I explain why I had to shut down my best publication on Medium and what it means to writers and readers honestly and transparently in raw language without any concern from Medium’s algorithm.
And this is the reason I’m here on Substack now, Dr M. Your action in closing ILLUMINATION-Curated shook me up. Woke me up. Literally because it was the middle of my Melbourne night. I had a big day coming up but I made myself a cup of coffee and explored my options.
Today I opened up my Substack, putting in place a plan to write about writing erotica. Maybe I’ll find nobody cares but I’m betting there are a trainload of people who have it in them to write sexy and write it well.
So thanks for the wake-up call. Medium isn’t dead, not by a long shot, but it’s not what it used to be.
My first story is one that made me $2 000 on Medium - in ILLUMINATION-Curated, ironically - and it’s free on Substack forever.
My next story will be to analyse it as both erotica and as storytelling.
I'm so disgusted with Medium that I quit yesterday. I deleted all 300 of my stories about mental health, cancelled my subscription and deleted my account. Felt good too.
The only reason I hadn't closed my account is because a few of the links to my old stuff are useful to me. Did you keep anything? If so, how did you save it? I guess I could just copy the text into a Word doc? I am tired of giving Medium even $5, rewarding that garbage platform with even those few dollars.
No, you go here: https://medium.com/me/settings/security and click "Download your information". You get everything you posted (I think both stories and comments) in a single compressed .zip file.
Thank you! I just started the process thanks to our link and will finally close my Medium account. It will feel great to finally stop rewarding Medium for its putrid product. (I even started deleting stories I know I'll never need before I started the expert. That felt great, too!)
When I first joined Medium and submitted to Illumination, you featured a few of my stories. It was exhilarating to know you thought they were worthy of sharing.
I’ll always be grateful.
I’m excited for your new adventures and hope to be part of it. ❤️
I greatly appreciated the attention that ILLUMINATION brought to several of my Medium posts. I have been much happier here on Substack over the last several months. I enjoy developing my own brand as my own publisher and rarely submit now to Medium publications, which are extremely fickle--as is the algorithm, which is extremely unpredictable. I feel more seen here, and more in control. Welcome!
Really devastated to read it coz this publication I had many curated articles published and it helped me so much with my writing. But am excited too see all familiar faces and Dave's writers here in substack. I guessed, hello substack.
Farewell ILLUMINATION-Curated, and hello to Curated Newsletters! 🌟 This bold shift to Substack is a refreshing embrace of transparency and authentic content. Excited to see how this new chapter empowers writers and resonates with readers.👍
Wow a bit of a shock. I was there at the beginning as an editor with Illumination and then I-C and to see the latter fade to black is sad. But then, the resurgence seen on Substack more than makes up for it. I understand the reasoning behind it - makes total sense. Cheers and bon voyage!
I'm sorry for all the frustrations you're experiencing. Anybody who was paying attention at all to their inbox could see the effort Aiden MC was putting in. It's a shame.
I think part of the problem is that Medium seems to be focusing more on algorithms than on quality content. They would probably respond by saying, "But the Boost program is expanding, not contracting," for which I have no answer. Perhaps they're trying to have their cake and eat it, too.
Part of what seems to be going on there is represented by this story by Zulie:
It's a story about someone who went from 0 to 168k followers in three months. Great clickbait headline, but the answer of why this Medium "writer" is successful is in the story: She is a TikTok user with hundreds of thousands of followers. She simply has ported a bunch of them over to Medium. Boom! 168K followers.
She also writes very short form stories. One, two, minute reads by and large.
I wrote the following in the comment section:
"This is great, and I'm happy for her, but I don't think the lessons apply to people who don't have large TikTok followings, and I hope Medium doesn't become a mirror of apps like TikTok by favoring short form over long form.
Long form writing is the heart and soul of Medium. If the algorithm changes so that's not favored, it will be a huge loss. Already, we're encouraged to keep things at 7 minute reads or so. 7 minutes is pretty much the minimum requirement for providing any kind of substantive essay."
If that's the future of Medium, I want no part of it. This is why I've also started a Substack. I even created a domain for it, https://www.ruminato.com/. I'm not leaving Medium (at least, not yet), but I'm also not going to let myself get stuck there.
