ILLUMINATION Fiction Club
An invitation to fiction writers to unite and collaborate for productive, fun
Dear Fiction Writer,
Many fiction writers seem to feel lonely on this platform as their content cannot find many readers.
No intention of disturbing your creative moments but let’s have a quick chat.
Is there a problem with the visibility and readability of your fiction pieces on Medium? Do you have difficulty reaching out to your desired audience? Do your stats suck recently like mine?
These questions did not come out of the blue. And the answers to these questions appear to be definite “yes” from many fiction writers.
Does the situation hurt the fiction writers?
Yes, it indeed does.
Do we have to suffer from the current situation?
No, we don’t have to suffer. There are always options to stop suffering in life. As Murakami articulates, pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
What can we do right now to relieve pain and get rid of suffering?
There are three viable options. We need to acknowledge the issue, unite, and create synergy.
I am hearing your initial reaction. Easier said than done! But how?
Every venture starts with a thought, an open mind, and taking the first step. Nothing can manifest without this fundamental approach. The root causes of failed initiatives are missing one or more of these foundational points. Most of the time, the culprit is a closed mind or skepticism triggered by the primitive brain region to keep us in our comfort zone.
Starting point
Here is how we can get started on this uncertain path.
In this post, I want to share my thoughts and initial plans transparently.
As a reminder and caveat to mute the critics and dream killers upfront, all value propositions I recommend to ILLUMINATION writers are optional. No one is forced to do anything, and anyone can opt out of any activity at any time. We don’t see contributing writers exclusive to us.
Taking this out of my chest, we can start by acknowledging the real and perceived problems.
What is the problem for fiction writers on this platform?
A few days ago, I posted this story touching on some problems of fiction writers on Medium. I used my first fiction attempted and elaborated on my findings. The responses to the story and my follow-ups with many writers provided useful insights in understanding the magnitude, implications, and impact of the problem for fiction writers.
I conversed with many fiction writers about their pain points. The problem is evident. Fiction pieces on Medium do not do well in general. There are some exceptions, of course. But the majority of the fiction writers that I engaged with transparently shared their common concerns.
To add clarity to the problem, I want to provide one sample response from Phil Truman, who is a published fiction author and contributor on Medium. I know that Phil is a reputable writer. I conversed with him and even interviewed him before. He is a credible writer on Medium and a regular contributor to ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curated publications.
Here is a response from Phil, who articulates the problem:
“ This piece speaks directly to my Medium presence. Thank you. I’m primarily a fiction writer. I have 5 published novels, none of which have lower than a 4.2-star reviews rating on Amazon. So I know I don’t write bad fiction. Fiction I’ve posted on Medium doesn’t get attention. I’m relatively new to Medium and have less than 1K followers. I write here, mainly human interest stuff, humor, satire (I’ve learned to stay away from fiction), to gain recognition for my novels, build a readers list (where I give away a free copy of my short stories collection). In the past 2 weeks, I’ve seen my views and reads fall to 0 on Medium, nor have I gained any new readers. Despite your terrific publications supporting my efforts, I’m beginning to feel Medium overall is a zero-sum game, not worth my time and effort.”
I don’t want to bore you with hundreds of problem statements. Many other fiction writers share similar point of views reflected by Phil. We have enough evidence that fiction pieces do not perform well on Medium.
The good news is that the platform has potential capacity and capability.
For example, when I checked the Fiction tag on Medium, I noticed that there are 133K followers on the topic. This number reflects a considerable audience base. It must be utilized.
We need to find ways to tap into this audience.
It is not feasible for the audience to find us; we must find the audience.
We can tap into this audience with a focused approach using innovation and collaboration. We can change and even transform the current position using our capabilities.
What capabilities do we have, and how can we use them?
I propose to use the capabilities of our publication from writer and reader perspectives.
ILLUMINATION is a leading publication bringing 1000+ fiction writers in one place. We also have 4,000+ other writers covering eclectic topics; who possibly are interested in fiction writing and reading.
43,000 readers now follow the publication. The writer and reader base depict a substantial number and pose a significant capability to tap into.
How can I help in this process?
My role is to help and support fiction writers to tap into this dormant power.
Admittedly, I am not a fiction writer but an avid fiction reader.
Apart from being a generous fiction consumer, with ongoing daily interactions with many fiction writers, I can feel the pain that fiction writers can feel. I understand that writing fiction is not a trivial task. Marketing fiction is a challenge for many writers. And selling fiction is one of the hardest tasks.
I cannot help you improve your fiction writing, admittedly not qualified to do so. However, I can help you improve your capability for promoting, marketing, and selling your fiction on this platform in an effective way. I can help you use the platform more efficiently to create awareness for your fiction pieces.
Considering the current challenges of the platform and the situation that fiction writers face, it is time to re-position fiction marketing and selling on Medium. By selling, I refer to increasing the visibility and readability of your fiction pieces, not selling like on Amazon or Kobo.
