You Can Win $50,000 On Medium
Hurrah! Medium invites us to its first Writers Challenge
It’s an amazing opportunity and a dream come true. It’s an exciting contest and opportunity for all of us.
A few hours ago Medium announced there will be a Writers Challenge. Within the next four weeks, you have the opportunity to share your stories and win great prizes.
You won’t believe me BUT for instance, Natalie Portman will judge your entry/entries together with millions of readers.
Moreover, you can win $50,000. The total value of all prizes is $100,000.
FAQs: 17 things you need to know about the Medium Writers Challenge
- 4 guiding prompts: Reentry, Death, Work, and Space (*specific info from Medium below)
- Each prompt comes with a descriptive paragraph ‘to help you get your wheels turning’
- The judging panels consist of inspiring personalities such as David Dennis, Jr. or Susan Orlean
- Medium will select the ‘four finalist winners — one for each prompt’ who will get $10,000 each
- One of the finalists will be selected for a grand prize of $50,000!
- The Top 100 honorable mention selections will each win $100!
- Submissions will be scored based on:
- creativity (40%)
- originality (30%)
- writing quality (30%)
8. To enter the challenge you can write to one — or more — of the writing prompts and type the associated tag (MWC Reentry/MWC Death/MWC Work/MWC Space)
… in the ‘Add a tag box’
9. You have to be at least 18 years old
10. One entry per person per prompt
11. 🔎Four entries total
12. Odds of winning depend on number and quality of eligible entries
13. Contest Period is from 12:00:01 a.m. ET on 07/28/21 to 11:59:59 p.m. ET on 08/24/21.
14. ⏲️ Deadline: August 24, 2021
15. Announcement of the winners: September 21
16. Announcement of the grand prize recipient: September 23, 2021
17. Submissions must…
comply with the Medium Rules and meet Medium’s Distribution Standards. Contest subject to Official Rules. Details and restrictions apply, so visit here for Official Rules.
Specific info about the 4 guiding prompts to win $50,000 from Ev Williams and his team
Tell us about an experience you’ve had coming back to something — or someone — after time away. What changed in your absence? How did you change? What are the funny moments, faux pas, discomforts, and joys that came with returning to an old situation (or your pre-pandemic life) with new eyes?
🔎 TAG: MWC Reentry 🎓 JUDGES: Imani Perry, Julio Vincent Gambuto, Saeed Jones, Jude Ellison Doyle
DEATH
People die, of course, but so do other things. Ideals. Relationships. Jobs. Life phases. Pieces of who we once were. A death isn’t always inherently sad, either; sometimes, it’s a positive step, freeing us from what was weighing us down or allowing us to move forward. Illusions can die. Grudges. Bad habits. Tell us about a death you’ve experienced, for better or worse, and how you marked the loss — whether it was with mourning or celebration.
🔎 TAG: MWC Death 🎓JUDGES: Susan Orlean, Robert Kolker, kelly corrigan, Eve L. Ewing
WORK
“Work” is a term that contains multitudes. Maybe your work is a key pillar of your identity. Maybe it’s the thing that allows you to focus on other pursuits. Maybe it fulfills you; maybe it drains you. Maybe the real work in your life isn’t the same as the way you make money. We want to know what “work” means to you — and the factors that have shaped your thinking. What’s the most important work you do, however you define it? What’s the value of work in your life? What’s your dream job? Is there such a thing as a dream job? Is there a moment, a person, a role that’s changed the way you approach your work?
🔎 TAG: MWC Work 🎓 JUDGES: Roxane Gay, Kurt Andersen, David Dennis, Jr.
SPACE
Whether we’re letting our imaginations run wild or focusing on what’s in front of us, our day-to-day lives are defined by space: living space, personal space, outer space. We make space. We claim space. We practice social distancing. We turn spaces into homes, into communities, into refuges, and we forge relationships with others and ourselves within those spaces. We wonder, with varying degrees of skepticism and belief, about the beings that occupy the space beyond our planet. However you define it, tell us a story about a role space has played in your life.
🔎 TAG: MWC Space 🎓 JUDGES: Natalie Portman, Dao-Yi Chow, Bonsu Thompson
Big Upgrades Will Be Happening in The Writers Community
Yesterday I published a very successful post (it has generated 2.4k claps and 31 comments to date) about new rewards for creators on Medium, Twitter, Quora, and LinkedIn.
This post was inspired by Nicolas Cole’s tweet:
There are some BIG upgrades happening in the creator economy for writers on:
- Medium
- Quora
I can’t say too much yet (insider info) (…)
$$$$$$$
If you wonder where you should be writing online Nicolas — as an authority in the online writing world — may say:
‘Anywhere! It’s the golden era of content creators. There are success stories on every platform.’
Here’s all you need to know:
Why does Medium offer the Writers Challenge as an ‘upgrade’?
