Writing and Reading

Vision and Mission of “Readers Hope”

How to transform avid readers into prolific writers using a supportive and innovative publishing tool

Introduction

Readers Hope brings hope to readers and writers at the right time. As Desmond Tutu articulates “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” And as Laini Taylor points out “Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.”

We are excited to launch Readers Hope with an introductory article posted by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, chief editor of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications yesterday.

“This new kid on the block is different”, said one of the readers. We agree with this sentiment. Each publication in this group has a specific goal to empower writers and readers at various levels using unique approaches. Readers Hope aims to bring hope to readers and writers.

This post aims to articulate the mission of Readers Hope based on the vision shared by Dr Yildiz, who sees this initative as a special and experimental project in his client engagement portfolio.

Even though Dr Yildiz has a technical and scholarly background, he advocates raw content for various reasons. It is noticeable from his posts that he sees therapeutic and developmental value in raw writing style. Therapeutic Value of Writing: How communities can motivate and empower writers.

Even though raw content is not everyone’s cup of tea, especially frowned upon by elite writers, there is a tremendous value for new writers who require finding their voices with support.

Readers Hope is an entry publication to give voice to absolute beginners. Thousands of readers want to express their thoughts and emotions, but they don’t know how and where to start.

Through his interactions, Dr Yildiz has identified this need and designed this publication based on his customers’ analysis, experience with six successful publications, and his Design Thinking method coupled with an experimental and agile approach.

Many beginners got disappointed and discouraged by severe rejections from established publications. He knows that rejections hurt.

Witnessing these unfortunate situations on this platform caused by elitist mindset, Dr Yildiz found ILLUMINATION in March 2020. In a short time, the publication created unprecedented interest by writers and readers. It became one of the significant publications on this platform, now serving 11,600 writers and thousands of readers.

In a year, stories published on ILLUMINATION received millions of views and thousands of reading times. Many stories went viral. The publication has become a catalyst for transforming thousands of new writers into experienced ones.

In addition, some beginners made substantial progress via support from this publication, and they had a chance to publish their content on established publications. Many of these writers even achieved top writer status and gained a substantial reader base.

This important value to writers was well recognized and encouraged Dr Yildiz to establish six more publications in niche domains to cater needs of storytellers. He always created visibility and featured stories with help from his editors.

Seeding the “Readers Hope”

Now Dr Yildiz focuses on readers who desire to express themselves confidently and join the writing community. As writing and reading are interrelated, using his proven method, he launched this publication to encourage readers to start with micro-writing.

He prompts two scenarios.

1 — How about avid readers write a few lines about their favourite authors and post them in a short story format in 100 to 150 words, just as long as an average email or a microblog.

3 — How about if they add those paragraphs for, let’s say, five favourite stories and submit a long story in 500 to 1500 words.

He introduced the concept of MVP (a minimally viable product) which means progress, not perfection. His MVP for a new writer could be one paragraph testimony about a favourite author or a paragraph of review for a favourite story.

Dr Yildiz believes that testimonials and story reviews are low hanging fruits for readers to start writing with fun. When this writing activity is performed consistently, our brains start re-wiring, strengthening the writing muscles.

As one of the editors, Regi Brittain points out, it is a “bird by bird” approach, meaning progress in small steps. So, for example, Dr Yildiz offers short-form stories starting with 100 words like a microblog.

He deliberately does not mandate any style rules. Instead, he recommends beginning with tiny pieces using raw content and improve gradually. By providing flexible governance for this publication, he only requests to adhere to platform policies refraining from harmful materials such as defamation and hate speech.

He knows that while many genuine writers want to share their authentic content, there will always be some trolls who try to damage the good intentions of honest people. Thus, he set up a powerful editorial team to support and protect the platform from harmful content.

Guidance from Editors for Prospective Contributors

In this section, in addition to the introduction of Dr Yildiz, I want to share a few guiding posts depicting the mission of Readers Hope. These beautifully articulated stories can provide valuable and helpful perspectives to prospective contributors of this unique publication.

1 — What If We can Transform Readers into Micro-Writers: Compelling ideas to convert readers to writers with small steps, guidance, and encouragement in a supportive community by Dr Mehmet Yildiz

2 — Welcome New Writers to Readers Hope: A place to experiment and try new things by Carol Price

3 — Word after Word ’til You Simply Must Come up for Air: If you love to read, a writer waits within you by Regi Brittain

4 — Good Stories to Take You Around the World: Welcome to Readers Hope by John Cunningham

5 — From The Editor’s Desk: A Warm Welcome To All New Writers At Readers Hope: Readers hope and we fulfill their dreams by publishing their articles by Dr. Preeti Singh

6 — Let Me Introduce Myself: I write and I am an Editor for Illumination by Lawson Wallace

7 — How to Increase Your Writing Income: Guide for writers of “Readers Hope”, a new initiative cross-pollinating writers and readers by ILLUMINATION

8 — Just Be Yourself When You Write — We’ve All Been There: Simple tips on how to get you started with Reader’s Hope on Medium by JS Adam

9 — Writing Is Fun To Do — Everyone Can Learn To Write: Newbie-writers and readers-wannabe-writers are the most precious to have here in this community. Agnes Laurens

10 — Letter to a Wannabe Writer: I invite you to join our welcoming writing community. Tree Langdon

11 — The Future of Reading is in Writing: We are readers until we decide to cross the line and become a writer. That transition is a difficult one Aldric Chen

12 — An Introduction to The Wordsmith™🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸, An Editor of Readers Hope: Never mind the haute and hubris in the title The Wordsmith™🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸, It’s just me, Alex, and that is my little conceit — an aspiration to an appelation I hope to earn. by The Wordsmith™🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸

Thank you for reading these valuable and insightful pieces from volunteer editors of Readers Hope.

Summary of Goals for Readers Hope

The goals for contributing writers of Readers Hope can be covered under seven points at a high level.

1 — Start small and grow gradually

2 — Use raw content to your advantage

3 — Write about anything you want to

4 — Connect with like-minded readers and writers

5 — Create serendipity with meaningful engagements

6 — Create synergy with collaboration

7 — Eventually, make writing a hobby or business

Conclusions

Readers Hope is a unique publication designed for aspiring writers who are interested in becoming experienced authors.

The primary audience for this publication is avid readers who want to become writers. The publication has a clear roadmap and a supportive team of volunteer editors.

We look forward to supporting you in this exciting and experimental journey.

Key References for Writers and Readers

1 — Why ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications Features Stories

2 — Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications

3 — Update from ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications

4 — Process and Procedures

5 — Curated Writer Bios

You can join Readers Hope by sending a request via this web form.