As fiction writers, what we need is to create synergy and fusion by combining our efforts. Throughout history, scientists, artists, tradespeople, and business people all thrive using the power of the community of practices.
To model this proven proposition, I am setting up a community of practice for fiction writers contributing to my publications.
I call this community of practice “ILLUMINATION Fiction Club”.
How will it work?
Let me give you a high-level overview for your consideration. This overview can help us start the thought process and open a dialogue.
This community of practice aims to bring interested fiction writers on the same page. More specifically, the starting point is knowing each other.
Fiction writers are currently fragmented. We don’t know each other, let alone collaborate and create synergy. We all suffer in isolation.
For example, I don’t think our 1000+ fiction writers know each other even though they contribute to the same publication.
The starting point is meeting each other.
Time to stop being shy and start mingling. It is party time.
We must start knowing each other by introducing ourselves.
What is the first action?
The first action is to create a fiction bio.
You create and submit your fiction bio, and I will publish and promote it for you.
I know the new writers will ask: What is a fiction bio, and how can we create one? Good question. Let me explain.
A fiction bio is a story introducing and articulating your fiction-related work.
This bio story can include your writing background, lists and links to your fiction work, photos, videos, information about your writing platforms, your newsletters, and other relevant resources.
This story can be seen as a creative resume. The purpose is to show that you exist as a fiction writer and are ready to interact. This story serves as an introduction to your fellow writers and potential readers.
Once you submit your fiction bios, I will compile your bios and create awareness of your fiction-related work using promotional packs of our publications.
What is the second action?
Any party or ritual requires a premise.
For this fiction club, we need a communication platform.
The best communication platform is a Slack channel for facilitating secure and convenient conversations. We will chat a lot.
We have an established Slack channel successfully used by many writers over the last seven months.
All you need is to register to our Slack channel and start conversations. If you are not a member yet, you can request an invitation from this link showing your interest join the Slack group.
The fiction club channel in our Slack group will allow you to initiate discussions, have private chats with your fellow writers, and share your fiction-related links.
What else can we do within the fiction club?
First of all, you can create visibility to your fiction work. For example, you can include links to your fiction books and stories. You can include links to your writing platforms.
Fiction writers need beta readers. You can request beta readers from the club members.
Fiction writers need endorsements. You can ask for testimonials from the club members.
You can request reviewers to improve the quality of your stories.
Remember, writers are the best readers. We have 5,400+ contributing writers to ILLUMINATION. Interacting and collaborating with these writers can initiate serendipity.
You can ask for mentors from published and accomplished writers. We have already started a mentoring program and writer workshops led by Tree Langdon, CPA, CGA.
Did I mention before that each fiction writer must have a mailing list and a newsletter? If not, remember it is a critical task for a sustainable writing career, especially for taking control of your customers. You can share your newsletters on our Slack channel and increase followers of your mailing lists.
How can publication create visibility for fiction?
ILLUMINATION publication has a fiction amplifier by design.
The first consideration is choosing one of the tags as “fiction” in your stories.
This tag allows showing your story under the fiction tab of the publication. It is a built-in feature.
Having a fiction tab in our publications also allows us to syndicate fiction stories using the RSS service of Medium.
The RSS feeds for ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curated fiction are:
https://medium.com/feed/Illumination/tagged/fiction
https://medium.com/feed/Illumination-curated/tagged/fiction
You can use these feeds to create online magazines. I will help you how to do that in other posts.
I plan to syndicate our fiction pieces to multiple networks and platforms listed in our social media plan.
ILLUMINATION has paid subscription for two primary digital automation tools. We are currently syndicating all our stories on multiple platforms. With this initiative, we will create additional fiction RSS to develop further visibility.
For example, I will create a new Flipboard magazine just for fiction pieces. It will be similar to this sharable magazine.
Two more visibility actions:
I will set up new blogs for fiction writers on our publication websites.
I will also distribute fiction pieces regularly using our automated services.
What is next?
Once you join our Fiction Club, we will continue to have conversations and create new ideas whenever it becomes possible for you. With the help of several volunteering editors, I will facilitate the activities of the Club.
It will be a fun club with joyful interactions. We don’t enjoy dull moments.
This initiative is just the beginning of the possibilities.
We have the power to transform the current situation to a more favorable position for fiction writers.
Rather than waiting, whining, and suffering, let’s use collaboration and innovation to shine together.
I am here to help you and lead this initiative. So are many talented volunteering editors of our publications.
Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.
Thank you for reading my perspectives.
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About the Author
I am a technologist, postdoctoral researcher, author of several books, editor, and digital marketing strategist with four decades of industry experience.
I write articles on Medium, NewsBreak, and Vocal Media. On Medium, I established ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated, ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR, ILLUMINATION Book Chapters, Technology Hits, SYNERGY, and Readers Hope publications supporting 15,500+ writers on Medium. You can join my publications requesting access here. You may subscribe to my account to be notified when I post on Medium. 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.
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.
