MEDIUM PUBLICATIONS
R.O.D. HQ— Submission Guidelines
The Headquarters of Read or Die
PURPOSE
This publication is the story vault of the Read or Die publication franchise. The headquarters of Read or Die is where you will find our elite writers and the best stories from our community.
Our publication’s goal is to provide a diverse catalog of well-crafted stories amid a vibrant community of writers and readers.
We accept stories from topics such as: History, Culture, Race, Health, Medicine, Diversity, Inclusion, Feminism, Sports, Memoir, Life, Lifestyle, Technology, Personal Essays, etc.
Everything goes because we’re a light-hearted community looking to share our passion with each other and enjoy a few good stories with our morning tea or coffee.
Some stories will be boosted. Others won’t. What matters most is that our members will have a wonderful collection to browse through.
The last couple of months, our mainland publication has taken this platform by storm and populated the Medium feed, but now it’s time to get organized and launch a large-scale conquest with our elite troops!
Umm… So much for “light-hearted,” huh? Well, we can’t let people say we don’t live up to that “Die” in our publication franchise name…
FOCUS
We’re interested in stories that are as close as possible to Medium’s Quality Standards, which are public knowledge on Medium’s help page, because we want to nominate a good chunk of them for a boost:
That means our focus WOULD NOT BE erotica, true crime, or meta-articles (stories about writing or Medium), for example. For that, we have the mainstream publication. 👇
No foul words or vulgarity in the title, text, or images you use. No explicit sex or violent scenes are allowed either.
Let’s not even mention AI here. I might let one or two AI stories slip through on the main publication, but not here.
Browse through our catalog and see what types of stories we accept. Our HQ’s focus will always be on stories (on any subject) that are:
1. Well-written and paginated
Make sure the story is catchy from the beginning, without any boring extra parts. The transition between paragraphs must also be smooth and fluid (not forced).
Also, my personal recommendation is to be mindful of how the text would look on a smartphone screen (Medium App). Shorter (but not too choppy either) paragraphs are easier on the eyes, so take that into consideration.
2. Educative from a point of experience
When it comes to educational articles, avoid using a flat, Wikipedia style. Good information needs to be presented in a way that does not bore or confuse the reader.
Smoothly combining a personal opinion or educated perspective with the learning curve is more than desired. The educational story should not sound like a brochure.
A good educational article reveals inside secrets and hidden perspectives, good tips and tricks, or a strong and well-documented, educated, or factual and logical opinion on the matter.
Although one thing to consider is that most stories fare better (and are more likely to get boosted) when they are written by an actual expert in the specific field the said story covers (doctor, lawyer, historian, etc.).
3. Evoking feelings or sharing a personal learning experience
Memoirs and personal essays, in particular, should conform to this standard.
What lesson did you learn from your experience? What should others be more aware of in relation to what you have experienced?
Did you struggle? Did you experience discrimination, racism, sexism, misogyny, or bigotry? Were you faced with the corruption or inadequacy of a certain system or society?
These are some questions you should take into consideration, as they appeal to people’s feelings.
Bear in mind that a story that seems emotional to you (because it’s personal) might not exactly evoke strong feelings in others by default.
It’s your job to craft it in a way in which the story is more than a narration of what happened and would appeal to people who are not your friends or necessarily looking to know you better.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We’re accepting all submissions in draft form only. That being said, there are three tiers in the HQ publication, all invitation-based:
Writing Generals
They can attack at will, sending as many drafts as they please directly to the HQ.
These people (who I know very well) will be added as writers from the very start (without having to go through a selection) and will constitute a small elite force.
Writing Officers
They will be scouted by me through the Medium feed based on their stories (if they fit into the categories we’re looking for).
I love looking for hidden gems, and I’m always hyped when I discover amazing writers. Therefore, I will invite some of these people to write for Read or Die — HQ.
Writing Conscripts
They are the ones who have to pass through a selection process.
If you impress me with a good story, you have a chance to be published in the HQ and even “promoted” to the upper ranks.
If not, you will have to stick to the main publication. There’s no shame about that. Mind you, even I will do just that.
Here’s what conscripts need to do to join our ranks:
Submissions will be done through my email => [email protected]
Send no more than one draft per month, especially if your first or most of your submissions don’t make the cut.
For me to be able to cover as much ground as I can, we need to limit the spamming of my email. Hence the “one story per month” rule. If you convince me, I will add you as a writer, and you won’t be affected by this rule.
The title of the email you will send to me needs to follow this structure, or else I won’t even bother to read it: [Your Medium nickname] + the name of your story.
Like this => [Adrian CDTPPW] R.O.D. HQ — Submission Guidelines
The text of the email will contain only the shared draft link.
If rejected or accepted, I will reply to your email and mention so. This might take a few days, depending on the number of submissions.
Do not reply back through email to negotiate with me over the matter. You’ll only spam my feed and divert my time and attention from other people’s stories.
That’s all, folks. With the power vested in me, I declare you boost-worthy!
Maybe…
