avatarRoz Warren, Writing Coach

Summary

Roz Warren reflects on the impermanence of online writing platforms, emphasizing the importance of backing up work, and recounts her experiences with numerous defunct publications.

Abstract

Roz Warren, a seasoned writer, discusses the transient nature of online publishing platforms, recounting her personal history of outliving over a dozen of them, including Skirt.com, More.com, and Booming from the New York Times. She underscores the necessity of backing up one's work due to the inevitable demise of these platforms, which can lead to the loss of published content. Despite the disappearance of these sites, Warren remains optimistic, cherishing the memories and continuing to seek new writing opportunities. She also offers her services as a writing coach and editor, inviting writers to contact her for assistance in improving and publishing their work.

Opinions

  • The author expresses a sense of loss and nostalgia for the various platforms that have shut down over the years, particularly lamenting the end of her favorite publishing venue, Booming.
  • Warren conveys a pragmatic approach to the digital writing landscape, acknowledging that all platforms have a shelf life and will eventually cease to exist or update content.
  • She advocates for the proactive preservation of one's work, advising writers to back up their essays and articles to prevent total loss when a platform goes defunct.
  • Despite the recurring theme of loss, the author maintains an optimistic outlook, ready to embrace new opportunities and platforms for writing and publishing.
  • Warren positions herself as a resource for writers, offering her expertise as an editor and coach to help others navigate the challenges of writing and publication in the digital age.

So What’s Going to Happen When Medium Dies?

I’ll Tell You. Because I’ve Been There. Many Times.

Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash (Don’t blink!)

Kristi Keller, in a recent post about an essay that continues to get reader response 9 years after it was first published, said:

The only way to get the people to stop paying attention to my work nine years later [would be] to take down the entire website it was written on.

This has actually happened to me. Many times. I’ve been writing for so long that I’ve outlasted over a dozen online publications and platforms.

Skirt.com

More.com

Insight/Outpost

Voxpop

Girlfriendz

Zestnow

Vibrant

Open Salon

Midlife Boulevard

Errant Parent

Say It With a Bang

She Writes

Easy Street

Feministing

Boomeon

The Powder Room

… and many others whose names I can’t remember.

All, in their day, thriving (and, often, paying!) markets.

Now? Every one of them, Kaput.

Every platform has a shelf life. Although you think they’ll be there forever? They won’t.

It lives. It dies. And when it dies?

It can take everything you’ve written for the site down with it.

(Back everything up, people!)

Sometimes a site will be kind enough to announce its demise in advance, so writers can prepare.

Sometimes the site just vanishes.

Often, a site continues to exist but no longer runs new material. A ghost town in cyberspace, its contents growing more and more stale with each passing day.

I used to write for a New York Times blog called Booming. It was the best writing gig I ever had. Then, 18 months after Booming first went up, my editor emailed to break the sad news that the Times was pulling the plug on the Blog.

The paper didn’t take Booming down, but they stopped running new work.

Every essay I wrote for Booming is still available online, and readers still find them. Many years later, I continue to hear from folks who’ve stumbled on the most popular essay I’ve ever written after googling “old dog” and surgery.”

But Booming, my all time favorite place to publish, no longer runs new work. It’s gonzo. And I miss it.

Will Medium die? I sure hope not. I love this place.

But if I fire up my computer one day and find it gone?

I won’t be shocked. I’ve seen this happen too many times.

I’ll feel bummed out for a few days. Also? Glad and grateful for all the fun I had here.

And then? I’ll start looking for a new writing gig.

Writing Coach and editor-for-hire Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, can help you improve and publish your work. Drop her a line at [email protected]. (That’s Ros with an “s,” not a “z.”)

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story by Roz Warren, you might also enjoy:

Writing
Writing On Medium
Writing Life
Publishing
This Happened To Me
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarEllen "Jelly" McRae
I Self-Published My Book. Two Days Later, I’m Full Of Regret.

Here’s everything I wish I’d done differently in the publishing and book-writing process.

12 min read
avatarDeni Sahaya
The Content Strategy That Helps Me Earn $500/Day From Writing Online

I’ve been writing online for four years.

6 min read
avatarEllen Eastwood
I Failed at Freelancing Until I Learned to Bet on Myself

You can’t clutch the ground if you want to fly

5 min read
avatarJulie Gaeta
22 Years of Marriage, 9 Kids Later: How His Affair Transformed My Life

Three unexpected gifts that came from our divorce.

9 min read
avatarDebra G. Harman, MEd.
Rescuing My Friend’s Dog Was a Crime, and I’d Do It Again

Often kids get pulled apart in the tug-of-war of divorce, but what about the pets?

5 min read
avatarErica Verrillo
64 Writing Contests in June 2024 — No entry fees

This June there are more than five dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes this…

13 min read