The Writing Biz
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Writing on Globetrotters and Medium
Attempting to answer your important questions!
(updated: 1/26/24)
Hello Friends!
I put together this “little” work-in-progress where people can get answers to commonly asked questions when it comes to writing here on this quirky planet known as Medium and specifically here at Globetrotters.
Sorry if some of this seems rudimentary for some… everyone who joins us is at a different skill level, feel free to skim through and read only what is relevant to you. However, if you are new to Medium I would highly suggest reading everything. This will help get up to speed as far as formatting and best practices for writing and building your audience on Medium and here at Globetrotters.
Since this is indeed a work in progress, please do pose additional questions you may have in the comments. Thanks! 🦒🐒🐈⬛
Table of Contents
Formatting stories 🦉
- How to format title and subtitle?
- What’s a kicker, what does it do and how do I create one?
- What is a card link and how do I make one?
- How do I correctly tag other writers in my Medium story?
Images and photo info 🦋
- How to credit images?
- What is the purpose of crediting images?
- Why is Globetrotters so strict when it comes to photos when other pubs aren’t?
- Where to place the first image in a story?
- Can I post photos of people?
- How do I change my featured photo?
- How to change the focus on your featured photo?
Writing and editing stories 🐢🦩
- Where can I find writer guidelines for Globetrotters?
- What is the best way to edit stories?
- How can I listen to a copy of my draft before publishing/submitting?
- How much editing will Globetrotters do to my story?
- Which tags should I use for my travel and photography stories?
- Does Globetrotters accept AI stories?
Submitting stories 🐎🦜
- How do I get added as a writer?
- How do I submit my first article?
- What is the turn-around time at Globetrotters for publishing stories?
- Do you accept previously published stories?
- How do we editors communicate with writers?
Reading and getting traffic 🦒🐒🐈⬛
- What are the best ways to get traffic and build an audience on Medium?
- What about engagement?
- What about reading and community building?
- How many times can I clap for a story?
- Why is commenting and responding to comments on my stories so important?
Formatting Stories 🦉
How to format title and subtitle?
Type in your title where it says ‘title’. Note that titles should be in Title Case, not Sentence Case. This might prove difficult for journalists to get used to. It was for me.
- Need help formatting your title? Copy and paste it here: “Title Capitalization Tool — Capitalize My Title — Title Case Tool”.
If you typed your title into the correct spot it should already be in big “T” format. If it doesn’t look right though, do highlight it and select the big ‘T’.
For the subtitle, after the title has been correctly formatted hit enter. Type in your subtitle, highlight it and then select the small ‘t’. Subtitles should be in Sentence Case. Simple as that.
While editing your story, things can get messed up pretty easily. Just always remember, big ‘T’ for title and small ‘t’ for subtitle.
What’s a kicker, what does it do and how do I create one?
A kicker is an optional bell and whistle to add to a story. Glance up to the top of this article where it says ‘The Writing Biz’. This is a ‘kicker’.
I personally use a kicker as a way to group my articles. Some of the most common kickers I use are:
- Travel
- Travel & Photography
- Food & Photography
- The Writing Biz
Once you add your title (see above) place your cursor at the beginning of the title (for this article, I placed my cursor at the beginning of ‘Frequently…’) and then hit enter. Type in your kicker, highlight it and then click the small ‘t’.
What is a card link and how do I make one?
This is a card link:
Card links can be created for both Medium and non-Medium articles.
Copy and paste a complete url into your story (on my stories I have to make sure to paste in plain text, not sure if this is the same for all computers) and then hit enter.
On my computer, if I don’t paste it in plain text I get: New Photo Policy for Globetrotters | by JoAnn Ryan | Globetrotters | Medium… which can work in certain circumstances…
In this case, I will shorten it like this: “New Photo Policy for Globetrotters”.
How do I correctly tag other writers in my Medium story?
Super easy, you will need the full handle of the writer with the @ sign included. The easiest thing to do is simply go to their profile page, copy their handle and then paste this into your story, and then hit enter (you may have to erase the last letter and type it in again). Here are some examples:
Me: @joannryan: JoAnn Ryan
Anne: @anne.bonfert: Anne Bonfert
Adrienne: @andiebee-17203: Adrienne Beaumont
Jill: @artisticvoyages: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages
Michele: @soberveganyogi: Michele Maize
For further info and instructions, check out this recently published advise from Anne: How to Properly Tag Writers on Medium and Globetrotters.
Images and Photo Info 🦋
How to properly credit images?
Please see our image policy.
What is the purpose of crediting images?
Crediting images conveys who a photo belongs to and if you have permission to use it.
Why is Globetrotters so strict when it comes to photos when other pubs and writers aren’t?
Simply said those other pubs and writers are taking a chance. They are taking a chance that no one will notice and that no one will get in trouble when it comes to using copyrighted images without permission.
However, even if no one comes right out and says something— someone always notices. Experienced editors notice and a lot of other people may notice as well. It screams of inexperience.
Where to place the first image in a story?
Please place your first photo at the top of the article either right after the subtitle or before the title.
Can I post photos of people?
Yes, it is assumed that you have asked permission to post images of any and all people who appear in the photos you include with stories. It is your responsibility to get this permission and Globetrotters holds no liability in this regard.
How do I change my featured photo?
By default, the first photo in your story will be used as the featured photo. If you would like to change this, click on the menu at the top with the three dots … and then choose Change featured image. Select the photo you want and choose done. In some cases, we editors may change your featured photo for you if we feel it will look better on the pub home page.
How to change the focus on your featured photo?
