Writing and Publishing

How Writers and Bloggers Transition to Become Published Authors

An interview with Dr. Mehmet Yildiz, Chief Editor of Illumination Integrated Publications, who provides insights to writers from his observations and experience

Purpose of the Interview

Inspired by a recent post by ILLUMINATION editors, I decided to interview Dr Mehmet Yildiz to obtain his guidance on transitioning freelance writers and bloggers to become published authors either via traditional or independent publishing approaches.

Dr. Yildiz, founder of Illumination Integrated Publications on Medium, supports around 20,000 writers at different levels, including beginners and accomplished writers.

He has guided new writers since the inception of his publications and constantly creates new opportunities for them.

One of his innovative achievements is establishing Illumination Book Chapters, allowing published and independent authors to post their own book chapters in story format.

After establishing this publication on the first anniversary of Illumination in 2021, many authors joined the publication and shared hundreds of book chapters.

I recently featured some of them in a collection titled Curated Book Chapters of Illumination #01: Introduction to published authors and sample book chapters on Illumination Book Chapters publication on Medium.

I enjoyed one of his post on Synergy giving voice to freelance writers. His story inspired many published authors and me. The article’s title attracted my attention, and the takeaway points inspired me to take action.

Unfortunately, like many of us, he neglected marketing his books, giving the responsibility and accountability to his publishers.

However, when he took responsibility for marketing, he produced remarkable results, as he generously shared his experience in the article titled The Joy of Selling 1,000+ Books In A Month With Minimal Investment: Practical and unique marketing techniques for creative freelancers leading to profitable sales with concrete examples.

I hope you find this short interview valuable.

Here’s the Interview Transcript with Dr Mehmet Yildiz

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Thank you for your time this weekend volunteering for this interview.

I know you are swamped with the duties of your publications, as I understand that there are fewer volunteer editors at the weekend due to family commitments.

My first question is why you established Illumination Book Chapters.

Dr Mehmet Yildiz:

Thank you for the opportunity. It is an absolute pleasure for me. The main reason for establishing the Illumination Book Chapters was to give published and independent authors a voice and make their writing journey smoother.

As I am one of them, I understand their challenges and pain points. Developing an audience for indie authors is a difficult task.

I wanted them to leverage the power of Medium, which has a built-in audience.

Besides, there was no publication giving voice to published authors on Medium. It was a first-of-kind initiative. Therefore, many published authors joined our journey. I am grateful for their contributions, and I enjoy supporting them.

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Could you please summarize this unique publication’s purpose and specific goals?

Dr Mehmet Yildiz:

Absolutely!

When establishing Illumination Book Chapters, I had three primary goals in mind. The first goal was to create an opportunity for published authors to gain new readers via their repurposed book chapters on Medium so that they could also earn income from their published content via their Medium audience.

The second one was to allow them to gain new followers and beta readers who might provide feedback for their manuscripts.

And the third is to enable allowing writers to create manuscripts derived from their published stories on Medium.

So they could transfer stories into the ILLUMINATION Book Chapters, obtain reader reviews, and publish them as books later.

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Thank you for articulating your goals.

The sharing part by published authors is clear to me. My next question is how can Medium writers transition from storytelling to the published author status.

I remember you posted an article about it last year How To Create A 30,000 Words E-book In A Month: Practical steps to produce a manuscript with 1,000-word a day.

Could you please summarize the key points?

Dr Mehmet Yildiz:

Yes, certainly!

The first point is to start drafting the framework for the book. I recommended using the mind-map technique as an example.

The second point is defining and describing the book by asking seven powerful questions.

The next topic was to start the first chapter. I provided several tips, which are also repeatable for subsequent chapters.

From my experience, writing at productive times can keep us motivated. Rewarding ourselves after each milestone, even for accomplishing small goals, is crucial to staying on track.

The next critical point is setting a time for writing a section or a chapter. Self-editing using tools such as Grammarly and Hemingway Editor and finding peer-reviewers to cast their eyes on draft chapters is essential.

Not all writers can afford expensive editing services.

I also guided in creating book covers and publishing them on various platforms such as Amazon KDP, Draft2Digital, or Smashwords.

There are many more organizations that can distribute self-published books to multiple markets.

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Your final point initiates a common question in my mind. Do you recommend going through traditional publishing or self-publishing?