Interesting to note that the story about the Dutch and sex was about heterosexuality. Stories about LGBTQ people are increasingly ignored, and using the tag “sexuality” (which would most often be used by LGBTQ writers) automatically bars an article from network distribution. As an editor at an LGBTQ publication this is incredibly difficult, as we have to tell writers their excellent work won’t be distributed and isn’t eligible for a boost. And recently our nomination acceptance rates have plummeted even for stories that do obey the rules. Medium seem to have moved the goalposts (again) without telling us. Articles that are well written, researched and references as well as an academic paper, which would have almost certainly been boosted before, are now being rejected. With no reasons given. Medium doesn’t care about its writers, or about “creating a better internet” as it claims. It cares about its shareholder and that’s it. It regularly throws writers under the bus. If this continues I’ll be leaving as well. I’m already putting more time and effort into Substack and it’s paying off.
I recently started an experiment, an A/B test of sorts between Medium and Substack. Now I can submit some of my stories to Curated Newsletters as a publication just like the ones in Medium, but unshackled by an algorithm.
It's interesting that this has come at a time when my country has been included in Medium's partner program. Regardless, it's a good time to be a writer
I stopped writing on Medium a long time ago because it is a garbage platform that rewards garbage, not real writing. The last pieces I wrote on Medium were about what a waste of time it is and how my time as a writer is much better spent elsewhere. I just haven't gotten around to closing my Medium account yet because a few of the piece I put there long ago mean something to me and I still sometimes use the links. I tried exploring Substack but it's such a user-hostile platform that I gave up. Seemed totally impossible to set up the format I've seen other people create. I don't know how it's still in business, either.
I just downgraded my FOM membership to a normal one. I've paid until March next year and I want to make sure it doesn't accidentally renew.
I was one of the first to get a FOM membership when it launched. I even got one of these Tote bags. But I agree it's not worth it. I think I'd rather support writers directly going forward.
I have no doubt, that you will make it here at Substack. I'm still the small nobody writer fighting to get over 100 subscribers, at medium I have over 1200, and earn almost nothing longer. At Substack I earn absolutely nothing, and now all the good ones from Medium also find the way here, well, I didn't earn anything, so I'm not losing anything, but I only see a much tougher competition in the next months. So, welcome...
And this is the reason I’m here on Substack now, Dr M. Your action in closing ILLUMINATION-Curated shook me up. Woke me up. Literally because it was the middle of my Melbourne night. I had a big day coming up but I made myself a cup of coffee and explored my options.
Today I opened up my Substack, putting in place a plan to write about writing erotica. Maybe I’ll find nobody cares but I’m betting there are a trainload of people who have it in them to write sexy and write it well.
So thanks for the wake-up call. Medium isn’t dead, not by a long shot, but it’s not what it used to be.
My first story is one that made me $2 000 on Medium - in ILLUMINATION-Curated, ironically - and it’s free on Substack forever.
My next story will be to analyse it as both erotica and as storytelling.
Should be fun.
Thank you, Dr Mehmet, for waking me up!
Britni
I wish all the best to Curated Newsletters Dr M.
I'm so disgusted with Medium that I quit yesterday. I deleted all 300 of my stories about mental health, cancelled my subscription and deleted my account. Felt good too.
The only reason I hadn't closed my account is because a few of the links to my old stuff are useful to me. Did you keep anything? If so, how did you save it? I guess I could just copy the text into a Word doc? I am tired of giving Medium even $5, rewarding that garbage platform with even those few dollars.
No, you go here: https://medium.com/me/settings/security and click "Download your information". You get everything you posted (I think both stories and comments) in a single compressed .zip file.
Thank you! I just started the process thanks to our link and will finally close my Medium account. It will feel great to finally stop rewarding Medium for its putrid product. (I even started deleting stories I know I'll never need before I started the expert. That felt great, too!)
You're welcome. Within a month I should follow suit as well.
wow! thanks for this! i had no idea. i thought it would be too much work so i've been putting it off. life saver!
Oh my. Hopefully you downloaded your content and will bless us with it on Substack.
I like your new idea of curated newsletters more.
When I first joined Medium and submitted to Illumination, you featured a few of my stories. It was exhilarating to know you thought they were worthy of sharing.
I’ll always be grateful.
I’m excited for your new adventures and hope to be part of it. ❤️
I greatly appreciated the attention that ILLUMINATION brought to several of my Medium posts. I have been much happier here on Substack over the last several months. I enjoy developing my own brand as my own publisher and rarely submit now to Medium publications, which are extremely fickle--as is the algorithm, which is extremely unpredictable. I feel more seen here, and more in control. Welcome!
Really devastated to read it coz this publication I had many curated articles published and it helped me so much with my writing. But am excited too see all familiar faces and Dave's writers here in substack. I guessed, hello substack.
