Monthly Updates from ILLUMINATION Editorial Team: March 2023
Essential information summarizing achievements and plans for writers and readers
Here is the link to apply for ILLUMINATION as a writer. All writers registered to Medium at all levels are welcome. Our publications are diverse and inclusive.
Dear Writers and Readers,
Happy March!
We are delighted to connect with you again. We trust this post finds you well. February was another great month for us. Since last month more than 1200 new writers have joined Illumination Integrated Publications. We now support 19,350 writers. We are grateful for the engaging stories of creative writers delighting our valued readers.
Due to the increased workload, we have implemented stricter internal processes and workarounds to expedite the publishing process. Despite our volunteer editors’ best efforts, we regret to inform you that we are no longer able to meet the 48-hour delivery window for Illumination.
To ensure the timely publication of your content, we kindly request your patience and ask that you submit only high-quality content accompanied by copyright-free images.
We also recommend that you utilize language tools such as the free version of Grammarly to self-edit your stories, thus minimizing the need for our editors to deal with language errors.
Editors prioritize well-written articles with no language or image issues. We do not censor content as long as it adheres to Medium’s guidelines.
However, writers who do not follow our publication rules might need to wait longer until issues are resolved via private message, which may take several days due to timezone differences.
To ensure fair opportunities for all writers, we accept only one story per writer within 24 hours. However, please note that additional stories can be submitted to our smaller publications, which cater to different audiences.
We are grateful for our readers’ support, and as such, some volunteer editors compile curated collections to increase views and reading times.
Using these collections, we aim to create visibility for writers’ profiles and stories, ultimately helping to build a larger audience.
Furthermore, we encourage collaboration by featuring stories from accomplished writers and beginners in our curated collections, providing readers with more options to explore.
Adding writers, informing them, and responding to their inquiries takes time for our editors.
To reduce the administrative workload, we created a short editorial bulletin in curated lists by our ILLUMINATION Amplifier account to introduce new writers joining our publications. So new writers will be tagged in those collections when they join.
If you are not informed us for more than 48 hours, that means that we can’t add you to publications, possibly due to missing Medium ID, so you need to apply again using our writer registration portal. We accept every ethical writer willing to adhere to Medium’s rules.
New writers need to review the master copy of the onboarding pack before submitting their stories. The most critical point is the photo handling policy attached to the information pack.
We can no longer create individual packs weekly. Instead, we add your accounts to the pack and tag your profile. We respond to writer inquiries on the Slack workspace.
Joining Slack is an optional tool for our contributors. It is a complementary service, so it will not cost you. All writers are welcome to join. This free service can be helpful for easy access to the editorial team, collaboration with other writers, and promotion of your stories in several channels.
We remove publication-related articles and transfer them to the ILLUMINATION Blog pub. So you may check it when you need information related to our publications.
In addition, we created several featured pages for readers. Featured pages show stories to readers interested in specific topics. We continue improving our front page and featured pages to create more visibility for stories to readers. But we also use other tools for visibility.
Our volunteer editor Gareth Willey updated the banners and logos of our integrated publications using his design skills. You may provide your feedback to Gareth on his story and our Slack workspace.
Update on Stats
Views slightly dropped in February. Many writers had a significant drop since last September when Medium made some changes to the distribution system, but we noticed slight improvements in October, as we noted in this story.
Here are our 90-day stats covering reading times, visitors, and views.
Reading times
Reading time performance for 90 days is over 5.6 million minutes. This is our gold standard for writers’ income. averaging around 55,000 minutes of daily reading time.
The average of unique daily visitors
The average of unique visitors is 41,851 daily. However, yesterday we had a spike of 80K+ visitors due to some stories going viral.
Views
We don’t pay much attention to views as they are less important than reading times. However, they indicate new traffic; hence it is still a useful metric. Unfortunately, views dropped from 6 to 4.5 Million. It doesn’t make sense, so we assume Medium might have changed its algorithm for distribution as the number of writers and stories increased, but the views dropped. There might be other reasons beyond our knowledge.
Followers
We are pleased to see followers have increased from last month’s 65,873 to 66,333.
We need more volunteer editors.
Our editorial team needs more volunteer editors as our publications keep growing. Some editors go on vacation, some need a break, or sometimes they get unwell.
If you have time and are interested in supporting our smaller publications as an editor, you may contact our chief editor Dr Mehmet Yildiz on our Slack workspace. The eligibility criteria to serve as an editor for our publications is outlined in this article.
Our Slack group is open to all our contributors. We have 14,651 members on Slack. If you don’t have access to Slack or haven’t received the previous invitation, you can request it via this online web form.
Editors play an essential role in the success of our writers. They review your content, publish it on time, and promote your stories to our readers using various methods.
