ILLUMINATION-Curated: New Submission Guidelines 2023
If you are an experienced writer, you can now directly write for this unique publication on Medium.
2024 Update
Our chief editor Dr Mehmet Yildiz posted an article showing our strategy aligned with Medium’s direction for the success of writers.
Dear Writers,
ILLUMINATION-Curated is a distinctive publication that has been hosting and spotlighting high-quality, memorable, relatable, and insightful stories from talented writers since 2020. This publication is designed to showcase the stories of experienced and accomplished writers.
In this post, we aim to provide further clarity by addressing frequently asked questions that have arisen in response to our previous announcement.
Many new writers want to join this publication and wish to understand the criteria. Unlike our other publications, this one only serves experienced writers as its loyal readers desire.
Approximately 80% of our applicants belong to the middle category, making them valuable contributors to ILLUMINATION. We then distribute the workload evenly between Readers Hope and ILLUMINATION-Curated, effectively managing both ends of the spectrum.
We start absolute beginners with Readers Hope, then allow them to tap into a broader audience via ILLUMINATION and our special publications like Synergy, Mirror, Book Chapters, Technology Hits, Gaming, and Videos/Podcasts. Then, we select writers who consistently submit high-quality stories to ILLUMINATION-Curated.
Given the substantial volume of inquiries we’ve received — reflecting our community of over 25,000 writers — we find it fitting to address these questions in an amended submission guideline.
Initially, we limited story submissions to a select group of writers who could directly submit to ILLUMINATION-Curated. Those writers had a proven track record for submitting high-quality and valuable stories for our readers.
However, we’ve expanded this opportunity to include more writers to gain enhanced visibility among a broader readership. We want Illumination-Curated to be a motivational tool for the growth of our writers, giving them a target goal.
Experienced writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications will be granted the privilege of directly submitting their stories to ILLUMINATION-Curated.
However, we have specific prerequisites to ensure the quality and relevance of submissions.
First and foremost, any story submitted to ILLUMINATION-Curated must align with Medium’s distribution and boosting guidelines like any other publications in our management.
Furthermore, we emphasize that the content should resonate with the discerning readership of this publication.
We value diversity and variety, which means there are no topic restrictions as long as the stories adhere to Medium’s policies and our values.
Currently, we cover over 100 topics, emphasizing substance and meaningful content for our readers. We expect to cater to more topics as our writers and readers propose.
We do not censor content as long as stories comply with Medium’s guidelines.
Since Medium now requires paid membership for the Partner Program, we will also include stories of members for this publication to maintain our high standards and commitment to our loyal readers. However, our other publications still support non-members.
Except for the Lampshade of ILLUMINATION, our publications don’t accept AI-generated content. You may learn about our AI writing policy.
In addition to Medium’s distribution guidelines, ILLUMINATION-Curated has established a specific set of criteria to enhance the quality of publications.
We aim for high quality but don’t insist on perfection. We are practical and believe every writer can improve with feedback from readers, editors, and peers. Our goal is to provide our subscribers with a pleasant and satisfying reading experience.
Here’s a summary of what we’re looking for in a submission:
Clarity and readability: Your writing should be easy to understand and follow. Use simple language and avoid jargon.
Self-editing for Clean and error-free submissions: Take the time to edit your work carefully before submitting it. This will help you catch any language errors. Your submission should be free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
Value to the reader: Your writing should be informative and engaging. It should provide the reader with something new or valuable to learn.
Reader-centric writing: Put the reader first. Consider what they want to know and how you can best communicate your message.
Rigorous content: Your writing should be well-researched and supported by evidence. Don’t just tell the reader what you think; show them why you think it.
Honesty in writing: Be truthful and accurate in your writing. Don’t mislead or deceive the reader.
Exceptional reading experience: Your writing should be a pleasure to read. It should be well-organized and easy to follow.
Proper formatting: Your submission should be formatted correctly. This includes using the correct font, size, and margins.
Relevant and appropriate images: Photos in your submission should be relevant to the topic and appropriate for the audience. Please check our photo handling policy.
Before submitting your stories to ILLUMINATION-Curated, we strongly recommend using this checklist to ensure your work aligns with our publication standards, delights our readers, and brings your stories more visibility and income.
Please use this checklist before submitting your stories.
1 — Identifying the Audience:
Did I write this story with a specific reader in mind?
Is the story intended for a specific or broad audience?
Is the writing level suitable for the target audience?
2 — Value for the Reader:
What value or insights does this story offer?
Are there key takeaway points provided?
Are these takeaways relevant and meaningful to the audience?
Does the story leave a lasting impact?
3 — Readability:
Is the story structured logically for easy comprehension?
Have I used clear and straightforward language?
4 — Editorial Standards:
If I were an editor, would I accept this story for publication?
Have I used tools like Hemingway Editor to assess the quality of the writing?
5 — Coherence:
Does the introductory paragraph connect effectively with the conclusion?
