#Submission guidelines for Medium writers

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

New Submission Guidelines for Curated Newsletters

Welcome to Curated Newsletter on Medium, where the future of writing is crafted now with guidance and collaboration Dear Readers and Writers,  In August 2024, I made the difficult decision to close ILLUMINATION-Curated, a publication that has been near and dear to my heart. It was a moment filled with mixed emotions — tears not just of sadness for what we were leaving behind but also of joy for…

[womenofthearchiveszine]

Looking For Artists, Writers, and Creators of All Mediums!

The day has finally come: contributor applications are finally open! We have three forms: Artist, Writer, and Other Creatives. Each form will have their own set of guidelines, which are stated both in the forms themselves and our MasterDoc, which we are using in lieu of a Carrd. Below are our general guidelines:

General Guidelines

You MUST be 16+ at the time of application. We will not be accepting any applicants younger than that.

You must have a viable Discord and email address for communication regarding this project

A portfolio of at least three pieces of your work. You can submit either one large Google Drive file with all of your work, or up to five separate Drive links. We recommend the first option, but either is fine.

We will not be accepting Carrd or social media accounts (AO3/Insta/Etc.) as viable portfolios for the purposes of our project.

At least one piece must be from a horror OR podcast related fandom. While TMA/TMagP fan creation is preferred, we understand not everyone will have such pieces to show in their portfolio. 

If you are submitting for a specific character we ask that at least one of your portfolio pieces include art of said character. We will be judging for creativity and portrayal. This is especially important for cosplayers. 

This is a SFW zine. However, you are allowed to submit NSFW pieces as part of your portfolio if (and only if) you are 18+

As a reminder this is a charity zine. Contributors will not be making any profit off of their contributions. 

THIS ZINE IS NOT OPEN TO AI-GENERATED SUBMISSIONS. If we suspect that you used AI generation for your submissions you will be immediately disqualified from the consideration pool.  

IF YOU ARE ACCEPTED YOU MAY NOT POST ANY FINISHED WORK FOR THIS ZINE UNTIL YOU GET THE GO AHEAD FROM THE MODS. Failure to comply will result in a permanent dismissal from the project.

Have fun, and good luck!

[finishwhatyoustarted-event]

Finish What You Started 2024 - Event Rules

[ID copied from alt: Event Rules on a blue background. ⬒ No new projects ◨ Any medium and any fandom welcome ⬓ NSFW inclusive, warnings must be tagged ◧ Tag #FinishWhatYouStarted2024; boosting/retweeting starts September 13th ◼ Event ends October 31st, 2024]

The goal of this event is to get things done that you’ve already started. We all have unfinished projects whose incomplete status haunts us. Those are what we want to tackle!

The structure is loose, as this is a multimedia event. While primarily aimed at writers, this event is open to any kind of creative fanwork. Fics, translations, podfics, fanart, animations, cosplay - if you started it and never got it done, it qualifies. There is no sign-up required. I will not assign beta readers for writers, but I can boost requests for those who want them! And I can boost messages of those who would like to beta read.

The mod is a danmei fan mainly, but your work can be any fandom. Maybe something you started before your current fandom excitement took over, or one you keep putting off in favor of compelling new ideas.

Feel free to pass this event info along! The more the merrier!

Further rules and clarifications:

Alt text is very encouraged, especially for boost posts or artwork!

If your work is NSFW, I will only boost it if it has appropriate content warnings. Spoilering images is recommended but not required as long as it’s tagged. Do not letter-swap or abbreviate content warnings. These are so people can mute them as needed. Example: "gore" not "g0re"

Remember Tumblr can mute phrases, but each warning should be its own tag as well as in the body.

Please use genderbend or genderswap for characters depicted not as canon genders. Example: "#NSFW #genderbend #gore”

Please use Omegaverse or A/O/B for that content. The original letter order is a slur against Aboriginal peoples and will not be tolerated here, even with the slashes. It, like other racial or identity-based slurs, fall under hate speech and are thus not permitted.

This account will post weekly morale-boosting messages and helpful resources. Every Friday, starting September 13th, will be Finished It Friday. All the completed works posted that week will be boosted together in a big thread, so we can celebrate your accomplishment!

Halfway-point check-in is October 1st. Final event deadline is October 31st. The last Finished It Friday is November 1st.

FAQ:

Q: Are original works acceptable?

A: This is primarily a fanwork-focused event. If original work is the only WIP you have to work on, it's certainly fine to work on it during the time frame of the event. If it is posted publicly when finished, you may tag it for boosting.

Q: Are there any restrictions on topics?

A: No, so long as your event # post is properly & fully tagged for content (see rules about tagging above). "Dead Dove" topics are allowed. Some submissions will be 18+. For me, this is less about the content and more about finishing it. 

The usual restrictions based on laws and Community Guidelines of course apply, so you may need to tailor how you post to which event space your interacting with. Twitter, Tumblr, and Discord all have their own rules. There are also some topics that are in poor taste to make fanworks around. The event organizer and mods reserve the right to not boost your work if they decide it is rage-baiting or trolling. They are not responsible for negative reactions to your works. Please be respectful of those you share a digital space with. 

Keep in mind that when I link to your finished work during a Finished It Friday, it may reach a wider audience than you may be used to.

Q: Are there any restrictions on media that can be submitted?

A: Machine Generated or "AI" images and writing are not permitted. If you are found in violation of this rule, you will be removed from the event. All images, writing, or other works must be your own.