I wish the best to all the writers and whatever comes in the future. Good luck Dr. Mehmet.
Farewell ILLUMINATION-Curated, and hello to Curated Newsletters! 🌟 This bold shift to Substack is a refreshing embrace of transparency and authentic content. Excited to see how this new chapter empowers writers and resonates with readers.👍
Wow a bit of a shock. I was there at the beginning as an editor with Illumination and then I-C and to see the latter fade to black is sad. But then, the resurgence seen on Substack more than makes up for it. I understand the reasoning behind it - makes total sense. Cheers and bon voyage!
Hi Dr. Yildiz:
I'm sorry for all the frustrations you're experiencing. Anybody who was paying attention at all to their inbox could see the effort Aiden MC was putting in. It's a shame.
I think part of the problem is that Medium seems to be focusing more on algorithms than on quality content. They would probably respond by saying, "But the Boost program is expanding, not contracting," for which I have no answer. Perhaps they're trying to have their cake and eat it, too.
Part of what seems to be going on there is represented by this story by Zulie:
https://medium.com/blog/how-new-medium-writer-remi-grew-from-0-to-168k-followers-in-3-months-5113665b003d
It's a story about someone who went from 0 to 168k followers in three months. Great clickbait headline, but the answer of why this Medium "writer" is successful is in the story: She is a TikTok user with hundreds of thousands of followers. She simply has ported a bunch of them over to Medium. Boom! 168K followers.
She also writes very short form stories. One, two, minute reads by and large.
I wrote the following in the comment section:
"This is great, and I'm happy for her, but I don't think the lessons apply to people who don't have large TikTok followings, and I hope Medium doesn't become a mirror of apps like TikTok by favoring short form over long form.
Long form writing is the heart and soul of Medium. If the algorithm changes so that's not favored, it will be a huge loss. Already, we're encouraged to keep things at 7 minute reads or so. 7 minutes is pretty much the minimum requirement for providing any kind of substantive essay."
If that's the future of Medium, I want no part of it. This is why I've also started a Substack. I even created a domain for it, https://www.ruminato.com/. I'm not leaving Medium (at least, not yet), but I'm also not going to let myself get stuck there.
Interesting to note that the story about the Dutch and sex was about heterosexuality. Stories about LGBTQ people are increasingly ignored, and using the tag “sexuality” (which would most often be used by LGBTQ writers) automatically bars an article from network distribution. As an editor at an LGBTQ publication this is incredibly difficult, as we have to tell writers their excellent work won’t be distributed and isn’t eligible for a boost. And recently our nomination acceptance rates have plummeted even for stories that do obey the rules. Medium seem to have moved the goalposts (again) without telling us. Articles that are well written, researched and references as well as an academic paper, which would have almost certainly been boosted before, are now being rejected. With no reasons given. Medium doesn’t care about its writers, or about “creating a better internet” as it claims. It cares about its shareholder and that’s it. It regularly throws writers under the bus. If this continues I’ll be leaving as well. I’m already putting more time and effort into Substack and it’s paying off.
This is fantastic
I recently started an experiment, an A/B test of sorts between Medium and Substack. Now I can submit some of my stories to Curated Newsletters as a publication just like the ones in Medium, but unshackled by an algorithm.
It's interesting that this has come at a time when my country has been included in Medium's partner program. Regardless, it's a good time to be a writer
I stopped writing on Medium a long time ago because it is a garbage platform that rewards garbage, not real writing. The last pieces I wrote on Medium were about what a waste of time it is and how my time as a writer is much better spent elsewhere. I just haven't gotten around to closing my Medium account yet because a few of the piece I put there long ago mean something to me and I still sometimes use the links. I tried exploring Substack but it's such a user-hostile platform that I gave up. Seemed totally impossible to set up the format I've seen other people create. I don't know how it's still in business, either.
I just downgraded my FOM membership to a normal one. I've paid until March next year and I want to make sure it doesn't accidentally renew.
I was one of the first to get a FOM membership when it launched. I even got one of these Tote bags. But I agree it's not worth it. I think I'd rather support writers directly going forward.
I have no doubt, that you will make it here at Substack. I'm still the small nobody writer fighting to get over 100 subscribers, at medium I have over 1200, and earn almost nothing longer. At Substack I earn absolutely nothing, and now all the good ones from Medium also find the way here, well, I didn't earn anything, so I'm not losing anything, but I only see a much tougher competition in the next months. So, welcome...