Can I improve the introduction’s appeal?
How can I make both the introduction and conclusion more memorable?
6 — Engagement:
Is the content engaging, or does it come across as dull?
Have I used lively and appropriate vocabulary?
Are analogies and metaphors employed to enhance the reader’s experience?
Does the writing maintain a conversational tone to keep the audience interested?
7 — Conveying Messages:
Would a reader understand the intended messages within the story?
Are the main points clearly presented?
8 — Accuracy and Credibility:
Have I fact-checked information from reliable sources?
Are there adequate citations for borrowed content?
9 — Honesty and Readership Alignment:
Is the story presented honestly and authentically?
Is the content aligned with its intended purpose, whether informative or fictional?
10 — Reader Experience:
Does the overall mood of the story match its content?
Is there a risk of readers reacting negatively to any aspects of the story?
11 — Formatting, Clutter, and Unnecessary Elements:
Are paragraphs kept at a manageable length for readability?
Are sentences complete and well-structured?
Have unnecessary elements been removed from the story?
Are obsolete words or phrases eliminated?
12 — Title and Subtitles:
Are titles and subtitles formatted correctly and clearly?
Is the use of capital letters in titles appropriate?
Are headings and subheadings concise, not exceeding 200 characters each?
13 — Images and Captions:
Do the images align with the theme of the content?
Are copyright-free images used?
Are images correctly captioned with source links?
14 — Addressing Ambiguity:
Is the story comprehensible for the target audience’s level of understanding?
Have vague words and phrases been eliminated?
15 — Tags and Visibility:
Have relevant tags been applied to reflect the story’s messages?
Is at least one publication tag [preferably] used to enhance visibility for readers?
16 — Final Checks:
Has a final spell-check and grammar check been conducted?
Is the story free from spelling errors and grammatical mistakes?
If unconventional words were deliberately used, have they been appropriately explained to readers?
17 — Quality Assurance:
Has the story been reviewed backward to catch any remaining typos?
Are all typos corrected?
Has a friend or colleague reviewed the story for further feedback?
18 — Accuracy in Numbers and Lists:
Are the numbers and bullet points in lists accurate?
Are bullet points consistent and aligned?
19 — Verification of Web Links:
Do the web links lead to the correct web addresses when clicked?
20 — Disclosure of Affiliate Links:
Are affiliate links clearly disclosed at the beginning and end of the story?
Are these affiliate links relevant to the story’s theme?
Could the presence of affiliate links potentially upset or mislead readers?
21 — Adherence to Platform Rules:
Does the story comply with the rules of the platform or publication?
Has specific attention been given to avoid any form of hate speech or potential offense to readers?
22 — Seeking External Input for Controversial Topics:
Have trusted editors or peers reviewed the story for potential issues or blind spots?
Have recommendations from editors been considered and applied?
23 — References and Citations:
Are appropriate references provided for cited content at the end of the story?
The checklist details are explained in this resource, documented by our chief editor Dr Mehmet Yildiz. This extended version also provides guidance on increasing the chance of boosting and writing viral stories, which can help you build your audience faster and bring more income to your content.
How can we improve the quality of stories before submitting them?
Improving the quality of your stories is a continuous journey, and several practical approaches exist to consider. Here are some useful tips.
Familiarize Yourself with Medium’s Distribution Guidelines
The first and foremost step is to read and understand Medium’s curation guidelines thoroughly. We developed our guidelines based on Medium’s policies.
Study Curated, Boosted, and Viral High-Quality Stories and Learn from Experienced Writers
Analyzing curated, high-quality, boosted, and viral stories can provide you with valuable lessons in style, presentation, and content.
We’ve curated numerous volumes containing hundreds of top-tier stories across various topics. You can use keyword searches to find stories from these collections.
Some popular collection names to search are Outstanding Stories and Illumination Reading Club by ILLUMINATION-Curators, Hand-Picked Articles by ILLUMINATION Amplifiers, and Curated Collections by ILLUMINATION.
These resources often contain practical and engaging stories from fellow writers’ experiences on ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications.
Learning from the experiences of other writers is invaluable. We’ve compiled various resources to help you improve your storytelling. You may check some guiding resources by our chief editor Dr Mehmet Yildiz, in the attached list.
Sample Boosted Stories
How Writers Can Attract More Readers by Using Design Thinking Principles
Soulful Connections: Finding Meaning in Mammadou’s Childhood Letters
Here’s How I Train My Brain Daily for Mental Clarity and Intellectual Productivity.
Meditation Can Boost the Cortical Thickness in the Brain and Prevent the Thinning of It
Here’s How to Make the Nervous System More Flexible and Functional
A New Clinical Trial Found a Low-Carb Diet Better Than the Dash.
Here’s Why I Focus on Nutritional Biochemistry Rather Than Diets
Queer Organisms: Nature’s Lesson for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equality
Here is a collection of boosted stories on ILLUMINATION-Curated.