Dr Mehmet Yildiz:

I agree many authors ask this question, and my answer is it depends on various factors. I tried both methods and found self-publishing more advantageous for multiple reasons.

While traditional publishing is good for the resume and boosts the writer’s ego, self-publishing with good discipline can bring many benefits. From my experience, the most important benefits are freedom, speed to market, and flexibility of distribution.

For example, publishing a book via the traditional method has consumed three years of my time. Some of my ideas and content became obsolete until the book was published. I had to re-write some chapters.

The royalty fees were unsatisfactory and even depressing. I couldn’t sell my own books as the publishing company owned the copyright. The contract locked me to do anything myself. So, in short, I couldn’t get the value for my time and effort.

However, publishing the same size book in the same genre took me only three months. The income was higher in the order of magnitude.

I gained more readers and built my mailing list, created my own newsletters, which allowed me to reach out to a broader audience. As I pointed out Subscribers Can Produce 50 Times Better Results Than Followers for Freelance Writers.

However, we are all different and have different goals. There are still good use cases for traditional publishing. Another alternative is hybrid publishing.

For example, I agreed with a publishing company to keep the book’s copyright and allow me to market and sell my copies in addition to theirs. The solution provided valuable results for me.

So, the hybrid method might work for some authors. Negotiation is essential in the publishing industry.

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Thank you for this helpful answer.

Regarding self-publishing, I recently came across one of your stories mentioning the amalgamation of two book publishing and distribution companies.

Could you please elaborate on that?

Dr Mehmet Yildiz:

Yes, I am happy to do that.

Since I used both Draft2Digital and SmashWords, I was pleased when these two companies amalgamated.

I called it good news because both organizations care about independent authors and have different capabilities.

Interested readers might check the article titled Good News for Published Authors: Two Innovative Content Distribution Companies Amalgamate: Introduction to an exciting journey of Draft2Digital and SmashWords; what it means for indie authors and publishers.

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Dr Yildiz, you are big on social media with many followers.

You share every story and book you read on social media, especially on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Can you please comment on the value of using social media by the author?

Dr Mehmet Yildiz:

Social media is a double-edged sword. I had a lot of problems with social media.

At one point in my life, I had to do social media fast to maintain my sanity. However, meaningful use of social media can be valuable for writers, bloggers, and authors.

I established various methods and provided guidance for meaningful use of social media in an article titled How Can Writers Use Social Media Productively?: A six-minute investment to productivity and desired outcomes using social media mindfully and meaningfully

So my point is yes, social media can be valuable if it is used mindfully by writers, bloggers, and authors. Otherwise, it can be a waste of time.

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Thank you for your guidance, Dr Yildiz. Do you have additional comments and suggestions for beginners?

Dr Mehmet Yildiz:

Yes, I have a few points for aspiring authors to consider.

Writing a book is a tedious and challenging task. However, my analogy is eating an elephant bit by bit. So my point is writing 500 words is not a big deal for the brain. However, writing a 30,000-word manuscript cause resistance in the brain.

Coming from a cognitive science background, I know that tricking the neo-cortex is critical. Therefore, I suggest that writers who don’t have much time could schedule half an hour daily to write 500 words for 60 days.

Sixty days is also critical to re-wire the brain to gain a new habit. So writing 500 words a day, an author can produce a 30,000-word manuscript in two months.

They can then get a book published in three months by allocating one month for self-editing, line-editing, book cover designing, and other publishing requirements.

Another point is refraining from perfection. Analysis paralysis is a known mental issue that demotivates people and makes them unproductive. No one is perfect.

Readers don’t expect perfection. When we produce reasonable content, I will get the first version published and improve it with reader feedback.

Marketing and distribution of books can be time-consuming. Delegating these tasks to others can save time if you don’t have time. There are affordable services on online sites like Fiverr and Upwork.

My next point is a collaboration with other writers and authors. There are many platforms supporting writers and authors. One of them is GoodReads, which I introduced in an article.

In fact, I built a community for Medium writers. They are welcome to join. It is a small but good start to obtaining reviewers and getting inspirational support.

I also created a community of over ten thousand writers using Slack. All Medium writers are welcome to join. It is free and safe as moderated by volunteer editors supporting my publications.