This is a positive, shared space. Do not belittle other creators' medium of choice. Please no fandom/character/ship/creator bashing, and don't berate artists or authors for not being done with something, even if they don't finish by the end of the event. Also, please don't passive-aggressively send this event to the author of an unfinished fic you want to see done faster. 😥 Be cool, respect each other, and keep any interpersonal disagreements to your own tumblrsphere.

All posts and boosts will be crossposted to the event Twitter (finishwatustart) and Discord. Expanded rules, explanations, and Dead Dove guidelines can also be found on the Discord. (invite link in pinned post) 

Fics can be posted to the AO3 collection (archiveofourown(dot)org /collections /FinishWhatYouStarted2024_Fall)

Work-in-progress posts should be tagged #FinishWhatYouStarted2024 . If you complete a wip within the event, tag it #IFinishedWhatIStarted2024 for boosting so we can all celebrate!

Find more information and community on the Discord, if you want! Joining the Discord is not required for the event. As always, if you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out!

[txttletale]

Your discussions on AI art have been really interesting and changed my mind on it quite a bit, so thank you for that! I don’t think I’m interested in using it, but I feel much less threatened by it in the same way. That being said, I was wondering, how you felt about AI generated creative writing: not, like AI writing in the context of garbage listicles or academic essays, but like, people who generate short stories and then submit them to contests. Do you think it’s the same sort of situation as AI art? Do you think there’s a difference in ChatGPT vs mid journey? Legitimate curiosity here! I don’t quite have an opinion on this in the same way, and I’ve seen v little from folks about creative writing in particular vs generated academic essays/articles

i think that ai generated writing is also indisputably writing but it is mostly really really fucking awful writing for the same reason that most ai art is not good art -- that the large training sets and low 'temperature' of commercially available/mass market models mean that anything produced will be the most generic version of itself. i also think that narrative writing is very very poorly suited to LLM generation because it generally requires very basic internal logic which LLMs are famously bad at (i imagine you'd have similar problems trying to create something visual like a comic that requires consistent character or location design rather than the singular images that AI art is mostly used for). i think it's going to be a very long time before we see anything good long-form from an LLM, especially because it's just not a priority for the people making them.

ultimately though i think you could absolutely do some really cool stuff with AI generated text if you had a tighter training set and let it get a bit wild with it. i've really enjoyed a lot of AI writing for being funny, especially when it was being done with tools like botnik that involve more human curation but still have the ability to completely blindside you with choices -- i unironically think the botnik collegehumour sketch is funnier than anything human-written on the channel. & i think that means it could reliably be used, with similar levels of curation, to make some stuff that feels alien, or unsettling, or etheral, or horrifying, because those are somewhat adjacent to the surreal humour i think it excels at. i could absolutely see it being used in workflows -- one of my friends told me recently, essentially, "if i'm stuck with writer's block, i ask chatgpt what should happen next, it gives me a horrible idea, and i immediately think 'that's shit, and i can do much better' and start writing again" -- which is both very funny but i think presents a great use case as a 'rubber duck'.

but yea i think that if there's anything good to be found in AI-written fiction or poetry it's not going to come from chatGPT specifically, it's going to come from some locally hosted GPT model trained on a curated set of influences -- and will have to either be kind of incoherent or heavily curated into coherence.

that said the submission of AI-written stories to short story mags & such fucking blows -- not because it's "not writing" but because it's just bad writing that's very very easy to produce (as in, 'just tell chatGPT 'write a short story'-easy) -- which ofc isn't bad in and of itself but means that the already existing phenomenon of people cynically submitting awful garbage to literary mags that doesn't even meet the submission guidelines has been magnified immensely and editors are finding it hard to keep up. i think part of believing that generative writing and art are legitimate mediums is also believing they are and should be treated as though they are separate mediums -- i don't think that there's no skill in these disciplines (like, if someone managed to make writing with chatGPT that wasnt unreadably bad, i would be very fucking impressed!) but they're deeply different skills to the traditional artforms and so imo should be in general judged, presented, published etc. separately.

[sterekcollabang]

Hark! A new event approaches!

Starting in February of 2024, the Sterek Collaborative Big Bang will run for a little under 5 months, with posting in July 2024. Please feel free to check out our blog, read up some of what we have to share, and give this post a reblog to get the word out. (:

HOW THIS WORKS:

The Sterek Collaborative Big Bang (Or CollaBang for short) is a Big Bang event focusing on two major elements:

1.) Stiles Stilinski x Derek Hale from MTV’s Teen Wolf 2.) Collaboration between artists of multiple mediums, Writing and Something Else, for the entire duration of the event.

A traditional Big Bang is a fandom event where fic writers write a story within certain criteria during a period of time and then propose their ideas to the artist participants who pick a story and create an art piece to go with it. The specific criteria can vary significantly, such as “Any Fandom Goes but it has to be an existing work in progress (@WIPBigBang)”, but generally when it’s labeled as “Big” the expectation is for a longer fic. This Big Bang has a word count minimum of 10,000.

What sets us apart is that we are taking the concept of “collaboration” between writers and artists to the next level. Instead of having writers toil away on their own, only sharing with other writers, we are asking participants to connect right at the start of the event so they have a partner to work on their project with them, start to finish.

More details are available on this blog under FAQ, along with submission guidelines, a comprehensive schedule, and more. Our pinned post has links to help guide mobile users around.