Engage in Peer Reviews
As the creator of your work, you may be biased in your evaluation. Therefore, seek peer reviews to gain fresh perspectives on your content.
Peer reviewers often excel in spotting typos and other errors that authors and automated language tools may miss.
Peers can offer a reader’s viewpoint and help identify blind spots in your writing. You can join our Slack community and make review requests to connect with potential peer reviewers.
Use Language and Editing Tools
Using language and editing tools in your writing process can significantly enhance the quality of your work. Grammarly can help with grammar and spelling checks. Consider using Hemingway Editor to refine your writing style.
Additionally, performing a plagiarism check is crucial to ensure your content is original and not duplicated elsewhere on Medium or other platforms.
Several free tools, including the plagiarism checker in Grammarly, Chegg, Copyleaks, PlagTracker, and Plagiarisma, can assist in this regard.
Submit as a Draft
For your convenience and to ensure smooth processing, we kindly ask that you submit your contributions as drafts, even though we allow self-published stories. It is for your benefit.
As you may be aware, stories published as drafts will display the publication date once they are published on the platform.
In cases where your content is time-sensitive and requires expedited attention, we are open to considering exceptions.
Please feel free to bring such circumstances to our attention via a private message when you submit your work. You may also contact Dr Mehmet Yildiz and other editors on Slack Workspace.
Collection of Boosted Stories from ILLUMINATION-Curated
Conclusions
ILLUMINATION-Curated is a distinctive publication showcasing memorable, insightful, and relatable stories from experienced writers. We aim to give voice to all writers putting effort into delighting our readers.
We trust these guidelines will provide you with the necessary information to begin your journey with us. Please leave a comment for your inquiries on this story or contact us on our Slack workspace.
Thank you for being part of our journey, and we look forward to your valuable contributions. Our readers anticipate the infusion of fresh content from new voices and contributors, adding further vibrancy to our growing community.
You may find guidelines for ILLUMINATION, our largest publication, at this link, penned by Suzanne E. We will compile all submission guidelines in a single story soon.
Updated Guidelines for ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications.
ILLUMINATION Videos and Podcasts: Submission Guidelines 2023
Publishing and Conduct Guidelines for the Lampshade of ILLUMINATION
Here are Medium’s Quality Guidelines about boosting from Medium.
ILLUMINATION-Curated was selected as a boost nominating pub as listed in this bulletin. Here is an inspiring story published by Ariel Meadow Stallings interviewing ADEOLA SHEEHY-ADEKALE.
Also, in this series, you may check these inspiring stories that may give you valuable perspective on content development in the Medium platform:
How Google data scientist Cassie Kozyrkov found success (and a fulfilling creative outlet) on Medium by Jon Gluck
How Kaki Okumura ’s Medium essays led to a book on health and human psychology by Harris Sockel
How Thomas Smith successfully launched a new AI publication on Medium by Jon Gluck
How Devon Price redefined ‘lazy’ and turned his Medium essay into a book by Harris Sockel
Finally, Introduce Yourself in a Story
Our editor Aiden (Illumination Gaming), recently compiled writer bios penned by themselves in a collection.
You may enjoy the bios of writers written with their pens. We encourage all writers to post a bio introducing themselves to our readers.
Meet Editors of ILLUMINATION-Curated
Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Dr John Frederick Rose, Dr. Preeti Singh, Dr Michael Heng, Brian E. Wish, PhD, Arthur G. Hernandez, EP McKnight, MEd, Paul Myers MBA, Bill Abbate, Brooklyn Muse (editor), Britni Pepper, Jennifer Geer, Joe Luca, Josh Balerite Acol, Lanu Pitan, Julius Evans, Michael Patanella, Judy Musgrove ~ Blogger, Entrepreneur, Writer, Jussi Luukkonen – your curiosity guide, Maria Rattray, Ntathu Allen (she/her), Sumera Rizwan, Tree Langdon, René Junge, Kurt Dillon, Neha Sandhir S, Aiden (Illumination Gaming), Agnes Laurens, Mike Broadly, ILLUMINATION, and ILLUMINATION-Curators.
Some of these editors have a profile so you may check them from the attached list.
Invitation to New Writers
ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications are inclusive and diverse, supporting 25,000+ contributors. Different levels of writers, from absolute beginners to the most accomplished ones, delight our readers with their educative and engaging content.
To join our vibrant publications, please send a request via this link. We will help you gain visibility and succeed as a writer on Medium. Please mention the publication name with your Medium account ID in the request.
ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications include:
ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION-Curated ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR ILLUMINATION Book Chapters Technology Hits SYNERGY Readers Hope Illumination on YouTube Illumination Gaming Lampshade of Illumination ILLUMINATION’s Blog EUPHORIA by Dr Mehmet Yildiz
Please review our onboarding pack before sending any story to ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications. We only accept stories meeting Medium policies and our guidelines.
