Want Your Stories Read? Do This!

Tutorial for Prism & Pen writers, but everyone is welcome to read

Every Sunday, I write up the Prism & Pen weekly Digest. Every Sunday, I mutter under my breath when I see outstanding stories that got barely any views. And guess what? I don’t mutter about the unwashed masses ignoring quality storytelling. I grumble to myself about P&P writers who make basic mistakes that almost guarantee nobody will see their awesome work.

If you’re a P&P writer who thinks I’m NOT talking to you, keep reading, because I probably am. I’m not mad, I want to help, and I want to cut back on my Tylenol habit. Oh, my aching head!

I have two critical points to make about how you can find more readers. Let’s start with the number two reason:

If your images are boring, you are killing your click rate.

If you guys haven’t noticed, I combine images from three different stories each week to make a collage to headline the Digest. I often have trouble finding even three images (out of 20 to 30 stories!) that are bright and compelling enough to work well. Yesterday was like that. Last Sunday was like that.

But forget the Digest, let’s talk about YOUR stories. I know you guys are writers. I know you don’t want to pay attention to trivial things like images, but they matter. If the photo you choose to illustrate your story can’t stop eyes that are scrolling rapidly down Medium and social media feeds, you just committed digital literary suicide.

Know what kind of images don’t work?

1. Black and white images. Avoid them like the plague. The human eye just doesn’t process them as fast as color images. A black and white image in a feed all but guarantees you a low click rate. You say you have the perfect black and white photo that adds value to your thesis and makes a beautiful artistic point? Cool! Put it inside your story. Just don’t headline with it or you’ll KILL your readership.
2. Plants, landscapes, dark clouds. Yes, I know everybody loves flowers, and sometimes photos of bright flowers work OK, especially if the article is about flowers. But! Generic photos of plants and landscapes that kinda/sorta/maybe have something to say about your story don’t stop many eyes. Feel the urge to headline with clouds, berries, trees, leaves, fields of grain, or photos of grass? Just don’t!
3. Buildings and cityscapes. If you’re thinking about headlining with a photo of an apartment building, a generic streetscape, or a city skyline, please go back to the drawing board. Again, if the photo is important to the story, by all means include it INSIDE the story. Find something more compelling to sell the story, because that’s what your header photo is for.

What kind of images DO work?

1. People! Nothing stops the eye quite like a human face. Our brains are wired to key in on other human beings, especially faces, especially eyes. See this week’s P&P writing prompt? See how I used an image of a guy with great big wide eyes and an astonished expression on his face? I did that because I know it will stop eyes, at least for a second. Obviously, you can’t use this exact kind of images all the time, but you can use more people and faces in your header images. Try it. Watch your click rate go up.
2. Sexy people! Crass, right? Not necessarily. John Cormier has been leveraging photos of sexy men in his memoir, and it’s working well for him. He’s not crossing lines of taste or decency, or being exploitative. Obviously, you can’t always do this, but if you’re writing about sexy people, why not use photos of sexy people to draw eyes?
3. Animals! Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! Scary predators, faithful dogs, cute kittens. Kangaroos and parrots. (Hi, David Wade Chambers!) You get the idea. Put an animal in your header image and watch your click rate climb.
4. Bright, colorful, emotive symbols, memes or cartoons. A rainbow flag snapping in the wind? Check, Meagon Nolasco! Not the greatest, but it will work better than a photo of an empty street or a vase full of leaves. Or how about a colorful cartoon astronaut sitting on a commode? KP_the_writer used that for a humor piece last week, and it’s FANTASTIC. How could you not pause for at least a second to see what that’s all about?

Titles are HARD, critical to readership, and often weak

I’m not saying I’m great at titles. Sometimes I screw the pooch. But I work at it and I’ve learned a lot by trial and error. If you submit stories to P&P, I’ve probably edited your titles at least a little. I’ve likely asked you for a complete title overhaul at least once.

But I spend huge amounts of time writing my own stories and agonizing over my own titles. P&P publishes three or four stories per day, so I don’t have enough time or Tylenol to agonize over yours too. So let’s talk title turkey.

