Summary

The article provides an overview of six Medium publications that are welcoming to both new and experienced writers, emphasizing their inclusivity and responsive editing processes.

Abstract

For newcomers and seasoned writers alike, finding the right platform on Medium can be daunting, but the article highlights six publications that stand out for their supportive environments and quick response times from editors. "New Writers Welcome" is commended for its ease of entry and dedicated team of editors, while "Evolve" is praised for its inclusive nature, accepting a wide range of articles. "Promptly Written" is noted for its writing prompts that inspire poetry and prose, and "Thank You Notes" is recognized for its gratitude-themed prompts. "Coffee Times" offers a diverse reading experience and promotes stories across social media platforms. Lastly, "The Masterpiece" is celebrated for showcasing in-depth, high-quality pieces. The author shares personal experiences with these publications, emphasizing their role in helping writers grow their audience and improve their craft.

Opinions

The author expresses that "New Writers Welcome" is particularly accessible for new writers looking to join a publication, with a straightforward process for becoming a contributor.
"Evolve" is seen as an inclusive publication that does not require a specific writing focus, making it suitable for a variety of topics.
"Promptly Written" is appreciated for its daily and weekly prompts that inspire writers to explore new creative directions.
The author values "Thank You Notes" for fostering a sense of gratitude and providing prompts that encourage writers to reflect on personal experiences.
"Coffee Times" is recognized for its rapid growth and the unique feature of promoting stories on multiple social media platforms, thereby increasing readership.
"The Masterpiece" is regarded as a platform for more substantial pieces, with the author personally vouching for one of their articles as a masterpiece despite lower reader engagement metrics.
The author suggests that despite Medium being a platform where readers often skim content, there are still gems to be found, implying the value of in-depth reading.
A recommendation is made for Medium membership, with a referral link provided, indicating the author's support for the platform's value proposition to readers and writers.

Six Great Medium Publications if You’re a Newbie or a Veteran writer

New to Medium and feeling a bit lost? Here’s a helping hand.

Ever feel like an inexperienced newcomer — a newbie — to some activity?

That’s how I felt when I joined Medium two months ago. It felt like I’d fallen into a parallel universe with all these articles on all these subjects and this secret world of publications I didn’t know existed before I found Medium.

It felt like someone tossed me a football helmet and pads without telling me how to play the sport, and I had to somehow figure it out all by myself.

Yes, I feel for you newbies just joining the platform, but the truth is veteran writers are still always searching for the right publications for their work, and it is tough asking to be added as a writer to publications and nothing happens.

So I am sharing six growing publications I can vouch for from my experience (based on quick response time by editors) for new and old writers:

New Writers Welcome

Robert Ralph says, “If you want to become a writer for New Writers Welcome, I have made it easy for you to do this. Follow our publication, then reply with “I want to be a writer for New Writers Welcome” and you’ll be added.

I’ve found it’s not quite as easy to be added to other publications, possibly it’s because they may be looking for a specialized type of writer, or they may be swamped by so many requests from writers and their inbox is overflowing.

3.7k writers have joined New Writers Welcome, and Robert has a cadre of excellent editors who are swift to accept and publish your work to help you to grow your audience with other new or older writers on the platform.

Evolve

Evolve (583 followers) is a great inclusive publication. It is a great place for articles that are not a good fit for publications with a specific focus. It is run by Carrie. A. Kelly and JS Adam, and it’s a place to share with others about how you might have evolved from something, into something else. Or anything.

I wrote an article “Can a Serial Killer Be a Nice Guy?” about the Netflix series You and another one “Medium Is Changing Me” about my experience on the platform. Both received good read ratios, so this is a good place to go fishing.

Promptly Written

If you are a writer who likes a prompt, Promptly Written (376 followers) is a great place to publish. Ravyne Hawke offers daily and weekly poetry, fiction, and essay prompts, and the prompts have an amazing way of pulling poems out of you that you never knew existed (“Collateral Damage”) inside you.

Rayvne is quick to publish your work. She also leaves heartfelt responses to your work, and you can tell she has read it. As she says on the “About” tab, “snag the prompts you like. Write whenever, wherever the mood strikes you.”

Thank You Notes

Thank You Notes (330 followers) is another good publication that offers prompts. Trista Signe Ainsworth’s weekly prompts most often focus on gratitude, and I appreciate how they help me to have a spirit of gratitude towards people in my life. Without them, I might go the other direction.

Some of her prompts relate to creativity, and I had fun writing one on how I experienced teamwork with my teenage son on a trip to the mall. The trip turned into a photo montage, “Ten Crazy Photos,” on him trying on clothes.

Coffee Times

In case this is your first time reading Coffee Times (probably not) it is a fast-growing publication (1.97K followers) to read a bit of everything while taking a coffee break and enjoying some soothing jams provided by Winston and Co.

One feature that helps Coffee Times ascent among publications is your story will be posted on multiple social media platforms, introducing your work to even more readers. So put that hot cup of joe down and start writing a story.

The Masterpiece

Yes, admit it. You have written a masterpiece or you have one in you. While researching Medium publications on the internet, I stumbled across S M Mamunur Rahman’s The Masterpiece and instantly liked the name.

Photo credit: S M Mamunur Rahman on Medium.

The Masterpiece (866 followers) publishes stories on a wide range of subjects. I was looking for a home to a story (10 minutes) I felt was a masterpiece about two guys who created the first-ever mobile magazine published from an RV.

I’d interviewed them twenty years ago. I found the article in my garage and was struck by how they were the pioneers of the Digital Era, writing about their travels across the country the way people now do on social media.

I refurbished my article and stand by the fact it’s a masterpiece despite a low reader ratio rate. It’s a longer piece (10 minutes), and as August Birch at The Book Mechanic says, “Medium is a skimmer’s paradise.” But if you’re looking for a gem, I can vouch for my article, “The Evolution of the Mad Monks.”

Photo Credit: August Birch’s beautiful wife on Medium.

Let me know if you agree it’s a masterpiece, and I look forward to reading your articles in one of these publications, whether you’re a newbie or have been around Medium for a while. To the newbies, let me leave you with this advice I learned long ago at AA, keep coming back, it works if you work it.

Something like that.

Thank you for reading and I hope you found this helpful to your journey.

Shout out to the creative Paulina Larocca Creative Catalyst.

If you’re interested in reading more of my stories, I created a profile page for my “most read” stories sectioned into categories.

If you are not a Medium member and would like to receive unlimited access to all Medium content, you can sign up here. It’s just $5 a month. I will receive a small referral bonus, at no additional cost to you, when you sign up using my link.