[dc-marvel-crossovers]

To celebrate and promote DC/Marvel crossovers, we’re hosting a “fanworks of fanworks” event!

Participants create fanworks in various mediums of existing crossover fics. The idea is to connect a community of writers, artists, and appreciators of DC/Marvel crossovers.

More under the cut, or in doc form here.

How it Works:

Writers submit a bookmark of their existing DC/Marvel crossover work (one fic or series per submitting author) to an Ao3 collection. Writers will also need to create at least one fanwork (any medium) of another author’s fic, but that comes later; see step 2. After bookmarking your fic, complete this form.

You do not have to submit a fic to participate! Participants sign on to create up to five fanworks of submitted fics, within the following categories: playlist, art, collage/moodboard, remix fic, timestamp/sequel fic, and podfic. Details below. If you’re interested in fanworking (but aren’t submitting a fic) and you want an email with a ping once the submission period closes, put your email on the list here! 

Writers and fanworkers are encouraged to share ideas and promote each other’s work!

Guidelines for the Event:

Writers will be able to indicate which types of fanwork they’re okay with their fic receiving. Each fic submitted will receive at least one fanwork, but can receive up to one of each type. A fic cannot receive more than one of each type of work.

If participants choose to create more than one fanwork, they each need to be for a different fic — you can’t sign on to do more than one type for the same fic. Participants can do more than one of a type (as long as they’re for different fics). For example, you can do playlists for up to five different fics, or a playlist for two fics plus a remix for three fics.

Any crossover of Marvel and DC is eligible — no restrictions on content, pairing, or length. But keep in mind that if people don’t want to read your fic, it’s less likely to get multiple claims.

A fic with more than one author can be submitted by one of the authors, even if a co-author has submitted a different fic of their own. The writer who submits the fic is solely responsible for participation and fanwork creation.

Timeline:

January 1 - Fic submissions close; reading window opens! Participants are encouraged to read all the fics in the collection before choosing which ones they’d like to fanwork. 

January 14 - First round claims — for writers only, to guarantee that each fic gets at least one fanwork.

January 21 - Open claims start. Once your claim is confirmed on the Big Spreadsheet you can start creating/posting immediately.

February 29 - Tentative deadline for posting fanworks. If a lot of people express interest we may set up staggered posting dates.

Types of Fanworks:

All fanworks need to be posted on Ao3 using the “inspired by” feature. If you need help embedding images or whatever else, we can help you figure that out, but you do need an Ao3 account. 

Original art. Digital preferred, but if you’d rather create traditionally and then scan to upload, we can work with that. 

Collage/moodboard. You can use a simple grid layout, or get more creative with it. These should have at least nine elements involved. 

Playlist. At minimum, ten songs. These will get posted to Ao3 either using a screenshot of the track listing, by typing out each track name/artist, or embedding the playlist. You can also include cover art, explanations of why you chose each song, snippets of lyrics, links to each song on YouTube, etc, if you want to get more in-depth with it. 

Timestamp/sequel fic. Maximum 5000 words. Fill in a scene that takes place during the original fic but did not make it into the original story, or write a sequel. 

Remix fic. Maximum 5000 words. Put your own spin on the plot of the original fic. Keep the original characters, but you can add additional characters to a scene, or see how one character making a different choice would change the whole plot, or reverse their roles, etc. 

Podfic. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Ideally, podfic should be complete by the end of the posting window, but if you’re working with a long fic and want to break it up, make sure you have at least one chapter posted. 

Questions? Message us on tumblr or email dc.marvel.crossover.mod@gmail.com

[ratssmpzine]

Hello all! For the next week, we're running an interest check for Tails from the Rats SMP, a non-profit Rats SMP fanzine that takes inspiration from children's storybook anthologies to tell the tale of the attic rats' time in the Icraga mansion!

With Pirates having only just set sail a few days ago we didn't want to overwhelm anyone (including ourselves!) with open applications right off the bat, however we are looking to get a gauge on what we'll be heading into over the coming weeks! Filling out this interest check will be a huge help to us in seeing how many applications we may end up with, what ratio of artists to writers we're likely to see, and how many people will be interested in reading the zine at all! It's also a great way to ask us questions or make suggestions if you don't want to send them as asks, especially if you're an artist in a medium outside of 2-D art and literature who would want to contribute!

This interest check will be running for a week and will close at 11:59 PM on Friday, August 11th. Over the course of the week we'll be making posts outlining any guidelines that we'll have for zine submissions so that you have plenty time to look at them before applications open! Speaking of applications, they'll be opening on the Monday after this form closes and will run for two weeks, closing at 11:59 PM on Monday, August 28th! Participants will be picked in early September and we're hoping for a creation period that lasts through December. More details will be released as we post our guidelines though, so keep an eye out for those!

Stay ratty everyone and we'll see you again very soon! 🐀

[grayseeker]

A Celebration of Seekers, you say...? Seekers are known to celebrate!

Jetpack Questions and Answers

Welcome to a special Q&A session about my upcoming zine JetPack, a Transformers zine all about Seekers! I invite you to join this creative endeavor—whether you’re an artist, writer, or reader fascinated by these fliers. Here are some of your most pressing questions answered, with the caveat that our project will evolve based on your contributions! I'll release a formal FAQ, along with a submission deadline and guidelines in June.

Questions and Answers:

Q: What inspired the creation of the JetPack zine?

