avatarRoz Warren, Writing Coach

Summary

The author, Roz Warren, shares her personal experience with the Medium Curation process, emphasizing that publishing relationship-themed essays in the P.S. I Love You (PSILY) publication leads to instant curation for her work, while other topics and publications yield a lower curation rate.

Abstract

Roz Warren, a seasoned writer on Medium, reflects on her journey to discovering a formula for instant curation on the platform. After observing that her work in the P.S. I Love You publication is consistently curated, often immediately, she concludes that writing about relationships and publishing in PSILY is her "Fast Track to Curation." She contrasts this with her experience in other publications, where curation is less frequent and slower. Warren suggests that each Medium writer may have a unique "Secret Path to Instant Curation" based on their individual track record and encourages writers to analyze their own success patterns. She also humorously notes her own initial oversight in recognizing this pattern, despite the clear evidence provided by her published essays.

Opinions

  • The author believes that her essays on relationships published in P.S. I Love You are more likely to be curated than her work in other publications.
  • Warren implies that Medium's curation algorithm or editorial decisions favor certain topics or publication pairings, which can vary for each writer.
  • She suggests that writers on Medium should pay attention to which of their pieces are more frequently curated to identify their own "Secret Path to Instant Curation."
  • The author expresses some self-deprecating humor about her slow realization of the curation pattern in her work.
  • Warren encourages persistence and strategic targeting of publications and topics as a method to increase the chances of curation.
  • She hints at the idea that the Medium algorithm may not sufficiently promote writers' work, advising readers to subscribe directly to her content for consistent access.

My Path To Instant Curation

Yours Is Probably Different

Photo by Hamish Kale on Unsplash

I’ve been writing on Medium for a year and a half. Most of what I write doesn’t get Curated.

Why not?

I have no idea.

Is my Curated work better than the stuff that doesn’t get Curated?

I don’t think so.

The only thing I know for certain about Curation is that almost everything I get published in P.S. I Love You is Curated.

Often within moments.

Of my last 5 posts for PSILY? Five were Curated.

This isn’t just about getting a post into a publication. I publish in a variety of Medium publications. The Haven. Crows Feet. Illumination. It’s a Hardback Life. And? Only a small percentage of that work gets Curated.

Often after several weeks of Hanging Tight.

But when I publish in PSILY? Instant Curation!

Obviously, for me, publishing in PSILY is a Fast Track to Curation.

This path works for me but might not work for you.

In fact, I suspect that every Medium writer has a Secret Path to Instant Curation. The trick is to locate it. (It took me 16 months of writing on Medium to recognize mine.)

To get Curated, I need to write a post about Relationships and get it published in PSILY.

You might have to write a post about Flying Squirrels and get it published in Illumination.

Someone else might have to write about Avocado Toast and get it published in OneZero.

We’re all stumbling around in the dark here, trying to find our Secret Path To Instant Curation.

Why did it take me over a year to discover my own path? Because it never once occurred to me to look for it. It was only after publishing 3posts on PSILY in 3 days and having them all get curated that a little lightbulb finally went on in my head. (Yeah, I can be very slow.)

Is it possible that your own Path to Curation is staring you in the face and you’re just not seeing it? Take a hard look at your track record. Does a particular publication and topic consistently seem to work for you?

It might be worth it to double down on that path and see what happens.

(Or, like me, you could just start bombarding PSILY with Relationship essays.)

Whatever you do, Good Luck! And May the Algorithm Be With You!

Writing Coach and Medium Sherpa Roz Warren writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, has been in 15 Chicken Soup for the Soul collections, and is the author of Our Bodies, Our Shelves. Drop her a line at [email protected].

(Don’t count on Medium to put my work into your feed! Because they probably won’t. Subscribe below to get all of my dazzling content in your in box — for free!)

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