How to Submit to Medium Publications. 9 More to Try
Build your audience by using theirs
Many new writers on Medium ask, “Is it better to self-publish my work or submit it to a publication?”
If you’ve only been on the platform for a short time or are a relatively new writer, I would suggest getting into a publication as soon as possible.
Here’s an analogy to help you get an idea of how it works here on Medium:
Medium is like a large book store. It has some self-published writers — if you know who you’re looking for or they’re a “big name” you might find them featured in the window display.
The store is also full of hundreds of magazines. Some are popular and placed on the shelves near the door because the store owner knows people like reading these. Other magazines are very niche — covering topics like singledom, politics, or parenting — and are stacked in unmarked boxes in the back room. You can find them if you search, but there are lots of them all together so it’s not easy.
Unless you already have a big audience to share your stories with, it takes time to build up a following and get a window display spot. When you self-publish on Medium, it’s likely your story will end up way in the dusty back room. No reads, no claps, no views — that’s depressing after the hours you spent pouring yourself into your story.
If you get your story into a more popular magazine, you can use their audience to build yours.
Here’s where and how to submit a story:
Where to submit
Medium has hundreds of publications you can submit your work to from larger publications, such as Mind Cafe and Better Marketing, to small publications created by individual writers. Anyone can create a publication. Here’s a list of all the current top Medium Publications.
Initially, you might want to reach out to a small to medium-sized one. Here are some publications to try:
1. The Writing Cooperative
This publication also has a large following. It has a very positive engaged Facebook group for writers. To get a story accepted you need to really check that you’ve met their requirements as they have a very high standard and specific requirements. Even an incorrectly formatted heading will have your story rejected for violating the rules.
2. Start it up
The Start it up has the largest following of all publications on Medium (as of writing this) and accepts a wide range of stories. You will get a “yes” or nothing from the Start it up: they say:
“Let’s make a deal so we don’t waste your time: if we don’t get back to you within 36 hours (from the moment you submit), please consider your story not accepted this time. Don’t let this discourage you from submitting your future drafts, though.”
3. Slackjaw
Humor writers should aim for this one! With a fantastic range of stories and a supportive Facebook group of comedy writers, Slackjaw is the place to hone your comedy skills. They also run competitions.
4. Family Matters
A publication where you can send anything to do with family: parenting, step-parenting, adoption, grandchildren, single parenting…..
Family Matters editors won’t turn you down if you’re not a parent either. They say: “If you want to write about your hopes for when you become a parent or about family in general, you are very welcome to.”
Here are their guidelines:
5. Sexography
Not your typical sex stories! Sexography is not erotica but rather “an open forum for people to educate, discuss ideas, recount impactful memories and explore how people all over the world experience sex.”
They accept serious and funny stories with a personal touch.
From Sexography Editors: “We are especially interested in topics with a cultural twist exploring how sex is treated differently around the world.”
6. Better Marketing
If you have a marketing, sales, business or leadership background, or just a great marketing-related story to tell, try this publication. Better Marketing say they “help you succeed at marketing your work or products.”
They like how-to’s, case studies, templates, tools, and strategies. This is a fast growing publication that really market themselves and encourage you to do the same as a writer (surprise surprise!)
7. Mind Cafe
This publication looks for stories that do three things:
- Teach readers how to live a better, happier life.
- Provides value to the average reader, not just a niche group of people.
- Has a clear and actionable takeaway.
Mind Cafe Editors say, “we pride ourselves on simplicity and honesty. Our tone is conversational and relaxed.”
If that suits you, here are their guidelines:
8. Invisible Illness
This is Medium’s largest mental health publication with a growing audience of over 40K subscribers and good engagement.
Invisible Illness want mental illness/health (and other invisible illnesses) talked about openly.
Here’s a writing prompt they offer new writers:
Describe your idea of normalcy and how that’s changed and developed. What is “normal” to you? Do you believe in being “normal”, and if so, do you think the standard is a good thing? What experiences have shaped these beliefs?
9. Inspired Writer
And of course, you can write for us!
We have two ways to submit work. If you’re a new writer and want to develop your skills, find out more about our Medium Mentoring Program or Personal Essay Course.
Otherwise we accept polished stories from three areas:
- Advice for writers (Writing on and off Medium, marketing, publishing etc)
- Personal or inspirational stories from emerging writers.
- We also publish a limited amount of fiction.
Check out our full guidelines here:
How to Submit Your Story
You’ve written your draft, edited, formatted it, added a royalty-free image and now you’re ready to submit it to a publication — what next?
First: Check it really is ready. The number one way to get rejected is sending in a story that’s not polished to a high standard!
Writing on Medium is different to writing other places (even after over 10 years of professional writing, I found this out pretty quickly!). There are particular things you need to do before you hit publish.
This checklist will help you make sure your story is ready to send in.
Then, follow these steps:
- Become a writer for them
Read your chosen publications submission guidelines. Usually you’ll need to email them first or fill in a form to be added as a writer.
2. Share your draft
Click the three dots in the top right hand corner. Select “Share draft link” to send them your draft. You can copy and paste the link.
(You can also share your draft link with other people helping you edit your story.)
3. Wait for them to accept or reject your story
Most publications do not accept stories which are already published so do NOT hit “Publish”. Just be patient and wait. It takes between 1–14 days to hear back.
For more places to submit, read this:
Grab your free 3-Step Editing Cheat-sheet here.