A: I've always been fascinated by Seekers. I mean yes, I fell hard for Starscream when I first discovered Transformers back in the 80s, but I was also intrigued by his many lookalikes. The mere fact that these aerial warriors always seemed to appear in groups of three grabbed my imagination and made me want to know more. Nearly all my Transformers stories have been about Seekers, in one way or another. I know I'm not alone in this fascination, so I decided to create a zine that explores the untold stories of this culturally distinct group of Cybertronians.

Q: What kind of content are you looking for in JetPack?

A: I'm casting a wide net—seeking (pun intended!) everything from artwork and poetry to essays and short stories. Got Cybertronian drink recipes? News articles? Seeker legends and fairy tales? Tech specs for your Seeker OCs? A speculative nature documentary about Seeker nesting habits? Send it all! Whatever your medium, I'm looking for pieces that deepen our collective understanding and appreciation of Seeker lore and culture.

Q: Will you be accepting submissions based on [insert continuity]?

A: Absolutely! I'm primarily a G1 fan myself, but JetPack is open to all continuities, including alternate universe settings. You are also welcome to submit works based on original Seeker characters you have created.

Q: Are we counting characters like Wingstun, who are only Seekers in some continuities? What about TFRPG characters like Blazewake, Blitzkrieg or Avia?

A: In a word: yes. I'm pretty open about what 'counts' as a Seeker. For example, I would consider submissions that explore the possibility that Knock Out from TFP is a modified Seeker (as Starscream seemed to imply in a certain dialogue scene) or the notion that Tracks from G1 might have a Seeker ancestor, thus explaining his flight capabilities (and, possibly, his apparent alienation from the other Autobots). My main criteria with these 'edge' cases is whether 'Seekerish' elements are central to the work. For example, a story about the G1 Aerialbots questioning whether or not they wish to identify as Seekers (and why), would be perfect, even though the fandom doesn't usually group them with Seekers as a rule.

Q: Will this zine be published physically?

A: I hope so! I'm looking into options for print publication. Ideally, I'd like to find a print-on-demand service that allows fanfiction, so that anyone who wants a copy of the zine can have it printed and shipped to them wherever they are in the world. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that most print-on-demand services allow fanfic. If you know of one that does, please drop me a DM and I'll look into it.

Q: Will NSFW submissions be allowed?

A: Yes. If I get NSFW submissions, I'll publish two editions of the zine: one that's SFW only, and an extended version that includes the NSFW content. That way, readers can pick according to their own preference.

Q: What is the deadline for submissions?

A: This is currently TBD. I'm thinking of setting the submission deadline in early November, though a firm deadline will be announced when I release the submission guidelines in June.

Q: I didn’t see my question here. How can I reach out?

A: Feel free to DM me with questions! Apologies that I don't take anonymous asks, but I can keep your question anonymous when I post my reply.

Thank you for your enthusiasm and curiosity about JetPack! I'm blown away by the response that the interest-check (linked below) has received so far. By the way, it's still open until May 31, so feel free to share this post. Tag a friend who loves Seekers, and let’s make JetPack soar!

[iwtvfanevents]

A Challenge Every Sunset is run by a group of like-minded AMC IWTV fans, to foster creativity and positive engagement in this burgeoning fandom through events, prompts and challenges.

Ongoing and upcoming events and initiatives

St. Louis 2024 | All through October

A month-long celebration of our titular vampire: all throughout October, we're commemorating Louis's 147th birthday with a creative challenge. See the fanworks that came from the first edition in our #st. louis of the vieux carré tag ►

Claudia event | Early 2025

Help us decide on the date and prompts of the next Claudia event! Reblog the promo post ► and share your ideas and suggestions by completing this poll ►

A tag of our own | Open fandom initiative

We’re inviting fellow fans to use a set of dedicated tags to talk about and to share fanworks for AMC’s Interview with the Vampire: #Vampterview for posting about the show #The Titular Vampire for posting about the show’s Louis #Spark in the Dark for posting about the show’s Claudia Learn more about this initiative here ►

Navigation

All events and initiatives ►

Participation guidelines ►

About and tagging system below ▼

About

We are a handful of Louis and Claudia fans scattered around the world, some of us writers or artists, all of us passionate about AMC’s adaptation of Interview with the Vampire. 

Organizing and promoting these events, and sharing the recommendations and fanworks resulting from them, is our way to nurture this flourishing fan space, to help foster an environment where fans of AMC’s Louis and Claudia can share our love for this adaptation and its characters, have interesting and productive conversations, encourage each other’s creativity, and have fun. This means building a fandom on shared ideas of anti-racism, of respect towards the subject of abuse and sexual violence and towards survivors, and of understanding that art is political and the fan communities we create around it are too.

For the purposes of this account, we follow the age-old fandom precepts of “don’t like, don’t read” and “curate your own space”.

This means that there will be posts and fanworks that we won’t share or allow in the collections for our events, and that there’s accounts that will be blocked from interacting with us as well. To know more about our reasoning, see our guidelines for participation and our rules of engagement ►

Tags and warnings

Posts or specific fanworks about a given characters will be tagged with their first name (e.g. #claudia). Characters in relationships will be tagged in alphabetical order according to their first name, and platonic relationships will be tagged with 'and' while those that are romantic and/or sexual will use an 'x' (e.g. #louis and paul, or #armand x louis x rashid).