Related to collaboration, mentoring and being mentored can be invaluable. I mentor many authors, and I have many mentors who support me. It is a reciprocal activity. And finally, testimonials are critical for authors.

I provided a sample testimonial recently in a story by ILLUMINATION titled The Importance of Testimonials for Writers and Published Authors: A sample testimonial for Lady Dr. Gabriella Korosi, published author by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, chief editor of Illumination Integrated Publications on Medium.

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Thank you Dr Yildiz. How can authors join Illumination Book Chapters?

Dr Mehmet Yildiz:

As my publications are integrated, we use the same weblink for the applicants. They can provide their Medium ID pointing that they have published books and want to repurpose on Illumination Book Chapters.

We offer them writer access allowing them to post their chapters. One chapter a day, meeting Medium’s policies and our publication guidelines can be a good start.

We are an open, diverse, and inclusive writing community. All writers from Medium and other platforms can join us.

As a peaceful and productive community, we allow ethical writers who refrain from plagiarism and online bullying.

The level and background of writers do not matter. We smartly cross-pollinate them and create the opportunity to grow safely, collaboratively, and joyfully without judging their skills, experiences, and backgrounds.

ILLUMINATION-Curator:

Thank you for your time, Dr. Yildiz. We appreciate your insights.

Final Words

I hope you enjoyed this short interview. Please feel free to leave your questions in the comments sections. I will monitor the comments and request Dr Yildiz to answer your questions.

If you are a writer of Illumination Integrated Publications, you can also contact him directly on Slack workspace. He supports members and mentors many writers and authors generously.

Dr Yildiz and his editorial team also promote the work of authors. For example, in addition to creating curated collections frequently, the Illumination coordinator also introduces published authors on YouTube.

You might learn more about Dr Mehmet Yildiz from his editorial profile posted by ILLUMINATION editors.

Featured Published Authors on Illumination YouTube Channel

Here are a few samples from his introductions.

Carla Woody is a published author.

Bill Abbate is a published author, and senior editor of Illumination Integrated Publications.

Shashi Sastry is a published author.

Neha Sonney, Author is a published author.

Arlo Hennings, Ph.D. is a published author, and senior editor of Illumination Integrated Publications.

Karen Madej is a published author, and senior editor of Illumination Integrated Publications.

Joe Luca is a published author, and senior editor of Illumination Integrated Publications.

Melinda Blau is published author of 15 books.

Reference Documents for New Writers

Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications

Answers to frequently asked questions about ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications

Meet Editors of Illumination Integrated Publications

Why Image Copyrights Matter for Writers and Editors

Introduce yourself in a story.

Reasons Why Writers Need Personal Publications!

Recent Curated Collections

Curated Collection by ILLUMINATION-Curator

You may check my previous collections from this link

Curated Collections by ILLUMINATION

Curated Collection #112

You can find featured stories by ILLUMINATION in 2022 from this meta collection. We appreciate the support of our chief editor, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, to create and promote these collections.

Meta Collection of Featured Stories

Curated Collections by Technology Hits

Hand-Picked Articles #81

Hand-Picked Book Chapters #01

Collection of Hand Picked Articles

A curated collection from Euphoria Publication on Medium by our chief editor Dr Mehmet Yildiz who encourage writers to create their own publications. He posted a new newsletter to his subscribers.

Sample Videos from Illumination YouTube Channel

Guidance on how to write viral articles and blogs.

Quality checklist for Illumination writers to improve content.

The value of YouTube for Medium Writers.

Introduction to Illumination Integration Publications on YouTube.

Many thanks to Illumination YouTube Coordinator for creating an inspiring video celebrating our second successful year on Medium.

Invitation to Potential Writers

To join our vibrant and supportive publications on Medium, please send a request via this link. We will help you gain visibility and succeed as a writer on Medium. Please point out the publication name with your Medium account ID in the request. If you are new to Medium, you can join via this link. Readers can read thousands of stories and writers can monetize self-published content.

You might find the links to our publications in the following list.

ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION-Curated ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR ILLUMINATION Book Chapters Technology Hits SYNERGY Readers Hope Illumination on YouTube Illumination Gaming Lampshade of Illumination — for AI writer (new) ILLUMINATION’s Blog Euphoria by Dr Yildiz