According to Cambridge Dictionary, an ‘upgrade’ is defined the following:
to improve the quality or usefulness of something, or change it for something newer or of a better standard
With ‘upgrades’ such as the amazing Writers Challenge with prizes of $50,000 (similar to Vocal), the platform is trying to…
- lure (the best) creators to their platform
- gain more subscribers (Medium gained more subscribers when they announced their $500 bonuses for Medium’s Top 2,000 writers)
- make Medium more attractive for sherpas such as Roz Warren and other writers who may have thought about leaving the platform for another, such as News Break or Vocal because they assumably pay more
- improve its quality
- compete with its main competitors
Did you know?
Medium offered Writers Challenges (without any prizes) in the past too. I took part in the Pandemic Reflections writing prompt — which gained hundreds of stories shared.
Here’s my submission about my Covid-19 infection (even my baby was infected… it was horrible but it was a great life lesson):
Additionally, #StopAsianHate blog resulted in hundreds of submissions.
A sneak peek into future ‘upgrades’ and changes
As I said, it’s the golden era of ‘content creation’, and Medium is racing to attract writers amid a creator arms race.
The first glances of the upcoming changes
Let’s have a sneak peek into what I’ve discovered within the last months:
Medium
- 👉there will be a ‘Creator Fellowship Program’. On July 16, Ev Williams and his team sent an email to the platform’s most valuable contributors. They can apply in order to secure a fixed income — $200 minimum. Medium wants to select a limited number of creators and ‘uses subjective criteria to determine admission, including quality of writing.” The Program will start in August and run until October.
- 👉In their latest cash bonus email, Ev Williams and his team also announced in August they will reveal their future (reward) system
Facebook and Instagram
- 👉Mark Zuckerberg announced that he will be investing more than $1 billion to pay so-called ‘content creators’.
“We want to build the best platforms for millions of creators to make a living, so we’re creating new programs to invest over $1 billion to reward creators for great content they create on Facebook and Instagram through 2022. Investing in creators isn’t new for us, but I’m excited to expand this work over time.” — Mark Zuckerberg
2. Facebook adds dozens of new writers to its newsletter platform “Bulletin. For instance, NYT-bestselling author Adam Grant became part of it.
- 👉On LinkedIn you can upgrade your account to a ‘Creator account’.
LinkedIn creators are members who regularly share content with their professional community to demonstrate their expertise, ignite conversations about ideas and experiences, and build communities around common interests.
(…)we’ll also give creators who opt into creator mode exclusive access to content tips and tailored best practices. We’re ramping creator mode to all members globally over the coming month, and will continue to find new ways to enhance creators’ experience on LinkedIn.
Margaret Rosa Taormina, Senior Product Manager LinkedIn
First Reactions to the Writers Challenge
As far as I’m concerned, the Writers Challenge is so exciting news and the first ‘upgrade’. I can’t wait to take part, and I can’t wait to read the other entries.
First reactions from fellow Medium writers:
(…) So, is it weird that I’m hyperventilating, jumping up & down, and have sweaty palms already? Sarah Paris
(…) I’m happy for this wonderful challenge… I’m filled with butterflies! Raffaella Ferretti
Final thoughts
Medium, as well as all the other fast-moving platforms such as Quora, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter will invest in its creators. Big upgrades will be happening. There will be attractive rewards too — ’$$$$’.
I’m intrigued, and I think you’re at the right place at the right time if you want to write online.
You can make real money outside of the traditional nine to five job — and even make a living out of your writing.
I would love to hear about your thoughts in the comments!
Let’s get relational tags from me to the writers and readers who commented on one of my latest Medium info articles:
Joel Sigrist Thief Wonsuk Choi Vishnu*s Virtues K. Barrett Checkmate11 AHK Marianne Sherret Sandy Gold JoAnn Ryan Elvie Lins EllenEastwood Julie van Maanen Anggun Bawi Daniella Cressman Mica Apuan Krystle Shepherd Jonathan Lee Julie Nguyen Dominique Lorrell Fortune Julia Freeman B.R. Shenoy BichoDoMato Adrienne Beaumont Emmarie Hodge Mindsmatter Max Klein Madoc Maduka Emily Rose Josephine Crispin 7 Cube Carol Townend Kristina Segarra Burk Pius Adejumobi Suzanne V. Tanner Estacious(Charles White) Assumpta Nalubowa Aaron Nichols Terry Mansfield Kris Bedenian Toya Qualls-Barnette Raafeke Jeofrey Ogire Tom Fenske
Thanks for making my words part of your day. I’m Kristina God, 2x Top Writer and one of Medium’s Top 2,000 Writers.
Leave a comment below if you have any questions or additional information. If you want to learn more about writing on Medium be sure to sign up for my newsletter and never miss a story— it’s free.📨
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