Fanworks are tagged according to their medium and genre. Tags used so far have been:

#fanfiction

#fanart

#fanmix

#amv and fanvids

#analysis and meta

#edits and graphics

#games and prompts

#rec lists

#intertext and #webweavings

#jokes and memes

art of the episode

Content warnings will be tagged when the potentially sensitive content is part of the post itself, so that it can be picked up by Tumblr's filtering function. Such warnings will be tagged with a 'cw' (e.g. #cw suicide). We might not always realize something could use a warning, so please feel free to send a message or reblog with a comment if you believe a warning should be added, and we'll take a look at the post in question.

To know more about tagging your submissions, see our guidelines ►

All events and initiatives ►

Participation guidelines ►

[thehorrortree]

Payment: $0.05 per word Theme: Horror and dark fantasy fiction Heathen is a new literary magazine and multimedia platform spotlighting the best in horror and dark fantasy fiction. Released quarterly in a digital medium, the stories you'll find in Heathen will be available in both text and audio formats. Once a year, the most-read (and listened to) stories will be collected in a physical annual. Submission Guidelines for Heathen Should you hope to have your story listed in an issue of Heathen, it should be reminisicent of the likes of Lovecraft, Poe, and Chambers. Though humanity finds itself at the root of all stories, tales told in Heathen should heavily involve monsters, beasts, the supernatural, or fantastical world-building. We're looking for stories no more than 7,500 words in length, with preference given to storeis that have less than 5,000 words. Our initial submissions period is now open and will remain open until 11:59 p.m. Central on January 31st, with our first issue being released Spring 2024. Heathen pays writers a HWA-qualifying $0.05 per word. At this time, we are not looking for poetry, non-fiction, or art-only submissions. Furthermore, we don't require a lengthy cover letter, but we do want to know all about you, the author of the piece; not even about your resume or experience, but what draws you to horror and what inspired you to write the story you did. Via: Heathen's Moksha.

[toolstehyai]

Using Medium to Get Traffic — Proven Strategies for Bloggers

Ever wondered how some blogs get a massive influx of readers seemingly overnight? The secret could be closer than you think. Using Medium strategically can be the game-changer you need to maximize your blog’s reach by June 2024. Here’s how you can harness the power of Medium to drive traffic to your blog and achieve your blogging goals.

Understanding Medium’s Potential

Medium is more than just a blogging platform; it’s a vibrant community of readers and writers. With its user-friendly interface and built-in audience, Medium offers bloggers a unique opportunity to reach new readers who are genuinely interested in their content. The platform’s distribution algorithms ensure that quality content is more likely to be seen by a larger audience, making it an excellent tool for traffic generation.

Setting Up for Success on Medium

The first step to leveraging Medium is creating a compelling profile. Your profile is often the first impression you make, so make it count. Use a high-quality photo and write a captivating bio that highlights your expertise and interests. Don’t forget to include links to your blog and social media profiles to drive traffic back to your main site.

Connecting with the community is equally important. Follow publications and writers within your niche to stay updated on trending topics and engage with their content. Building relationships on Medium can lead to more followers and increased visibility for your articles.

Read More

Crafting Content That Drives Traffic

Choosing the right topics is crucial. Medium readers are drawn to fresh, insightful, and relevant content. Use Medium’s search and recommendation features to find trending topics within your niche. Write articles that provide unique perspectives or solutions to common problems your audience faces.

When crafting your articles, focus on writing engaging content. Start with compelling headlines that capture attention without resorting to clickbait. Use high-quality images and maintain a conversational tone to keep readers engaged. Incorporate a clear call-to-action (CTA) in your articles, directing readers to your blog for more in-depth information or related content.

Read More

Leveraging Medium’s Distribution

One of the most effective ways to increase your reach on Medium is through publications. Submitting your articles to popular Medium publications can significantly boost your visibility. These publications often have thousands of followers who will see your content. Research and identify high-traffic publications in your niche, and follow their submission guidelines to increase your chances of getting published.

Utilizing tags and categories correctly can also enhance your article’s visibility. Use relevant and trending tags to categorize your content effectively. This makes it easier for readers interested in those topics to find your articles.

Engaging and Growing Your Audience

Building a loyal readership on Medium requires consistent engagement. Respond to comments on your articles to foster a sense of community and encourage discussions. Ask questions and invite readers to share their thoughts, creating a two-way dialogue that keeps readers coming back.

Cross-promotion is another powerful strategy. Share your Medium articles on your social media platforms, in your email newsletters, and on your blog. This not only drives traffic to your Medium articles but also brings readers back to your blog.

Analyzing and Adapting Your Strategy

To ensure continuous improvement, regularly analyze your performance using Medium’s built-in analytics. Monitor metrics such as views, reads, and engagement to understand what type of content resonates most with your audience. Use these insights to refine your content strategy. Experiment with different topics, writing styles, and promotional tactics to see what works best

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Case Studies and Success Stories

Consider the case of John, a tech blogger who struggled to grow his audience despite creating high-quality content. By publishing his articles on Medium and submitting them to top tech publications, John saw a 300% increase in his blog traffic within six months. His secret was simple: consistently engaging content, strategic use of tags, and active participation in the Medium community.

Another success story is Emily, a lifestyle blogger who used Medium to reach a wider audience. By writing about trending topics and sharing her personal experiences, Emily’s articles quickly gained traction. She focused on building relationships with her readers, which led to increased engagement and more followers for her blog.

Read More

Conclusion

Using Medium effectively can significantly boost your blog’s reach and drive traffic to your site. By creating a compelling profile, connecting with the community, crafting engaging content, leveraging Medium’s distribution, engaging with your audience, and continuously analyzing your performance, you can achieve your blogging goals by June 2024.