These volunteer editors are also writers. Therefore, they understand the needs of writers. Currently, 115 volunteer editors support our 19K+ writers using the Slack workspace. This is a massive workload for them.
We thought that meeting our editors could be valuable for writers. Therefore, we started an initiative to introduce our editors’ backgrounds and writing styles. We add new editor profiles as our time allows. They usually use the same account on Slack so that you can contact them directly.
Writer Introductions, Featuring, and Interviews
We introduce writers by creating profiles or interviewing them to create visibility for their profiles and content.
Recently, Dr. Yildiz interviewed several writers. You can read these exciting interviews from the attached links.
An Interview with Yogesh Haribhau Kulkarni (PhD)
An Interview with Author Raymond M.E. Aguirre
An Interview with Hakima TANTRIKA Hakima T A N T R I K A
We also started a new initiative titled make invisible stories visible to increase our contributors’ views and read times. Here are some samples:
Meet Mark Sanford, Ph.D. Mark Sanford, Ph.D.
Meet Psychologist Cedric Johnson, Ph.D. on ILLUMINATION Cedric Johnson, PhD
Chosen Stories from Rob Hourmont’s Health Collection Rob Hourmont
Chosen Stories from Melinda Blau’s Unique Collection Melinda Blau
Chosen Stories from Sufyan Maan’s Collection Sufyan Maan, M.Eng
We feature our writers’ profiles via the Illumination YouTube channel and blog the transcripts. For example, our volunteer YouTube coordinator Aiden (Illumination Gaming), features writers on our channel. Contact him on our Slack workspace if you want to be featured.
You might find some sample YouTube videos featuring our top writers in this collection titled Meet Top Writers of Medium on YouTube.
Photo Handling Policy — Please Read This Carefully
Handling photos is a growing concern in our publications due to new writers who don’t understand the severity of copyright infringements. We don’t want any of our writers to be fined due to breaching copyright rules.
We updated our image copyrights policy, clarifying the fair use issue. Our goal is to protect our writers from breaching copyright rules on Medium articles, which is a serious issue.
Please review our updated policy from this post titled: Why Image Copyrights Matter for Writers and Editors: Update to handling story photos policy for Illumination Integrated Publications on Medium.
We added extra steps to improve image handling as documented in the attached editor bulletin: Not Captioning and Using Copyright Photos Will Lead to Rejection of Stories: If writers, after rejection, continue breaking photo handing rules, we will remove them from our publications. It is their choice. Our editors do their duty of call.
Curating and Amplifying Stories
We started a new hand-picked series for 2023. So far, we have posted 25 collections. Here is the latest collection.
Hand-Picked Articles — 2023 #25: Chosen by the content curators of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications on Medium for avid readers
Last year we posted 280 collections from the ILLUMINATION Amplifier account. The Illumination team published 138 collections, and ILLUMINATION-Curator posted around ten collections featuring outstanding stories from experienced writers.
We curated and distributed thousands of well-written pieces to our readers via blogs and social media. Our repository reached half a million published stories on Illumination and sister publications.
We are grateful for inspiring feedback from readers and writers on the value of featuring stories that create visibility for the content of our writers and provide curated content to our readers.
Although we value every story and don’t censor content, readers desire stories on specific topics written with reasonable standards. Therefore, the quality of stories, including formatting and clarity, matters a lot.
We compile featured stories in a master collection to make it easy for readers. Bookmark this Meta Collection of Featured Stories: Easy access to daily selected stories from engaging writers of ILLUMINATION: Volume 3–2022. We will update it and index 2023 collections for easy access.
Introduction to New Publications
We added two new publications to our integrated portfolio. They are ILLUMINATION Videos and Podcasts and ILLUMINATION Gaming. Our volunteer editor Aiden (Illumination Gaming), coordinates these recent publications. These publications accept both regular and short-form stories.
ILLUMINATION-Curated Publication
We added around 20 more experienced writers to Illumination-Curated. It is for accomplished writers with proven track in our publications. You Can Directly Write For ILLUMINATION-Curated if your stories meet Medium’s distribution guidelines.
To create a better bridge among our publications, we assigned ILLUMINATION-Curated editors to select outstanding stories. This approach allows content published in our other publications to find a new audience. All experienced writers now directly submit their stories to ILLUMINATION-Curated.
We also created a reading club on our Slack workspace. Details are on this post. ILLUMINATION-Curator coordinates these activities.
Writer Biographies in a Collection
Our readers want to learn about writers’ backgrounds. We encouraged our writers to submit a bio to Illumination. The ILLUMINATION Amplifier team volunteered to maintain this collection titled Curated Writer Bios. Dr Mehmet Yildiz articulated why writers need bios in an article titled: Six Reasons Writers Need Bios.
