Relax! You Found ILLUMINATION
From the perspective of a new writer — what I’m learning by reading & writing for ILLUMINATION
I was inspired to write this piece after reading appreciation stories for ILLUMINATION by Brian E. Wish, PhD, Joe Luca, 🦄 Chris Hedges, Desiree Driesenaar, Tree Langdon ♾️, Karen Madej 💛. Many of these authors represent a more seasoned group of writers; I wanted to express my appreciation from the perspective of a brand new writer.
If memory serves me, I think I was first exposed to ILLUMINATION after Timothy Key engaged with one of my articles. I checked out his profile and saw that he was an editor for ILLUMINATION. I was immediately intrigued by the variety of topics that the publication featured and was soon going down the rabbit hole of eclectic articles, how-to’s, and poetry.
There really was something for everybody, and everybody was engaged in something. These articles had hundreds, if not thousands of claps. People highlighted, commented, and genuinely appreciated each other’s stories. I knew I wanted in.
I’m not the most experienced writer, so I tend to get nervous when I submit to become a writer for a publication. But I was accepted fairly quickly and couldn’t wait to get started. One of the first articles I came across was a compilation of self-introductions from other writers on ILLUMINATION, featured by Dr Mehmet Yildiz. So I wrote an introduction of myself to the community, and I’ve been learning from this publication ever since.
Engagement is More Important Than Views
You know what I learned when I joined ILLUMINATION? You’re supposed to clap more than once. I had published a few articles before joining this publication and based off of the feedback that I received, I assumed clicking the ‘clap’ icon was like clicking the ‘like’ button on social media. But once I published my self-introduction to ILLUMINATION, I realized that people clapped for my article at least 10 times, and that you could give as many as 50 claps on one story.
You can highlight stories, who knew? No one had highlighted anything I wrote before I joined ILLUMINATION. That shows that people are really reading what you’re writing rather than skimming, and they’re finding pieces of information that are bringing value to them.
My views have at least doubled since I joined ILLUMINATION. But more importantly, the read time on my articles has significantly increased and I get some type of reader engagement on at least 60% of those reads. That reader engagement is what has been motivating me to keep writing and keep reading.
Publication? More Like Community
One of the hardest parts about being a new writer on Medium was feeling like I was on my own to navigate this large platform. I assumed that all writers worked individually and had no sense that there was any type of community out there. We were all fighting for visibility on the same publications and topics, and it was every writer for themselves. It was daunting to think that I’d have to work tirelessly and without direction to try to gain just a sliver of notoriety on this huge platform.
But my perception of Medium’s community changed after I wrote a piece on my near death experience and published it to ILLUMINATION. It was the most vulnerable I had allowed myself to be in my writing, so I was eager to see what type of response I would get. Although the story didn’t get as many views as some of my other articles, it was the first story that I received raw, emotional, and true connection. Kevin Buddaeus and I connected through similarities in our stories; I both of us were sharing details of our experience with others for the first time.
To date, it is one of my least viewed stories. But it is a story that I cherish because it brought me connections that were much more valuable than views. It is a type of validation of my work that far exceeds any satisfaction I get from views and reads. The engagement I received on that story was the first time I felt like readers truly cared about what I was writing and were absorbing value from my words, and it is something that I experience every time I publish through ILLUMINATION.
My Writing is More Inspired
This publication appreciates my work, rather than making me feel like I have to fit into their cookie-cutter expectations of a good story. It’s amazing how much more inspired my writing is knowing that ILLUMINATION isn’t looking for perfection; they want stories that are genuine. Even if my story isn’t curated or littered with thousands of claps, I know that it will be valued by my fellow ILLUMINATION readers and that Dr Mehmet Yildiz will feature it in his daily list recapping the stories published for the day.
As a new writer, it’s a huge relief to be able to freely write without worrying about impressing someone else. I feel like I am in control of the success of my stories, rather than being at the mercy of someone else and hoping that they approve of what I produce. And it makes me a better reader. When I read other authors’ work I can simply appreciate it for what it is rather than comparing their work to mine and trying to figure out what their ‘secret to success’ is. I know that all of our stories have the ability to be successful, that every writer’s work brings value to ILLUMINATION, and that my appreciation of their work will be reciprocated. Honestly, why couldn’t high school be more like this?
New Writers Welcome
If you are a new writer, this is the place for you. Some publications can be intimidating; they create a competitive environment that makes you feel like you should be humbled to be featured on their page.
But ILLUMINATION treats writers differently; this publication is grateful that you are contributing to them. They highlight your story to other readers and in turn expose you to hundreds of phenomenal stories written by inspiring authors. They value the role of the reader just as much as they value the role of the writer, and that is important when you are trying to build a community of support.
In short, ILLUMINATION and it’s writers know that your contributions are what makes them successful, so they do everything they can to celebrate you. You’ll find a community of support here, and that secure foundation is just what you need to start producing really inspired work.
