When a Medium Publication Editor Tells You to Write a 1,000-Word Article, Say No!
Medium is changing if you haven’t noticed it yet.
When I started with my writing journey, to please a Medium publication that requires a writer to submit no less than 1,000-word articles, I wrote a 1,000-word article. It resulted in some sleepless nights and took me many days to even finish the article.
I know why some, not all, Medium publication editors would “ask” for 1,000 words. A 1,000-word article takes about 5 minutes to read, and we all know the more time spent by a reader on our articles, the more money we make, the more “time” the reader stays on a Medium publication, the better for everyone. It actually makes perfect sense.
But sometimes, a story is complete, and Hemingway taught us that all it takes is six words to tell a story and even make you do an ugly cry.
For sale: baby shoes, never worn
Some say the story was wrongly attributed to Hemingway, but it doesn’t change how a story is complete when the writer writes his last word.
The same goes for us Medium writers. Now I walk away from any Medium publication that tells me how to write because my relationship with the Medium publication becomes transactional rather than relational. You all well know that even Medium has moved into becoming more relational.
Medium is changing if you haven’t noticed it yet.
Today, I wrote an article about Cartier Watch with Diamonds. Let me tell you now that I have little desire to have one. I don’t like luxurious brands, especially brands that use alligator skin to make products, such as the Apple Hermès “Luxury” AirTag price tag, which starts at $349.
I usually publish stories in my own Medium publications if the story is too personal, or I may have or want to express very strong opinions. Sometimes I feel pressured to be nice to some Medium publications, that I have to tame my language and not be very political.
My story about the Cartier Watch with Diamonds isn’t a lifestyle story. It is a story on artificial intelligence and machine learning. The story centered on Google’s involvement in the creation of an app for Cartier.
The app would use an image to find detailed information about any watch the Maison had ever designed (starting with the past decade) and suggest similar-looking watches with possibly different characteristics, such as price. — Google Blog.
I was surprised to see that soon after I published it, and the story was Chosen for Further Distribution or Medium curated.
If you are starting as a Medium writer, here are some brief notes about Medium Curation or commonly called “Chosen for Further Distribution.”
3 things you need to know about Medium curation
- It doesn’t translate to virality.
- Your article doesn’t need to be published in a popular publication.
- It doesn’t bring in the money.
I will not stop you from chasing Medium curation but do keep in mind that sometimes good writing is good enough.
To be curated under Artificial Intelligence which is not only a topic I am very much interested in, but it is also a challenging topic to get your article Medium curated. I believe today is my second time to be curated under Artificial Intelligence.
The first time was when I wrote about Artificial Intelligence Creates Fake Faces — and They Are as Real as It Gets.
And in my new article, you would think it will not be curated for the following reasons:
- It has a GIF that makes a story less formal, and that being said, you think it is disqualified from being Medium curated.
- It has affiliate links. By the way, I have long debunked that if your story has an affiliate link, it will not be chosen for further distribution.
- It is less than 1,000 words. Actually, it is a 3-minute read, my shortest to be Medium curated.
Indeed, Medium is changing and continues to surprise us. The biggest surprise yet from Medium is when it awarded $500 to its top 1,000 writers in April 2021, my hard work paid off, and I became part of Medium history.
Final Words
There will always be rules, and Medium has some rules you can’t break. But I remember when I was doing professional photography, one can break the rules, especially in composition. The only thing a photographer must remember is why he is breaking a rule.
The same is true for Medium writers. We need to write out of the box, See what rules we can break. Now I broke the rule that I have to write a 1,000-word story to tell a complete story or be chosen for further distribution.
I don’t recommend starting writing like a gung ho writer, but I do recommend listening to what your heart tells you when you write because what your heart tells you is always … “write.” :)