Do not do THIS with your titles →

1. Do NOT NOT NOT rely on subtitles to sell your story. Potential readers on Medium won’t even see your subtitle, because subtitles no longer show up in Medium feeds. This is new, and you MUST factor it into title construction. Also, we promote your stories on P&P social media, but many potential readers on Twitter and Facebook don’t see subtitles either. Long and short? Your title MUST stand on its own to sell you story.
2. Do not leave out critical details. If I’ve inserted terms like LGBTQ, transgender, lesbian, or gay into your title, I’m talking to you. If your story is about raising children with your same-sex partner, don’t leave the same-sex part out of your title. You’re shooting yourself in the foot. If people can’t even tell your story has a queer theme, are you marketing it right?
3. Do not rely on names or jargon that potential readers won’t be familiar with. Don’t you want a wider audience than people who already know what you know? Don’t count on potential readers being familiar with a specific person, controversy, situation, or even a piece of art or entertainment.
4. Do not model your titles on printed book and magazine titles. Readers don’t buy books the same way they decide to read digital articles. If you’re basing your titles on titles that work for your favorite print authors, you’re doing it wrong. Two totally different worlds. You can’t use vague, artistic, pretty titles the way they do. You don’t have their marketing team, and they don’t have to capture eyes in media feeds in a split second like you do.

Here’s what DOES work →

1. Be specific. Tell your readers what the story is about. No, really! I say this all the time when I suggest a better title, and then the writer comes back with something just as vague or even more vague, and I break out that bottle of Tylenol. So look, if you’re writing a story about the lesbian online dating pool, say so — like Amanda Laughtland did in last week’s Tinder for the Quiet Lesbian. Her title doesn’t get a great score on headline analyzers, but I bet my socks it would get good readership, and it did. Because the title is interesting and maybe a little poignant, but most of all because it’s specific.
2. Emote, baby! You don’t have to use a lot of over-the-top words to express emotion. Amanda’s simple five-word title demonstrates that. But you need to find a way to get some feels in. Don’t say, Demographics show LGBTQ people at disproportionate disadvantage. Say something more like, Census Bureau shows LGBTQ people suffering. Both titles are accurate. Neither is crass or over the top, but the second works better, because it includes emotion to invite clicks.
3. Tease a little! I don’t mean indulge in clickbait, I mean tell enough of the story in you title to arouse interest without giving the ending away. Good storytelling is all about suspense (withholding information) even at the micro level. I learned that from the very highbrow John Irving in his teaching material from the equally highbrow Iowa Writers Workshop, so I’m not suggesting you be crass. I’m saying withhold enough information to make people want to read more.
4. Be bold! Believe in yourself and your story. Don’t self-deprecate in the title. Don’t apologize in advance for what you have to say. You’ve got plenty of opportunity to be modest and self effacing once people have clicked and started to read. Let your title be powerful and self assured, even if you aren’t.
5. Use action verbs. Amanda’s title doesn’t, and it’s still a good title, but the best titles use strong verbs to arouse interest and invite clicks. I often forget that, so 40 lashes with a wet noodle and another Tylenol for me. When I do remember, my stories do better.

Okay, that’s it that all. Simple stuff here, but critical.

I apologize in advance for tagging the entire Prism & Pen community, but I have a busy evening of editing ahead, and I’m being selfish. I want to make my work a little easier, reduce my headache level, and cut down on my OTC pain medication. Oh, and for you Aussies and Brits? Tylenol means Paracetamol. Geez, don’t you know anything?

No, seriously, I want to get this in front of your eyes because I want your stories to find more readers, because I believe in you, because your stories rock. Because the P&P community is awesome.

And if you’re not a P&P writer? Hey, none of this is secret squirrel stuff. Use what you can!

Happy writing, all!

James Finn is a former Air Force intelligence analyst, long-time LGBTQ activist, an alumnus of Queer Nation and Act Up NY, a frequent columnist for the LA Blade, a contributor to other LGBTQ news outlets, and an “agented” but unpublished novelist. Send questions, comments, and story ideas to [email protected].

My writing is always free to readers who click my social media links, but if you’d like to browse more, click here to join Medium. Your nominal membership fee will help support my work. To get an email whenever I publish a new story, Click Here.

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