Leadership
We Created a Roadmap for ILLUMINATION Writers to Shine on Medium
And how to meet the needs and desires of readers on Medium
Update February 2022, our publications now support more than 17,900 writers. Updates can be obtained from the Starter Kit.
Introduction
Several discerning readers asked me a few months ago what would come after our sublime ILLUMINATION-Curated came to be. I held the answer until last week.
The answer was revealed in a new chapter on Medium. I announced ILLUMINATION Book Chapters on 19 March 2021 coinciding with the first birthday of ILLUMINATION.
I designed a path for our writers as we have diverse contributors, from the aspiring to the accomplished. Each writer is unique and brings different values. They are part of an ecosystem that beautifully mingles and gives meaning to each other’s work.
I started ILLUMINATION with the core values of diversity and inclusiveness. It was understood by many writers and appreciated by many readers. Now emerging as a significant publication on Medium, I want to share the growth path for the ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications (IPP) so that other member-owned-and-operated publications can benefit from our experience and grow, and do so possibly without the concomitant pains that come from growth spurts.
As soon as ILLUMINATION gained substantial visibility and we identified outstanding stories within our midst, I created a new publication serving as a collection of stories from experienced writers.
Then we saw another opportunity to branch the path. We noticed that there were a plethora of stories about writing, writers, freelancing, and earning on Medium. To cater to this special need, we created SYNERGY.
Similar to writing, another big topic in ILLUMINATION was technology. To amplify the voices of technology storytellers, we created a publication called Technology Hits. This constituted the third branch in this tree.
The workload increased amazingly. As an owner, I took all the measures possible and invested in my publications. However, Medium policies resulted in logistical constraints on our growth. They reduced the number of editors to 30 per publication. It was impossible to manage the workload of ILLUMINATION with only 30 editors.
I alone bear the administrative burden of handling the customer service end of inquiries and complaints from readers and writers, which takes up many hours of my day.
Another of Medium’s restrictive rules was limiting editors to publishing only 15 stories a day, which added fuel to the fire. I still don’t understand the rationale for Medium’s counterproductive decisions, which lack of understanding Medium exacerbated with messaging in the form of staffers assuring us that the 30-editor-ceiling was a bug in the system which would be rectified soon (this was three months ago when I announced ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR).
I recently added an editor Claire Kelly who volunteered to invest several hours in publishing stories on ILLUMINATION. Claire sent two email requests to remove the restriction on her account. As a prolific writer, she even couldn’t publish her own stories. But Helpdesk repeated the same robotic voice. Each editor can publish a maximum of 15 stories, including their own. This rule applies to all members and publications.
I’m not sure whether this is an administrative-level decision or an executive level. Or whether this is a technical limitation in the system. If it comes from the upper level, maybe the decision-makers know something I cannot comprehend yet. I am optimistic and open-minded to learning.
We don’t ask for money or any favor from Medium. All we request is to allow us to add the necessary number of editors and publish the required number of stories to support our writers and give more options to our readers.
Our volunteer editors are gatekeepers protecting Medium from plagiarism, image copyright violations, and offensive material. We provide the moderation that enables Medium to have the advantage of Section 230 of the CDA, and for that, we have contract-of-adhesion indemnification liability to Medium.
Instead of making this an issue and whining about it, we, as a hard-working team, took personal responsibility and created a mirror version of ILLUMINATION. The process consumed a substantial amount of time and effort from volunteer editors. We had to invest in this workaround because of Medium’s restrictions on adding the required number of editors and constraining editors not to publish more than 15 stories a day.
I am grateful that 87 top writers have volunteered to support my publications as editors. So, I transferred 30 editors to ILLUMINATION’s MIRROR and showed writers the value of shunting their submissions to the overflow pub. This workaround created temporary relief for our growing workload.
To strengthen the collaboration among editors and writers, I created a virtual workspace using Slack enjoyed by 12,800 members. This extended platform helps our editors and writers cross-pollinate.
The coherent circle of ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated, ILLUMINATION’s MIRROR, SYNERGY, and Technology Hits gave useful value to writers and attracted thousands of readers.
To complete our transition and transformation plan, we have now created a first-of-its-kind initiative to showcase the works of internationally recognized accomplished authors. The new initiative is called ILLUMINATION Book Chapters. This is the top of the triangle creating an achievable goal for all writers.
I never aim for elitism. Even though this publication’s primary goal is to showcase the works of accomplished authors, I also designed it in a way that aspiring writers can leverage the power of collaboration in this new initiative.
To this end, I proposed that aspiring writers share their manuscripts chapter by chapter, gain new readers, and learn in the process how to transform into accomplished authors.
The initiative is one week old and growing with the speed of light. As the lead editor of this publication, I started creating daily bulletins to keep our readers updated and featured engaging chapters of the books from our accomplished authors.
The new path for writers
Let me share the plan for the new path we designed.
Aspiring writers who are new to Medium can start with ILLUMINATION’s Mirror. When they acquire the foundations in storytelling, meeting Medium guidelines, and matching reader expectations, they can begin posting to ILLUMINATION.
After gaining some experience, these progressing writers can participate in ILLUMINATION-Curated. We have five entry points to this curated collection.
1 — Transferring Medium curated stories
2 — Transferring ILLUMINATION curated stories
3 — Direct Submission
4 — Self Nomination
5 — Self-Presentation
Those who create outstanding stories on ILLUMINATION-Curated can compile them coherently, repackage them as a manuscript and submit their chapter by chapter to ILLUMINATION Book Chapters.
Those who write a lot about writing, editing, and freelancing topics can continue leveraging collaboration on SYNERGY.
Those who like telling technology and science stories with entrepreneurial flavor or whose stories relate to the philosophical and ethical impact of emerging technologies can leverage the power of Technology Hits.
All the ILLUMINATION family of publications is integrated to give optimal visibility of content created and hosted on them.
We started out with the idea of diversity and inclusiveness. Along with synergy and fusion, we created an environment where serendipity flourishes. Now, it has branched out into a full-fledged path for writers of all levels to follow.
The only question in all this is: What will come next?
We learned a lot from nine successful milestones in a year and celebrated our first anniversary recently.
Thank you for collaborating and reading my perspectives.
Sample Health Improvement Articles for New Readers
Defeat Metabolic Syndrome and Slim Down Waistline with Three Tips
Why 442 Million People Live Diabetic and What We Can Do About it
Six Tips to Prevent Brain Atrophy and Lower the Risks of Mental Disorders
What Can We Do About NCDs Killing 41 Million People Yearly?.
Reduce the Risks of Neonatal Disorders to Prevent Infant Mortality.
Reduce the Risks of Major Diseases with Healthy Lifestyle Habits
I also write about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
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, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and other nutrients that might help to improve metabolism and mental health.
About the Author
Editor Profile
Writer Profile
Thank you for subscribing to my content. I share my health and well-being stories in my publication, Euphoria. If you are new to Medium, you may join by following this link. You can join my publications as a writer requesting access via this weblink.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. I wrote several articles on major diseases and valuable nutrients for health. My focus is on metabolic, cellular, mitochondrial, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
You might join my seven publications on Medium as a writer by sending a request via this link.
You might find more information about my professional background.