Update on the Progress of Writers
Many new writers gained over 100 followers and became eligible for Medium Partner Program (MPP). We congratulate their success.
Some high achievers gained 1000+ followers after a month. We admire their outstanding achievement. The critical success factor is converting followers to fans with meaningful engagement with readers.
You may check these guiding articles if you are a new writer on Medium and want to increase your followers, subscribers, and fans meaningfully.
6 Easy & Proven Tips to Increase Followers
8 Proven Tips to Build a Rock-Solid Reading Audience
How To Become A Top Writer In Three Months
Subscribers Can Produce 50 Times Better Results Than Followers for Freelance Writers
Writing Challenges and Prompts
Several writers completed writing challenges. The 100-Day Writing Challenge is popular. A few writers attempted to 1000 short forms in 100 days too. You can submit one short form to each publication.
Participating in these writing challenges for new MPP contributors might be helpful for progress. You may consider sharing your story links, concerns, and aspirations in this unique challenge. And many readers enjoyed the Challenge called “The Proust Questionnaire.”
These challenges might bring new readers to your stories. We look forward to reading your stories about these challenges. We also feature those who complete challenges in our curated collections, such as hand-picked article series and curated collection posts.
Guidance on Writing Viral Stories
The best way to gain more readers and earn more income on Medium is to create viral stories. It has a significant luck factor, but you might increase the chance with a concerted effort by writing engaging and interesting stories.
Dr Mehmet Yildiz compiled a post with critical items for creating viral stories based on my experience, observations, and reviews of over 100 viral stories in 2021. He is currently analyzing around 100 viral stories in our publications.
We hope some of your stories go viral in 2023. Please keep posting high-quality, informative, and engaging stories on interesting topics. You might ask your friends or family members to review and provide your feedback before submitting your stories. Also, try to find mentors from top writers who can give you guidance and feedback.
Essential Resources for New Writers
We compiled essential guides for new writers in a post titled Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications. This collection might be a one-stop shop for new writers to learn more about writing on this platform.
Please also review these guiding policies before submitting their stories. We are tolerant, but the following are non-negotiable rules and Medium’s content hosting and distribution policy.
Zero tolerance to plagiarism on ILLUMINATION
Access to archived onboarding packs for new writers
New writers want to connect with previous writers. We provide links to only recent onboarding packs to easily find registered writers, follow them, and explore their content to achieve this goal.
If you need to access old bulletins, you may search for ILLUMINATION, and ILLUMINATION Amplifier accounts for older versions of onboarding packs. Here are a few samples:
Introduction to New Writers, Welcome: New Writers Introduction, Onboarding Pack for New Writers, Welcome New Writers, Welcome New Writers, Onboarding New Writers, Welcome New Writers, Onboarding New Writers, Welcome New Writers, Onboarding New Writers.
Members can follow up to 150 accounts on Medium within 24 hours. New writer accounts are kept for a week in the master copy of the onboarding pack. So, you may check and follow news writers weekly through the onboarding pack.
Summary of Our Publications for New Writers and Readers
1 — ILLUMINATION
ILLUMINATION is followed by 66,000+ readers and visited by around 43,000 unique members daily. As a generic publication, we accept every ethical topic meeting Medium’s guidelines. Link to publication
2 — ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR
This pub is for prolific writers who need to submit multiple stories in a day. If you submit a story to ILLUMINATION, you can submit up to one story to ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR within 24 hours. Link to publication
3 — ILLUMINATION-Curated
This publication is for experienced and accomplished writers. Senior editors select the contributors for this publication using stringent criteria. If you are an experienced writer, we allow you to write for this publication upon your request directly. Link to publication
4 — Technology Hits
We designed this publication for writers and readers interested in technical topics and tech-related stories. You can also submit science fiction in this pub. More info about Technology Hits Value Propositions of Technology Hits. Introduction to Technology Hits. Inviting Storytellers From All Aspects of Technology. Here is a collection including some sample stories from this publication. Link to publication
5 — SYNERGY
This publication serves only freelance writers who want to share writing, blogging, and editing content. It connects writers, editors, and bloggers through their stories. We invite freelance writers from other platforms, such as Vocal Media. Here is the purpose of Synergy. Besides, you may find a sample collection to get an idea of the type of stories we publish on Synergy. Link to publication
6 — ILLUMINATION Book Chapters
This publication is for published and indie authors. We help new writers to get published and become authors. Details about this publication are in this story: ILLUMINATION Book Chapters. More info: How Can Published Authors Create Visibility? Here’s a sample editorial bulletin to promote ILLUMINATION Book Chapters to readers. And here is the Index of Published Book Chapters. You can find some sample book chapters in this collection. Link to publication.