Ready to maximize your blog’s reach? Start publishing on Medium today and watch your traffic grow! With these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a blogging powerhouse.

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Introduction to New Writers Joining ILLUMINATION Publications Today #71

Welcome pack and a quick acknowledgment of your acceptance to ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications on Medium with helpful links to our resources Non-member writers, please read this important bulletin using the free versionto understand the rules of our publications for smooth publishing. New writer applications to Illumination are via our registration portal. Please review our quality…

[drarrydisabilityfest]

Rules & Guidelines - Drarry Disability Fest 2024

We finally have our rules and guidelines all sorted out and ready to share with everyone! So here it is; if you notice any omitted or missing times or dates that is because those are farther in the future and we cannot predict the exact time they will happen.

We would like to reiterate that transphobia, homophobia, racism, antisemitism, ableism, and fatphobia do not have a place here in this fest; we will take down and reject prompts promoting those ideologies. We do not support J.K. Rowling's damaging views - though she is somehow the author of these books and owns the rights to them - we do not profit from or otherwise benefit from this fest based on the Harry Potter books in any way.

Prompting

Prompting opens February 29. 

This is an 18+ fest.

Anyone can prompt, whether you’re planning on creating or not, and each person is allowed to submit a maximum of 10 prompts.

A person with a disability doesn’t need to be the main character, but they do need to be one of the primary characters. Along the same note, the disability(ies) don’t need to be the sole focus of the creation, but it does need to be an important part of the person's life.

No cure-all fics, please! If you choose to give your character a disability that can't be cured in real life, please don’t magically take them away in your fic; disabled people can have happily ever afters while still being disabled.

It’s fine to prompt disabled people or mentally ill people getting sick, please don’t prompt sickfics in which an able person happens to be temporarily sick—they don’t count as a disabled person.

If you have previously written a fic centering the experiences of a disabled person in a Drarry-centric fic, feel free to recommend your work for podfic. However, your fic will still be subject to the screening we put to all prompts in this fest. Because of the nature of this fest in that it’s centered on stigmatized topics, the mods will screen prompts, (and self-prompts once claiming opens) to make sure these rules are followed.

Prompting closes March 20.

Claiming & Creating

Claiming starts April 1.

Please claim one prompt at a time. You may claim another prompt only after submitting your work. As mentioned in the prompting section, we will allow self-prompting as well granted that your prompt passes our screening.

Collaborations are allowed in any shape, form, or medium aside from videos or gifs. Please sign up together once. We will ask for one main person of contact for the team, as well as emails and AO3 for all members of the group.

This is a non-anonymous fest, so feel free to chat about your prompts as much as you like!

For fics writers, we ask that you write a minimum word count of 1k words and that your fic is beta read. In addition, if you do not personally have the disability you’re writing about or don’t have experience with it, we require for you to have a sensitivity reader look over your work—please research the topic if you don’t know much about the disability you’re writing about!

For podfics, please make sure you have permission from the author of the story you’re podficcing. We will be screening the fics for podfic as well, since sensitivity to issues faced by disabled people is important to us (being three disabled people ourselves, this is kind of a 'no shit Sherlock' moment but we thought we'd say it anyway).

As mentioned in the prompting section, due to the nature of this fest, the mods will be screening works as it is important to us that we have proper representation of the disabilities portrayed, rather than romanticization or stereotyping.

Claiming ends June 15, we trust you to not claim something on the 15 that you cannot finish on the 16.

Extensions

If you need an extension or need to drop out, no worries! Just email us at drarrydisabilityfest@gmail.com and tell us how much more time you need.

Submitting & Posting

Submissions are due June 16.

Please post to our AO3 collection drarry_disability_fest_2024 and add “drarrydisabilityfestmod” as a co-creator. Afterwards, please email us with the following information:

Title:

Author/Artist:

Rating:

Word count (if applicable):

Art medium (if applicable):

Warnings/Tags:

Summary:

Link to work:

We will contact you once we’ve finished reading it to confirm and ask any questions we might have. 

Posting begins July 1.

We won’t release our posting schedule, as it is subject to change.

Further Information

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and email us at drarrydisabilityfest@gmail.com or contact us through our Discord server .

Sincerely, Your Drarry Disability Fest mods @basicallyahedgehog , @quackquackcey , @slytherinthelibrary

[finishwhatyoustarted-event]

Finish What You Started 2024 - Event Rules

[ID copied from alt: Event Rules on a blue background. ⬒ No new projects ◨ Any medium and any fandom welcome ⬓ NSFW inclusive, warnings must be tagged ◧ Tag #FinishWhatYouStarted2024; boosting/retweeting starts March 15th ◼ Event ends April 30, 2024]

The goal of this event is to get things done that you’ve already started. We all have unfinished projects whose incomplete status haunts us. Those are what we want to tackle!

The structure is loose, as this is a multimedia event. While primarily aimed at writers, this event is open to any kind of creative fanwork. Fics, translations, podfics, fanart, animations, cosplay - if you started it and never got it done, it qualifies. There is no sign-up required. I will not assign beta readers for writers, but I can boost requests for those who want them! And I can boost messages of those who would like to beta read.

The mod is a danmei fan mainly, but your work can be any fandom. Maybe something you started before your current fandom excitement took over, or one you keep putting off in favor of compelling new ideas.

