Quick Tip

So Many Stories to Read, Where Do You Start?

Here are some suggestions that I’ve tested before choosing the one that works best for me.

Have you found it impossible to keep up with every single fabulous person who has clapped for, read, and responded to your stories?

I’ve tried keeping lists of fans on Notes, an Excel spreadsheet, and randomly picking stories from the Daily publications from the Dr. But I often forget to update my notes and spreadsheet and trying to pick a story from huge lists is like trying to eat only one biscuit. I cannot do it!

In this fifth month, after starting to write and engage on Medium, I realised I was not satisfied with randomly selecting stories and articles. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to reciprocate kind words and encouragement.

I experimented.

My first thought was to click to the right of the clapping hands on a popular article and find out who clapped for me and then click on their profile and return the honour.

A third of the way through I Would Be a Spirit-Ghost by Trista Ainsworth, it struck me that I might need a few days to work my way through the list of fans for the popular article I chose.

Trista’s story was in response to a prompt from KeepingItRealWithAnnick Who Am I? — I am ALIVE, an amazing young woman who has LIVED!

Nevertheless, I’m so glad I clicked on Catherine Delia’s Who Am I? article. She’s quite the vagabond.

I tried to return to the first page of fans after reading Catherine’s words but it had timed out.

So, then I thought let’s try reading the work of the readers and writers who responded to more recent posts.

With only two responses for ILLUMINATION Marketing Activity: Your Articles Are Automatically Posted on Facebook, I dived straight in.

Tony Young, Jr.’s Pandemic Love. He hooked me with the second sentence:

Everyone is trying to stock up on food and household items, while some people are simply trying to find love.

An excellent read with a twist from Tony.

Live Life to the Fullest, Now, Not Later. Kathryn A. LeRoy, Ph.D. Some great advice from a unicorn.

Mini experiment conclusion

There you have four fabulous readers and writers who clapped, read, and engaged with me. There are hundreds more! Plus one I found through Trista’s response to a prompt.

Pretty organic really. Also serendipitous. I adore being pleasantly surprised, don’t you?

The prompt for this read came about because I’d love to read everyone’s work but no matter which way I try, it won’t be possible. I am very sad about this but like many of the impossible things I’d love to do, I accept and create joy from what I can do.

This situation is probably the same for all of us due to the incredible writing and reading mass that ILLUMINATION is.

From today onwards, I will be responding to people who respond to me. They won’t be immediate most of the time!

Quick Tip.

Responses from me are mini-stories that are automatically Tweeted to the ILLUMINATION Twitter feed and then retweeted by a small group (we are growing quickly) of Twitter users who write, read and edit for ILLUMINATION.

I have connected IFTTT to my Twitter account, it Tweets everything I publish on this platform.

You might like to do the same. (I’m not affiliated with IFTTT in any way but I do like what their app does!) Find out more in this article. ILLUMINATION First Activity Invite: Adding and Using Twitter.

You do know this publication is only going to get larger, right?

Are you ready for success?

How are you going to choose who you engage with, fellow illuminators? I’d love to hear from you.

How are you going to amplify what you do? You might like to read Social Media for Content Strategy & Marketing by Dr Mehmet Yildiz.

Karen Madej is usually an English Language Coach to French business people but currently, due to circumstances outside of her control, she is not doing too well in her ILLUMINATION writer and editor activities due to packing up her flat and moving nearer her call centre job. Normal service will be resumed in a couple of weeks. She did manage to squeeze in a video and hopes to achieve YouTube superstardom in the near future.