A cool tool that few seem to know about is being able to change the focus on your featured photo so that it appears differently on the home page. On your featured photo, choose which area you would like most to be seen. Hold down the ‘alt’ button and then click on the point of your photo you want to feature. This can be changed as many times as you would like.
Writing and Editing Stories 🐢🦩
Where can I find writer guidelines for Globetrotters?
You can read our writer guidelines here: “Write For Globetrotters!. Traveling — Writing — Sharing”.
Our writer guidelines contain links to Medium rules, distribution standards and helpful links for formatting stories.
What is the best way to edit stories?
Copy and paste your story into a program like MS Word or Grammarly and run a grammar check. Or….
How can I listen to a copy of my draft before publishing/submitting?
Click on the menu with the three dots … The second option is “Share draft link”. Copy and paste the link into a new tab or window of your browser. Click on the “listen” button. This is a great editing tool!
This link can be shared with other people as well.
Recently, I published this story, which will give you further guidance on this: The Nifty Feature Medium Writers Can Use to Edit Their Work Like a Boss
How much editing will Globetrotters do to my story?
While it depends on the specific editor, most editing will be minimal. This may include fixing formatting issues and typos, checking photo credits and other minor issues.
Since the boosting program has gotten underway, we may choose to work more closely with writers going forward on whipping their stories into shape… boosting shape, that is. 🙂💚
Which tags should I use for my travel and photography stories?
All travel stories should be first marked with the tag travel. Other tags to consider using are travel writing, travel tips, the name of the country you are writing about, geographical locations (such as Southeast Asia).
If your story is heavy on photography, I would definitely recommend using the photography tag.
I’ve heard several editors suggest using the name of the publication as a tag. At this time there’s no evidence, that I’m aware of, that this tag would make much difference as far as getting desired traffic, although if I hear anything different, I will certainly give this an update.
Other popular Medium tags to consider using: life, culture, diversity, this happened to me, inspiration, ideas.
Does Globetrotters accept AI stories?
We DO NOT accept stories written with the use of AI in any percentage. Use of AI without disclosing it to readers could constitute as a violation of Medium rules. Note that we’ve begun to use AI checkers and violators will be called out and possibly be removed from our publications.
Submitting Stories 🐎🦜
How do I get added as a writer?
Read our guidelines carefully and thoughtfully and follow the instructions therein for new writers: Write For Globetrotters! Traveling — Writing — Sharing. There’s a link in the guidelines to a form to fill out, which will include the submission of your first draft story for consideration. A story must be included to be considered.
Please do not leave comments on any story asking to be added.
How do I submit my first article?
You must first be added as a writer, so refer to the previous question.
Once you are added as a writer, before publishing your article, click on the menu at the top with the three dots. The first item will be ‘Add to publication’. On the next screen there will be a selection of publications to choose from. Choose the pub you want to submit to and click ‘Select and continue’.
On the next screen click ‘Submit’. This will bring up a screen where you can double check that you are submitting to the correct pub and also add topics if you haven’t already added them.
Click ‘Submit to publication’. We will take things from there and finish publishing the story for you.
What is our turnaround time for publishing stories?
At Globetrotters, we generally have a 24-hour turnaround time, although usually it’s much shorter than that. However, if there are issues and we leave you private notes, it may take significantly longer to publish your story.
Do you accept previously published stories?
We prefer unpublished drafts but will accept stories published within the last 24-hours. We do this as a courtesy to our writers as we understand that you may want to publish sooner than we can get to it ourselves. Note that the story will still have the same pub time as when you first published the story. For this reason, it may not show up at the top of the publication as just published.
In the past we have accepted older stories, but due to our current high volume of submissions, we can no longer accommodate this.
How do we editors communicate with writers?
Most of the time we communicate through leaving private notes on your stories, so do make sure to turn on your private notes function in settings. You can access this setting by clicking on your photo at the top, going to Settings and then clicking the Publishing tab.
Reading, Getting Traffic and Engagement 🦒🐒🐈⬛
What are the best ways to get traffic and build an audience on Medium?
This has changed a lot and continues to change. At this point in time, Medium is focusing on quality and not quantity. Focus on writing high quality stories that provide value for your readers. High quality stories that get boosted are now the best way to get traffic (but not the only way, see below).
Work on writing tight, snappy titles that provide readers with substance and a desire to want to read your story. Additionally, your writing should be engaging enough to keep them reading.
What about engagement?
Engagement through reading and commenting on other stories is still a great way to build an audience and find a tribe here at Medium. However, Medium has caught on to the high level read for read engagement scheme and now considers it to be a method of gaming the system. So, going forward, it’s going to be imperative to strike a balance between writing quality articles and still engaging with your audience in a meaningful way.
What about reading and community building?
I consider the people in the Medium community to be my friends and colleagues. Therefore, I spend much time building relationships with writers I respect and admire. Learn from them, grow together and support one another.
You can also learn a heck of a lot about writing in general from accomplished writers on the platform. Invest your time wisely, is my best advice. Reading is still the single best way to improve your writing.
How many times can I clap for a story?
Instead of likes, Medium employs clapping. You can clap up to 50 times for a story or a comment. How many times you clap for a story or comment is completely at your discretion.
Commenting and responding to comments on my stories?
Every day on Medium literally thousands of stories are published. If someone took a chance to read your story and then liked it enough to take the time and leave a comment, it only seems right to then graciously reply to their comment. Don’t you think?
Above all, Medium is a community and very much an engagement platform. You may want to take the time, in turn, to check out some of their stories.
This does not mean you have to like or respond to every comment. Spammers, trolls, and just plain jerks hang out on Medium as well. No need to play their games.
As mentioned, if you have any questions that need answered merely drop them in the comments and I will find an answer!
You can also visit Medium’s incredibly helpful Help Center page.
