Summary

Better Humans is a top Medium publication seeking detailed, personal experience-based how-to articles from diverse writers, with a preference for empathic tutorials that offer specific, actionable advice.

Abstract

Better Humans, a leading publication on Medium, provides guidelines for writers interested in contributing. The publication emphasizes the importance of submitting articles through their established process and respecting the editors' boundaries. They are particularly interested in articles that offer practical, personal experience-driven advice for self-improvement goals, going beyond generic recommendations to include insider tips and detailed implementation strategies. The articles should be written as empathic tutorials, providing evidence of the advice's effectiveness and fostering a compassionate tone to encourage reader success. Writers are encouraged to format their submissions according to the publication's standards and ensure their content adheres to Medium's Distribution Standards. New writers should apply using a provided form, while accepted writers can submit articles directly via Medium's interface. The review process typically takes up to two weeks, with the possibility of acceptance, decline, or a request for additional information before publication.

Opinions

The editors of Better Humans have a strong preference for writers who follow the submission process and respect their communication boundaries.
There is a clear preference for articles that provide substantial personal expertise and go beyond surface-level advice.
The publication values diversity and encourages writers from underrepresented backgrounds to contribute.
Articles are selected based on their ability to help readers achieve specific goals, the writer's credibility, and the inclusion of practical implementation tips.
Trustworthiness of advice and an encouraging tone are important factors in the selection process.
The publication is committed to maintaining high-quality content standards, as evidenced by their detailed submission guidelines and the requirement to meet Medium's Distribution Standards.

Write for Better Humans

Everything you need to know about becoming or being a Better Humans writer

Updated April 26, 2023

Better Humans is one of the top publications on Medium. Here’s what writers need to know about submitting articles to the publication.

Sometimes, writers try to reach out to us directly (via personal emails, messages, etc.). As editors who receive well over 100 submissions each week, we don’t appreciate direct inquiries and communication attempts. There’s a submission process for a reason, and we only want to work with writers who respect our boundaries.

We especially want to hear from writers who are from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.

Here’s what we publish:

Detailed how-to articles on attaining self-improvement goals, backed up by the writer’s personal experience.
Articles that go beyond generic advice, including insider tips and details that would be known only by someone who actually worked toward the goal themselves.

Write from your substantial personal expertise. That’s the core of producing a trustworthy article.

We strongly prefer articles in the form of empathic tutorials. When selecting articles, we ask ourselves:

Does this help the reader do something specific they will want to do?
Is there evidence that the advice worked for the writer? Did the writer include advice they tried that didn’t work? Does the writer share tips on implementing the advice (the “how” rather than just the “what”)?
Does the article make a case for why we should trust the advice?
Does the article have an encouraging and compassionate tone?
Is the reader likely to achieve their goal by using this advice?

We ask all writers to take care in preparing their articles for publication. Follow the guidelines here to format your article and make sure it has every chance to succeed:

Preparing Your Article for Better Humans

Formatting and polishing your article to be published in Better Humans

betterhumans.pub

Your article must meet Medium’s Distribution Standards. (Be sure to read about disqualifying story types).

Apply to Become a Better Humans Writer

New writers should use this form to submit your first draft.

Usually, you’ll hear back via email within two weeks, but this can vary depending on holidays, the number of submissions in our queue, and other factors.

We are very specific about the kind of article we publish; we decline many excellent articles that just aren’t a fit for what we do.

Submitting Articles (for Accepted Writers)

Once you’ve been accepted into the publication, you’ll submit the article via the Medium interface. Go into the article, use the “•••” menu to add the draft to the Better Humans publication:

Choose “Select and continue”. You then need to click the green Submit button to finish the submission process:

On the next screen, you’ll see the option for making your story eligible for payments (if you’re in the Medium Partner Program): “Meter your story”. Be sure to select this!

Click “Submit to publication”. At this point, you’re finished. (Don’t click “Publish” yet.)

We will generally review your article within the Medium interface within two weeks and do one of the following:

Accept it into the publication and schedule it for publishing. If we don’t publish it right away, we will leave you a private note with the scheduled publishing time.
Decline your article. You should get a notification from Medium that the article was declined. You can then submit to other publications or publish it on your own.

On rare occasions, we find that there’s some additional work we need from you before publishing the article — a clarification, link, etc. In that case, we’ll leave you a private note about what’s needed, and give you some time to complete that. (If we don’t hear back from you in a few days, we’ll decline the article.)