My 30-Day Medium Challenge: Writing and Submitting 30 Articles
Taking one step at a time towards my goal
I am making the pledge to write 30 articles to 30 different publications in 30 days. I will post a “how it went” article after 30 days.
David Majister created this challenge. Anyone is welcome to join at any time, make sure to read the rules and plan ahead.
Each day I will post an update at the bottom of the article.
My Plan
I joined Medium as a reader in 2019. In 2020, I wrote a few articles. I had no idea what I was doing. I treated Medium like a personal blog but didn’t see much in terms of readers and followers. I have enjoyed Medium as a reader but wanted to do more here as a writer. Medium is a large playground and I wasn’t sure where to begin. Somewhere along the way, I read about David Majister’s challenge and learned more about writing to publications.
I recommend planning for this challenge.
- List which publications you want to submit your articles to. I started browsing all the different publications here (there are many) as I like to write fiction and nonfiction articles. As I researched, I bookmarked the sites I wanted to write for, from small to large publications.
- Apply to be a writer for those publications before you begin the challenge. For the past week, I’ve requested to be a writer for about 10 publications so far. I also made a list of those sites where you submit an article draft when you apply to be a writer.
- Brainstorm, outline, and write as many of the articles before you officially start the challenge. I wrote some of my articles but not all of them. I brainstormed enough ideas to submit 30 articles during the 30 days.
- Decide what your goals are. Think about what you really want to achieve with this challenge. Increase followers? Make a certain amount of money? Meet new writers? Or to simply finish the challenge of submitting 30 articles in 30 days (that is a great goal).
My Goals
- Increase my followers from 50 to 100 followers.
- Submit 30 articles to 30 different publications with 80% acceptance.
- Make any amount of money. Okay, that may seem too generic but I’ve only made a few cents in the past because I only wrote a few articles. I will be grateful for any amount of money I can make during this challenge.
- Read and comment on 5 articles each day to become involved in the writing community and to support other writers.
My Why
I’m the type of person who likes a good challenge. I enjoy having a structured plan to achieve a goal, which is to be a full-time freelance writer and author.
This challenge is another step towards my dream.
Over the past year, I’ve been focused on writing fiction, focusing on the first draft of a suspense thriller novel. I’ve also been writing short stories to submit to magazines and enter competitions. That is my passion, creative writing but that doesn’t pay the bills. In the meantime, I want to write content here on Medium and as a freelance content writer. I’m a writing nerd, what can I say?
Feel free to leave a comment if you are starting the challenge as well.
Publication Timeline (updated daily)
June 15: Submitted initial challenge post to 30-day publication. Published the same day.
June 16: Submitted “About Me — Ellie Jacobson” to About Me Stories. Published the same day.
June 17: Submitted 6 Ways Writers Prepare for Camp NaNoWriMo to Writers’ Blokke. Published the same day.
June 18: Submitted Taken for a Ride(flash fiction) to Centina Pentina. Published on June 21.
June 19: Submitted Snap: Part I to Microcosm. Or I thought I had submitted it on the 19th but really I didn’t push to the final submit to add the draft to the publication. Published on June 23.
June 20: Submitted Nervous to Fly (short story) to The Lark. Published and chosen for further distribution on June 21.
June 21: Submitted Dear Mom to Thank You Notes.
June 22: Submitted Resources for Writing Flash Fiction to The Writing Cooperative. Initially rejected. Will edit the article and resubmit.
June 23: Submitted Blogging My Way to a Book to Synergy. Published on June 24.
June 24: Submitted When Darkness Persists to Illumination. Published the same day.
June 25: Started a Medium Publication documenting my journey to writing my first novel. Published Two Book Ideas: Decisions, Decisions
June 26: Submitted Cracked Cocoon to Illumination’s Mirror. Published on the same day.
June 27: Edited Resources for Writing Flash Fiction and resubmitted The Writing Cooperative.
June 28: Published Deciding Which Fiction Book to Write to My Novel Journey
June 29: Submitted Jumpstart your Creativity to Synergy. Published the same day.
June 30: Submitted a short-form post (thought I would try that out!) to Illumination.
July 1: Submitted The Storm Within to Poetry’s Home.
July 2–4: I’ll be out of town. Will post again on July 5.
July 5: Submitted Resources for Writing Flash Fiction to Writers’ Blokke. Published on July 6.
July 6: Submitted Google to the Rescue to The Daily Cuppa. Published the same day.
July 7: Submitted Thanking My Husband to Thank You Notes. Published the same day.
July 8: Submitted Wiping the Death Off to The Weekly Knob. Didn’t hear back from this publication.
July 11: Submitted Wiping the Death Off to Sky Collection. Published the same day.
July 12: Submitted Writing Prompts, Challenges & Contests, Oh My! to Illumination. Published the same day.
July 13: Submitted Celebrating my 25 x 2 -2 Birthday to The Daily Cuppa. Published the same day.
July 14: Submitted I’m Filing a Divorce from Perfection to Gentleness Ambassadors and Thank You to the Rain to Thank You Notes.
