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ng to accomplish.</p><p id="e5c1">I’ve backed up my work (and in any case, I draft offline and keep copies of EVERYTHING) while I think about it. I still have just over a week to make a final decision.</p><p id="d988">Right now, Substack is looking like a good option. I can republish my work there, and I have the option of earning from new work down the line. And hopefully some of my followers from various platforms will follow me there to read those new articles and to have the conversations I’ve been enjoying.</p><p id="4982">If I end up making that decision, I’ll be sorry to leave Medium and ILLUMINATION. But unless Medium changes the language in the new terms of service, I don’t know that I have a choice. What do you plan to do?</p><p id="d822">For more perspectives on the changes, check out the following articles:</p><h2 id="c78e">Holly Jahangiri</h2><div id="0abd" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/thoughts-on-mediums-new-terms-of-service-16c4d9f8ac81"> <div> <div> <h2>Thoughts on Medium’s New Terms of Service</h2> <div><h3>One Contracts Law professor I knew estimated that about 60% of all contracts currently in effect were void or…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*xiyi2X5lsrvvzT6E)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="800a">Rasheed Hooda</h2><div id="9360" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/what-happens-when-life-gives-you-lemons-7d76fddcc7a3"> <div> <div> <h2>What Happens When Life Gives You Lemons</h2> <div><h3>You get to choose whatever you want to do with it.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*0dJp4LdxCgS7hF9fJUcVQA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="aa84">Alison Tennent</h2><div id="ddfc" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/medium-is-changing-your-rights-to-your-own-work-6718cf0fbfa0"> <div> <div> <h2>Medium Is Changing Your Rights To Your Own Work</h2> <div><h3>Here’s what to do about it</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*2mKBe2odTusV-YrF007LMA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="37db">Roz Warren</h2><div id="d7b8" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/what-do-the-changes-in-mediums-terms-of-service-mean-c2b79ef403d8"> <div> <div> <h2>What Do the C

Options

hanges in Medium’s Terms of Service Mean?</h2> <div><h3>Nothing Good for Writers</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*tCdIFYneQDvqL05p)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="4c44">Dr Mehmet Yildiz</h2><div id="4ead" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/update-on-new-medium-t-cs-aaaf1d395b81"> <div> <div> <h2>Update on New Medium T&Cs</h2> <div><h3>Silver lining to reach consensus for a win-win-win goal</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*8YwUgNtfPDF2YZ4m65zxlA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="1ab9">Charles Roast</h2><div id="82f0" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/mediums-new-terms-and-conditions-appear-to-be-taking-a-huge-advantage-of-its-members-a82b7ba29478"> <div> <div> <h2>Medium’s New Terms and Conditions Appear to be Taking a Huge Advantage of Its Members</h2> <div><h3>I could be wrong, and I hope I am. Otherwise, I feel betrayed.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*rwlEWWrFLjXdFi5j)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="2352"><b>Update: Medium has listened. Check out <a href="undefined">Holly Jahangiri</a>’s explanatory article to hear about the important changes they made to the TOS:</b></p><div id="ad42" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-39b14c592c29"> <div> <div> <h2>Should I Stay or Should I Go?</h2> <div><h3>I think I’ll stay…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*i__G8qTUweowCCSf)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="0a62">For now, I’m with Holly on this: I’ll stick around for a while. But I’m still going to work on my platform outside of Medium, in case this happens again. I’ll keep you posted.</p><p id="755e"><a href="https://sharonhh.com/portfolio"><i>Sharon Hurley Hall</i></a><i> is a professional B2B writer and blogger</i>, <i>and co-host of <a href="http://theintrovertsisters.com/">The Introvert Sisters</a> podcast.</i></p><p id="b318"><b><i>This article was originally published on Medium. If you’re reading it anywhere else, it may be stolen.</i></b></p></article></body>

WRITING

Now What, Medium?

What’s a writer to do when the TOS change?

Photo by Dan Counsell on Unsplash

I’ve been pondering my future here on Medium. The reason: recent changes to the terms of service. It’s reminded me of what I’ve always known: never build your house on someone else’s land.

I joined Medium soon after it launched, and have taken advantage of new features as they’ve been released. Until recently, it hadn’t been a primary platform for me, more a “nice to have”. That all changed in June, when I started writing about racism and anti-racism after George Floyd was murdered.

Around that time, I joined ILLUMINATION.

Both of those things revitalized my Medium experience. I connected with old writer friends and made new ones.

Now, I have a decision to make. Do I continue publishing here, take my work to another platform like Substack, or launch yet another blog? I can’t decide. I could opt to stay anyway, especially since a bunch of family, friends and colleagues have joined Medium to follow my work.

But as a professional writer, I’m wary of giving away too many rights to my personal work. (Work for hire for clients is totally different.) But having launched and managed what seems like a gazillion blogs in the last 15 years (ok, not a gazillion, but definitely in double digits), I don’t know if I have the mental space to do that again along with all the other stuff I’m trying to accomplish.

I’ve backed up my work (and in any case, I draft offline and keep copies of EVERYTHING) while I think about it. I still have just over a week to make a final decision.

Right now, Substack is looking like a good option. I can republish my work there, and I have the option of earning from new work down the line. And hopefully some of my followers from various platforms will follow me there to read those new articles and to have the conversations I’ve been enjoying.

If I end up making that decision, I’ll be sorry to leave Medium and ILLUMINATION. But unless Medium changes the language in the new terms of service, I don’t know that I have a choice. What do you plan to do?

For more perspectives on the changes, check out the following articles:

Holly Jahangiri

Rasheed Hooda

Alison Tennent

Roz Warren

Dr Mehmet Yildiz

Charles Roast

Update: Medium has listened. Check out Holly Jahangiri’s explanatory article to hear about the important changes they made to the TOS:

For now, I’m with Holly on this: I’ll stick around for a while. But I’m still going to work on my platform outside of Medium, in case this happens again. I’ll keep you posted.

Sharon Hurley Hall is a professional B2B writer and blogger, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.

This article was originally published on Medium. If you’re reading it anywhere else, it may be stolen.

Writing
Writing Life
Illumination
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