7 — Reader’s Hope
This publication serves absolute beginners. You may submit raw content to this new pub. We don’t edit content submitted to Readers Hope. But, our editors provide valuable and helpful guidance via private notes or in our Slack workspace to members. Here is a story introducing the purpose of Readers Hope. Here is the Vision and Mission of “Readers Hope”. Link to publication
8 — ILLUMINATION Gaming
This new publication aims to bring gamers to one place, inspire them, and create collaboration among gamers. Invitation: Join ILLUMINATION Gaming Publication as a Writer: Your gaming stories have a new home on Medium now. Link to publication
9 — ILLUMINATION Videos and Podcasts
Our new publication is introduced in this article. We changed the name as previously it was only for YouTubers, but we now allow podcasts. You can submit your YouTube videos or podcasts in long or short-form stories. Link to publication
10 — ILLUMINATION Blog and Euphoria
We keep all publications-related stories in separate publications called ILLUMINATION’s Blog. This publication can be helpful for new writers to find guiding articles. This publication is not for writers. It is for editorial purposes. Link to publication
Dr Mehmet Yildiz hosts his personal stories in his publication called Euphoria. If you enjoy health and fitness stories, you may check his publication. Link to publication.
Support of Publications by Writers
Dr. Yildiz helped several writers to create their publications and gain visibility. Publication owners made significant progress in getting loyal readers. Here is a guiding story: Compelling Benefits of Personal Publications on Medium.
ILLUMINATION collected the publications of our contributors in a post titled: Why Writers Need Personal Publications: Invitation to introduce your own publication to the audience of Illumination Integrated Publications.
Diversify Content on Vocal Media, Simily, or NewsBreak
Diversifying content might bring more readers and income to freelance writers. We introduce three options in this post. We keep our writers updated with new writing challenges introduced by Vocal Media. If you are not a writer with Vocal Media yet, you can join at the link in this article.
In addition, repurposing your Medium articles on Vocal may bring additional income to freelance writers. Aiden introduced Vocal recently in a story titled I Finally Joined Vocal+ and Reaped Immediate Benefits.
We also introduced another writing platform, Simily. What Is Simily and How Can Writers Benefit from This New Writing Platform?
Some of our new writers also contribute to NewsBreak. Our editors informed us that this platform has strict rules and doesn’t allow self-publishing like Medium. If you want to join NewsBreak, you can access the application form via this referral link.
All writers can create referral links on NewsBreak and Vocal, similar to Medium as affiliate links. You can add them to the end of your stories to bring new readers to these platforms with your referral links.
Topic Collections of Stories
We create collections selecting exciting stories from many writers who write on popular topics. Here are some examples compiled by our chief editor.
The Power of Freelancing for Writers
Business Collection: A Mini MBA Bundle
Do You Want to Become an Entrepreneur?
The World Needs Passionate & Compassionate Leaders
Education and Learning From Many Aspects
Featured Stories About “Writing” From The Top Writers of SYNERGY
NFT Story Collection on ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
How Storytellers Articulate Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain
Top Stories About Artificial Intelligence
Top AI Stories on Technology Hits
Collection of Featured Stories
Stories on ILLUMINATION-Curated — All Volumes
Technology, Business, Leadership, & Self-Improvement Stories
Reading List #3 — Technology Hits
Top 100 Trending Stories: at ILLUMINATION-Curated
Sample Book Chapters: Discover 70+ published authors on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters
Invitation to Potential Writers and Members
To join our vibrant publications, please send a request via this link. We will help you gain visibility and succeed as a writer on Medium. Please mention the publication name with your Medium account ID in the request.
If you are new to Medium, you can join via this link. Readers can read thousands of stories, and writers can monetize self-published content.
You can subscribe to our editorial team to receive newsletters and curated lists. Here is the link https://medium.com/subscribe/@illumination
Thank you for your support and contributions. We look forward to reading, publishing, and promoting your stories.
Writers can directly contact Dr. Yildiz and other editors on the ILLUMINATION Slack workspace when they need help or if their stories get delayed for more than 48 hours.
To join our vibrant publications, please send a request via this link.
ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications include:
ILLUMINATION
ILLUMINATION-Curated
ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR
ILLUMINATION Book Chapters
Technology Hits
SYNERGY
Readers Hope
Illumination on YouTube
Illumination Gaming
ILLUMINATION’s Blog
EUPHORIA by Dr Mehmet Yildiz
Thank you for sharing such a detailed round up - I had no idea you'd branched out into so many different publications now. Checking out Illumination Technology now!