Feel free to pass this event info along! The more the merrier!

Further rules and clarifications:

Alt text is very encouraged, especially for boost posts or artwork!

If your work is NSFW, I will only boost it if it has appropriate content warnings. Spoilering images is recommended but not required as long as it’s tagged. Do not letter-swap or abbreviate content warnings. These are so people can mute them as needed. Example: "gore" not "g0re"

Remember Tumblr can mute phrases, but each warning should be its own tag as well as in the body.

Please use genderbend or genderswap for characters depicted not as canon genders. Example: "#NSFW #genderbend #gore”

Please use Omegaverse or A/O/B for that content. The original letter order is a slur against Aboriginal peoples and will not be tolerated here, even with the slashes. It, like other racial or identity-based slurs, fall under hate speech and are thus not permitted.

This account will post weekly morale-boosting messages and helpful resources. Every Friday, starting March 15th, will be Finished It Friday. All the completed works posted that week will be boosted together in a big thread, so we can celebrate your accomplishment!

Halfway-point check-in is April 1st. Final event deadline is April 30th. The last Finished It Friday is May 3rd.

FAQ:

Q: Are original works acceptable?

A: This is primarily a fanwork-focused event. If original work is the only WIP you have to work on, it's certainly fine to work on it during the time frame of the event. If it is posted publicly when finished, you may tag it for boosting.

Q: Are there any restrictions on topics?

A: No, so long as your event # post is properly & fully tagged for content (see rules about tagging above). "Dead Dove" topics are allowed. Some submissions will be 18+. For me, this is less about the content and more about finishing it. 

The usual restrictions based on laws and Community Guidelines of course apply, so you may need to tailor how you post to which event space your interacting with. Twitter, Tumblr, and Discord all have their own rules. There are also some topics that are in poor taste to make fanworks around. The event organizer and mods reserve the right to not boost your work if they decide it is rage-baiting or trolling. They are not responsible for negative reactions to your works. Please be respectful of those you share a digital space with. 

Keep in mind that when I link to your finished work during a Finished It Friday, it may reach a wider audience than you may be used to.

Q: Are there any restrictions on media that can be submitted?

A: Machine Generated or "AI" images and writing are not permitted. If you are found in violation of this rule, you will be removed from the event. All images, writing, or other works must be your own.

This is a positive, shared space. Do not belittle other creators' medium of choice. Please no fandom/character/ship/creator bashing, and don't berate artists or authors for not being done with something, even if they don't finish by the end of the event. Also, please don't passive-aggressively send this event to the author of an unfinished fic you want to see done faster. 😥 Be cool, respect each other, and keep any interpersonal disagreements to your own tumblrsphere.

All posts and boosts will be crossposted to the event Twitter (finishwatustart) and Discord. Expanded rules, explanations, and Dead Dove guidelines can also be found on the Discord. (invite link in pinned post) 

Fics can be posted to the AO3 collection (archiveofourown(dot)org /collections /FinishWhatYouStarted2024_Spring)

Work-in-progress posts should be tagged #FinishWhatYouStarted2024If you complete a wip within the event, tag it #IFinishedWhatIStarted2024 for boosting so we can all celebrate!

Find more information and community on the Discord, if you want! Joining the Discord is not required for the event. As always, if you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out!

[snowwhite-andtheknight]

Announcing: The Obiyuki Do-Si-Do

Madness is in full swing, but today we will be looking forward to this year’s winter challenge: the Do-Si-Do!

This is a new challenge type, inspired by Big Bang challenges but made for a smaller fandom with a less equal spread of artists (of all mediums) and writers. Just like a big bang, this is a long-term challenge, with the work spread across many months rather than a small span of time, and you will be working with a partner to create related works. The twist, however, is that everyone will have two pieces to create, one that is their primary idea, and one that is inspired by another piece!

How does the Do-Si-So work?

All participants must sign up to play; a post will follow this one shortly with the link to a Google Forms signup document. Once a player has signed up, they are responsible for coming up with their primary work-- fic, art, playlist, etc-- and for sending in a summary for pitch ranking.

Pitch ranking is the event we will use to determine our pairs: summaries will be presented anonymously, and each player will rank their favorites. Pairs will be matched according to interest, and at the end of the event, each player will have two partners: one who is making a work inspired by yours, and one for whom you will make a work inspired by theirs.

There will be multiple check-ins during the year, and at the end of the year, we will post the works on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, a celebration of our work as a fandom!

[Rules, Schedule, & Guidelines under the cut!]

Do-Si-Do Check-In Schedule

2/20: Do-Si-Do Sign Ups 4/14: 1st draft check-in & pitches due for submission 4/16-4/20: Pitch Ranking 4/22: Matches revealed 8/27: 2nd check-in (expectation: 1st drafts on each piece) 10/21: 3rd check-in (expectation: one or both pieces in final drafts) 12/16: Final check-in (expectation: both pieces nearly complete or finished) 12/31 & 1/1: Finished pieces are posted!

Tag: #obiyukidosido

Medias: Fic, art, edits or playlists

Guidelines:

All work must be your own

The main pairing is Obi x Shirayuki

Fics, art, and edits are all valid works for this challenge

Must be tagged #obiyukidosido within the first five tags

With Tumblr’s history of breaking the tag, however, we also encourage you to @ the comm (this blog) with your submissions

The word count minimum for fic entries is 4-5K

Main art pieces must be completed, not sketches (though additional sketches are welcome)

Playlists must be album length

There is no limit to the number of works you & your partner(s) can create for your concept, however there must be at least one main work and one inspired work for each challenge.

