ASK AN EDITOR
Why I didn’t Read your Latest Medium Masterpiece
It’s not you. It’s me.
If I enjoy your work, I’ll subscribe to you so I’ll be notified the instant you publish something new. And yet? You may have noticed that I don’t actually read every one of your posts.
Wondering why? I’ll tell you. Here’s why I didn’t read your latest Medium Masterpiece:
It’s about Medium.
I’m tired of reading about Medium. I’ve been here for four years. I’ve written a zillion posts about the platform myself. I’ve shown so many newbies the ropes that Medium actually sent me a free T shirt:
You have nothing to tell me about this place that I don’t already know.
Your post is about how to write.
I’m a pro. I’ve written for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times. I’ve also been a writing coach and book doctor for decades. I know how to write.
You publish more than one post a day.
There’s nothing wrong with this. You can publish a story every five minutes for all I care. And they could all be outstanding and exceptional. But I’m only reading one of them a day.
Your post is too damn long.
I truly believe that most seven-minute Medium posts are actually four-minute posts that need a good edit. As a writing coach, one of the best things I do for my Medium clients is help them trim their work down to a reasonable — and readable — size.
Which is another way of saying that if your latest post is ten minutes long? I probably won’t read it.
Reading your work is a one-way street.
Which means? Although I often read your work, you never read mine. I don’t expect Medium superstars like Tim Denning to read my stories. Although Tim does, and I appreciate it.
But if you, like me, are not a Medium Superstar but just an ordinary Medium writer? I’m unlikely to continue to read you every day if you never read me at all.
You’re writing about self-improvement.
At 68, I’m as improved as I’m going to get. I don’t want to become happier or more efficient or more attractive or more productive. These days, I just want to hold onto what I have.
You’re writing about weight loss.
I don’t care how big or small your body is. I care even less about how big or small my body is. My body is exactly the right size, thanks, which is whatever size it happens to be today. So, for that matter, is yours.
You’re writing about a topic I just don’t care about, like tech, true crime, sports or crypto.
You can write the world’s most fascinating post about videogaming or bitcoin or some twisted soul’s horrible bloody crime spree, but I’m not going to read it. If I subscribe to you, it means that you can — and do — write stories about topics I care about. And whenever you do? I’ll read them.
Unless they’re ten-minutes long.
If you take all of these topics off the table?
There’s still plenty for me to read. I read dozens of Medium stories each day. I love the variety of topics and voices I have access to on this platform, and I love reading the work of the writers I’ve subscribed to.
But if you’re one of them, and you’re about to post a twenty-minute story about how I can improve my life by losing weight, playing golf or buying crypto?
I’m not going to read it.
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.”)
