that it’s a great idea to churn out published writing every day to build your rep and gain a foothold as a writer.

And I almost wonder if whoever first birthed this idea did not have a bit of sadistic tendencies in mind?

Now, I do know some fine writers who do tend to publish every day, or almost every day, on one single platform. In some cases, for some writers, it may indeed work as a strategy. However, I’ve also seen plenty of writers who have tried this, failed and have succumb to beating themselves up because they can’t do it. Or, they run away from the platform screaming with frustration over sheer burnout.

I know well, because I tried it myself. Early on I attempted to join in on a write-everyday challenge and failed miserably. Since then, I’ve found a multitude of reasons not to publish every day. These days I publish two or three times per week and usually break that up between two platforms as I also write for NewsBreak.

So, here are some valid reasons why you yourself might NOT want to publish every single day on one single platform, like Medium.

1. With increased quantity often comes decreased quality

It’s just a natural byproduct of human overproduction, especially when it comes to writing. The more writing that gets spit out, the less time a writer may have to spend working on individual stories.

Feeling pressured to churn out those daily posts may lead to writing that seems rushed and on the sloppy side. And readers can smell the bad qualities of sloppy writing from a mile away. It can be a huge turn-off.

As writers, we should never forget about our readers and providing them with quality and not quantity.

2. Can it make a writer seem desperate and needy?

Am I being too judgmental about this? Like I said, I’ve known writers who write every day and I do not think this about them.

However, in some other cases with some writers, I certainly have.

Needy for attention much? Hello! So desperate to make it that it seems way too painfully obvious?

Perhaps the thing to ask yourself is whether in writing every day you are providing something meaningful to readers, or whether you are just selfishly pumping out junk to get clicks?

Coming up with an honest answer to this question may make all the difference.

3. It might just end up having the opposite effect

I’ve actually read about people who have unfollowed, unsubsribed or simply started ghosting a particular writer because they were posting too much.

When you see that writer’s name pop up in your feed, sometimes your mind just goes on auto-pilot and you think: nope, not going there! This writer just pumps out quick junk to get reads. Nothing good there.

I’ve done it myself. Not going to name names here, but there have been some writers who I refused to read anymore because I felt like they were just starting to act like real spammers — spewing out junk like a metaphorical machine gun.

Then again, as I said before, I do have other writer friends who do post almost every day. The ones I admire always have something fresh and interesting to offer and most tend to make their daily posts well under 5-min reads. The writing is tight and well-polished.

I admire them but know I’m not one of these people. Some of us need a little more time to produce worthy content and I do take that extra time and go for quality over quantity. Or at least that is my humble attempt. 😆

4. Learn to share the stage?

Many writers do not take time to read other writers and give them support, and this can be a huge mistake.

Believe it or not, there have been days I spent on Medium just reading and engaging with other writers through commenting and whatnot, and guess what? My own stats that day were just as high or higher than days when I have published a story.

This is because through thoughtful engagement many writers and potential readers may then want to go and see what you are up to and read some of your work.

I read on NewsBreak as well, checking out other news stories, mostly in my niche area of Florida, and it seems to make my stats soar there as well. So, I do wonder if they have some kind of unspoken rule of favoring writers who actually read as well. Not sure.

And not that getting clicks on your own story should be your primary motivation. Reading other writers’ stories can lead to having some very nice writer friends for one thing, not to mention learning a wealth of interesting things about people and life.

You can also get a lot of great ideas for writing your own stories from reading.

Make space and time for other writers and other voices to shine through. Take time to read, comment and engage with other writers. After all, writers really belong to a community. Don’t know about you, but I love that community!

5. Higher engagement for individual stories?

I have come to appreciate high engagement on a few stories, rather than high engagement spread out over a lot of stories. The latter leads to a bunch of stories that have overall low engagement.

Stories with a lot of views, reads, claps and comments make me happy as I know I’m connecting with readers. Lower engagement on a whole lot of stories just wouldn’t feel as good to me.

What do you think? Are you someone who publishes every day and has made it work for yourself? Or have you found it’s better to publish less often than that?

There’s really no right or wrong answer, only what seems to work for you. But, feeling the pressure to publish every day on one single platform may be something to seriously reconsider.

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