Writing

My Publications and Why I Started Them

In Answer To This Frequently Asked Question

I own and edit four publications on Medium.

Law of Connections — I started this one because I am acutely aware of how interconnected humans — and all life — are with our planet. This connection can be expressed by the saying— Ichi Wa Zen, Zen Wa Ichi — which is Japanese and translates to One are All, All are One, and is represented by the logo on the publication. The publication accepts all pieces regarding these connections, along with climate change issues and solutions. I employed a scenic artist to custom create the logo for the publication. We accept writings in all languages.

MuddyUm — I was growing weary of all the sadness and anger in the world. It seemed to me that we are terribly out of balance. If you are playing on a teeter totter in a children’s playground, you may recall that if everyone sits on the one side — you don’t have a game, and you might not have much fun. It’s a pretty silly situation. So I started MuddyUm to have a broader platform for all forms of humor. It’s my attempt at trying to create some balance.

Contemplate — I started this one to have a more serious place for writers to think and share thoughts and feelings, and to develop their true voice.

To The Summit — This is a publication for those who achieve, and want to share stories of inspiration, innovation, exceptional performance, and yes to absolutely hearing more about women’s stories of perseverance and triumph. I specifically wanted to grow an alternative to The Ascent, and The Startup, which can make you wait for a week or more for a decision to publish, and is overly selective.

In all cases, I started these publications because I was frustrated with the wait times to publish on other, larger, more established publications — and in many cases, with the wait only yielding a rejection note, with no real constructive information for improvement — days and sometimes weeks later. I’d been experiencing immediate curation for pieces after having been rejected by other huge publications, and decided there had to be a better, more effective and efficient way to get to the goal.

Each publication has its own associated facebook page where writers can publish and promote freely their pieces for the affiliated publication.

I commit to a publication time within 24 hours, and if not published within that time frame, some concrete information about how to improve the piece. As an editor, I do minor edits gratis. Editing that will require more serious time will likely yield in a gentle suggestion about what to edit for improvement, and then you’re on your own to finish your editing prior to publishing.

I sponsor regular writers’ prompts to get your brain working and writing. I also sponsor cash contests. These contests are funded by me personally, so the amounts are small. But they are designed to get writers into the habit of regular writing, in preparation for whatever comes next in their writing career.

I do love Medium as a place to write, to read, and to collaborate on the ideas that spark and inspire us all to be better humans. This is a wonderful foundational platform — a place for anyone with a desire to be a successful writer can grow an audience, explore their voice, and perfect their writing skills.

Update to this post on June 10, 2021. I do have another publication. It’s called Garden of Neuro. It is an outlet for women specifically, as an adjunct to our women’s network community — free to join, by the same name, Garden of Neuro. It has a different focus and goal, as it is specifically a place for the Garden sisters to post their inspirations that come out of their affiliation with the Garden, a #safeandbravespace where wisdom seekers meet wisdom keepers. It’s an oasis in the social network desert. If you are a woman anywhere in the world, we hope you’ll join us there.

Susan Brearley is a brilliant strategist, a published book author, writer, seasoned editor, essayist, occasional comedy writer, and an accidental poet. She’s the happy collector of between 1 and 20 top writer badges on Medium, on any given day.

She is Chef, Elder and Program Director at Elf Works Lane Retreat Center, where she coaches people, helping them create the life they were born to live, on the planet we all want to live on. Next Garden of Neuro Workshop will be Autumn of 2021.

She is currently based in the mid-Hudson Valley, New York, Lenape land.