The Benefits of Self-Publishing on Medium

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Abstract

ieces I respect the most on the platform, and who is currently looking for self-published stories as opposed to reviewing submissions.I currently have not been published yet at Human Parts, despite trying hard with my self-published posts. But that doesn’t mean, to me, that it’s pointless to self-publish.The biggest part of self-publishing that stands out to me is the factor of having influence over your article. You are the sole entity behind an article’s success or failure. You own all of it: whether an article does well, not well, or just OK. Also, you get control over your article’s submission time. You can control whether you publish an article in the morning, afternoon, or evening.As an editor of <a href="https://medium.com/invisible-illness">Invisible Illness</a>, a well-known and popular Medium publication that is the biggest mental health publication on the platform, I know what it’s like to be an editor and overwhelmed with submissions. I can also empathize with writers when it takes a long time to get back to submissions, but when you have more than 25 or 50 articles in the queue, and still need to maintain fair standards to each writer; the process becomes a lot more complicated.Waiting on an editor is something you don’t have to do to self-publish. It’s not that you’re not accountable to other people, because you are always accountable to your editors. It’s just that you don’t have to rely on editors just to get your article out there.The biggest benefit is self-publishing is control over the article. No one else can take credit over your work or your piece. No one else c

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an tell you when an article can be published or why your article shouldn’t be published.Of course, don’t self-publish every one of your pieces. Working with editors is something I hated when I was a college opinion writer, especially early in my career. I used to spar with my editors when they deleted whole paragraphs of my opinion pieces, feeling like they were trying to erase my voice and make my writing into something it was not.But working with editors — and working with editors you disagree with — is a necessary process to help you improve as a writer. That’s something I need, even if I don’t acknowledge it. It’s not something I need all the time, but it is a process that will help you be a better writer. And if you disagree with an editor, it will help you battle for your writing and stand tall for your own work and opinions.My editors in college began to respect me a lot (after a while) because I would do my work, write my pieces, and put my full heart into them. But I wouldn’t back down for a point that I thought was absolutely necessary to include, and if they thought I could state what I had to say better, I would rephrase and substantiate my claims with more reporting and evidence. If I thought it was something very important to include, no editor was going to get in the way of me including it.But going through that process is exhausting. Sometimes, you just want to put your writing out there and not have to worry about someone else having power over you or your piece. That’s the biggest benefit of self-publishing, and why, periodically, I will continue to do so.</article></body>

When should you go publication-less?

Often, I’m inundated with the message that there’s no benefit to self-publishing. And it’s definitely more of a challenge to publish an article as an independent author rather than tying your piece to a publication.

Some of the drawbacks include not having the support base of the publication as well as not going through an editorial process. You’re on an island, on your own, without the support of either outreach or editing from a publication.

However, on days like today, I prefer to self-publish. Although I have a plethora of publications that I love working with, self-publishing presents its own advantages in the current market of blogging and freelancing.

First of all, just because an article is self-published does not mean it will always be self-published. Assuming the article does pretty well, I’ll get outreach from editors of publications for me to add my article to their publication. In a way, self-publishing is like playing the field. For all I have accomplished on Medium, I always wanted to get published on Human Parts, whose pieces I respect the most on the platform, and who is currently looking for self-published stories as opposed to reviewing submissions.

I currently have not been published yet at Human Parts, despite trying hard with my self-published posts. But that doesn’t mean, to me, that it’s pointless to self-publish.

The biggest part of self-publishing that stands out to me is the factor of having influence over your article. You are the sole entity behind an article’s success or failure. You own all of it: whether an article does well, not well, or just OK. Also, you get control over your article’s submission time. You can control whether you publish an article in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

As an editor of Invisible Illness, a well-known and popular Medium publication that is the biggest mental health publication on the platform, I know what it’s like to be an editor and overwhelmed with submissions. I can also empathize with writers when it takes a long time to get back to submissions, but when you have more than 25 or 50 articles in the queue, and still need to maintain fair standards to each writer; the process becomes a lot more complicated.

Waiting on an editor is something you don’t have to do to self-publish. It’s not that you’re not accountable to other people, because you are always accountable to your editors. It’s just that you don’t have to rely on editors just to get your article out there.

The biggest benefit is self-publishing is control over the article. No one else can take credit over your work or your piece. No one else can tell you when an article can be published or why your article shouldn’t be published.

Of course, don’t self-publish every one of your pieces. Working with editors is something I hated when I was a college opinion writer, especially early in my career. I used to spar with my editors when they deleted whole paragraphs of my opinion pieces, feeling like they were trying to erase my voice and make my writing into something it was not.

But working with editors — and working with editors you disagree with — is a necessary process to help you improve as a writer. That’s something I need, even if I don’t acknowledge it. It’s not something I need all the time, but it is a process that will help you be a better writer. And if you disagree with an editor, it will help you battle for your writing and stand tall for your own work and opinions.

My editors in college began to respect me a lot (after a while) because I would do my work, write my pieces, and put my full heart into them. But I wouldn’t back down for a point that I thought was absolutely necessary to include, and if they thought I could state what I had to say better, I would rephrase and substantiate my claims with more reporting and evidence. If I thought it was something very important to include, no editor was going to get in the way of me including it.

But going through that process is exhausting. Sometimes, you just want to put your writing out there and not have to worry about someone else having power over you or your piece. That’s the biggest benefit of self-publishing, and why, periodically, I will continue to do so.