All NSFW content must be tagged and under a Read More!

Be nice

Play hard

[prongsfootproject]

Prongsfoot RBB Rules

GENERAL RULES

You are expected to read, understand, and adhere to the event rules. If you do not understand something, it is your responsibility to ask the moderators for clarification.

You will maintain awareness of the event schedule, and manage your own time accordingly.

You will meet all check-in points and submit drafts when they are scheduled/requested.All check-ins are mandatory.

Participators must have a way for open communication with mods. Have a discord, tumblr, or email. Sing up with an email that you regularly check is required, because important information will be sent there.

All participants must be 18 years old at the time of signing up.

You must have the knowledge and equipment/materials to make your fanfiction or fanart, and backup plans in place in the case of equipment or software failure.

You may sign up as both an author and an artist. Do consider the extra work involved, though, and please only do so if you are confident that you can complete both. However we have more writers than artist in this fandom, take that information into account.

Communicate with respect with another artists, writers, the mods and readers.

No crossovers are allowed.

Do not share or post your work on any social media until your assigned posting date. Rules regarding teasers and snippets will be provided to participants directly.

THE USE OF ALL KIND OF AI IS FORBIDDEN. We will ban from future participation any participant that uses AI for the creation of their art piece or fanfiction.

If you have extenuating circumstances or an emergency, please contact us and we will do our best to work with you.

ARTIST

You are allowed to draw nsfw and sfw pieces. This is a 18+ Big bang, and there is no restriction other than nsfw can’t contain images that involve minors in sexual situations.

Your art piece must be original for this event, and can’t be posted online until its reveal day.

An artist can submit up to 3 (three) individual entries. Which means that they can work up to 3 (three) different writers.

An exception can be made, and an artist can deliver a fourth entry, if this extra piece is a moodboard/moodboard set.

Our fandom is a small one, and we have a big unbalance between the number of artist and writers in the fandom. We encourage artist to create more than one art piece or moodboard set so they can work with more than one writer.

What kind of art is allowed:

Digital art

Traditional art

Comics

Moodboards/ moodboards set*

Given the nature of this Reverse big Bang, we will not allow Playlist or podfics as art entries.

If you make a different kind of art and would like to participate, please reach out to the mods so we can get your medium added to our list!

Minimum final requirements to participate as an artist:

Digital or traditional art: 1 finished piece.

Moodboards: Minimum 10 images (can be spread out over multiple boards)

Comics 4 panels

WRITER

Please be considerate of your author/artist partner’s preferences, likes, and dislikes, squicks, triggers. Communication between matched artists and authors is important.

The art itself is your prompt, but please respect the artist and do not ignore their triggers and major squicks.

You cannot claim your own art if you’re also signed up as an artist.

You may claim a piece and also still be available as a pinch-hitter (if you so choose) provided you meet the deadlines on your claimed fic.

Writers can sign up as pinch hitters in the sign up form.

Works must be properly rated and tagged. Please do not use the option "Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings".

Please tag all works by the AO3 Guidelines. Please be mindful of any trigger/content warnings that are applicable.

The only restriction is making Prongsfoot endgoal of the fic and not getting them involved in polyships. Dead dove of all kinds is allowed as long as its properly tagged.

Minimum final requirements to participate as a writer:

Your fanfiction must be completed by the time of final submissions.

You will respond to the check-ins with the information required of you.

You must create a fanfiction with a minimum of 4,000 words inspired by the art piece that you claimed.

There is no maximum word count limit, but be mindful of the time assigned to this Reverse Big Bang. Plan and create according to your writing speed so you can reach the final milestone with a complete fanfiction.

Fanfiction must be completed and betaed by the end of the RBB.

ANONYMITY AND MATCHING

As we already said, the art may not be publicly displayed before posting in any form, except during claims when it will be made available by the moderators, or to art betas.

Claiming are anonymous, we ask artists not to discuss their art in public or with any authors in any chat prior to claims. This includes discussing or previewing your art in private groups that may include people who are not participants in this challenge.

Written prompts are optional and mere inspiration for the writer.

Art preview will be shared in a file to the writers by the mods. This file will contain the following information: art, art title, description, prompts suggested by the artist in correlation to the art, likes, dislikes DNW, triggers and squicks.

To qualify for claiming, the art submission must be completed.

The art preview file will be sent 3 days before claiming starts.

This is not a first claim first serve process. We’ll wait for the claiming days to be over, or until every writer send their claim, to organize working pairs.

Be mindful of your time and interest in the art you’ll see available for claims. If you do not believe you can make it in the time given, or you do not like the art created by our artist, please refrain from claiming. We have more writers than artist in this fandom, and there is a high possibility of having writers who will end up without a claim.

PAIRS

If you are having trouble with your partner, please contact the moderators via email or your communication channel of choice.

Pairs are are encouraged to remain in contact with your assigned artist/writer. If you are unable to reach your artist, please contact us and we will attempt to get communication moving between you.

1 (one) art piece is mandatory for each project. Artist may create extra pieces for the project if they desire to do so once they are signed to a writer.

We are not making matches between writers and betas. Writers are responsible for finding betas on their own.

You will be required to communicate with your assigned partner at least during the time immediately after art claims and before posting, and we recommend that you remain in touch throughout the writing portion of the event.