In Praise of Illumination and Sister Pubs

Heartfelt thanks for the little things

Appreciation. Gratitude. A note of thanks. Illumination publication deserves all these.

And loads more. I may not have published with every publication on here — and I guess there are thousands out there, active, semi-active, and inactive. I can never discover them all.

While some pub editors have courses or products they can channel traffic to — something to keep them motivated — many others are now doing a thankless job of managing these pubs for free.

I can’t name you all, but I see all the exceptional work you’re doing, and I want to thank you all for the support you’re giving fellow writers like me. Keep it up, and some grateful writers will soon sing your praises like I’m doing for Illumination.

Back to my effusive praise, and the length the Illumination team has gone to help thousands of other writers like me is beyond the scope of one blog post.

But needs must, and I can’t keep quiet. I may be the nine hundredth person saying this, but there’s nothing like too much credit.

The quick turnaround time is impressive

Some pubs are not famed for their turnaround time. We’re all busy, and when there’s no incentive, there’s no point offering round-the-clock publishing and related editorial services. And that’s no knock on anyone.

But in the same breath, if someone does an impressive work under similar conditions, they deserve all the credit they can get. And that is the case with Illumination.

Getting added as a writer isn’t a battle. I’m still waiting to become a writer for some publications one month after applying. I didn’t check exactly when I got added by Illumination, but it didn’t take five working days.

And getting published is a breeze. I hear there are many volunteer editors standing by to help manage the deluge of drafts they receive.

Thanks to that, there are no long queues waiting for days and days only to be rejected, with no specific reason for the rejection. Not to say it’s a free-for-all, though.

They still have their guidelines, and the bottom line is to remain civil with your words if you want to get published. But really, should anyone even tell you that?

The cross distribution among related pubs

I’ve received notifications of my work getting shared among other collections for sister pubs. And that extra gesture is a great deal to me.

It may not always guarantee an extra 10K views, but that line of action and the effort deserve some mention. But it doesn’t end there.

The editors even share your work outside Medium. Again, this tactic may not guarantee much in the grand scheme of things. But who knows when you could get lucky and get your work noticed by the people who see your work?

Given that these days, further distribution, doesn’t always make a great deal of a difference, every sliver of opportunity to get your work in front of more eyeballs is commendable.

They’re not exactly after perfection

And I love that. Sometimes, all it takes is giving someone a chance, even if their work is only 70% good. It’s better to help a new writer build momentum than get stuck fighting perfection and rejection.

And for that, I can’t thank Illumination enough. And many other fantastic pubs. You all are a real godsend.

Sure, we all aim for near-flawless work, perfectly formatted and all that, but the occasional typo and grammatical error is always lurking. We’ll get there, but while we’re on the way, thank you for your patience. It’s deeply appreciated.

The bad rap doesn’t faze me

The system itself is by no means perfect, and by extension, no part of the system is. No writer is, no editor is, no publication is.

So I don’t expect perfection from Illumination or any pub. When I hear all the critics going off, I take those words with a grain of salt. Who doesn’t have critics?

We could all get better, which I don’t deny. But so long as we’re all making progress, that’s it. If some of the criticisms labeled at this pub were valid — and I won’t even dignify those comments by linking them here, why are some of the biggest names on this platform now publishing their work here?

Again, no one will ever be perfect, and I’m happy to know if you’re getting criticized, it means you’re at least doing something right.

From deep down my heart, I’m profusely grateful to the Illumination team for the opportunity they’ve given me to publish with them. As long as this relationship exists, I’ll continue to cherish it.

And even when it does come to its inevitable end, I’ll always have the memories ringing in my mind. Once again, thank you.