Posts like yours are why I’m on Medium. Thank you for sharing your important story and perspective. Becoming a cancer survivor and an expectant father in a six-month stretch has made me recognize the beauty and precious, fleeting nature of life. It also taught me to trust in the divine reasoning behind painful experiences, even if we can only see the…
Matt Paolelli
Writer | content creator | social media enthusiast | cancer survivor | Northwestern alum | die-hard Cubs fan | Medill adjunct | among other things
Latest
Matt PaolelliMar 105 min read
Matt PaolelliFeb 102 min read
Matt PaolelliFeb 71 min read
A Cynic’s Guide to Writing the Perfect Medium Post
Henry Wismayer
1.2K90
This. THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES THIS! The plethora of drivel you’re describing is exactly what makes Medium so exhausting to use. I’d rather get my weekly blasts of actually insightful or compelling #longreads from my weekly Instapaper roundup or similar newsletters than have to spend time panning for gold in the murky Medium waters. It’s too bad though…
Matt PaolelliFeb 61 min read
Let’s Discuss Our Followers
Amanda Dickson
103
I’m not convinced that my stuff actually shows up in the feeds of my followers. It’s seems crazy to me that I would get 6 reads on a story in which I announce that my wife is pregnant or 8 reads on a story asking for parenting advice. If these stories actually appeared in the feeds of my 300+ followers, I would think at least 10 percent would have…
Matt PaolelliFeb 37 min read
Congratulations Matt!
Joshua Van Den Berg
11
Thanks for the response! I reposted this to my Medium account because I thought that whole “we’re a community of writers and thinkers” aspect that I keep hearing this site say about itself would elicit some good responses…but I got crickets from my followers and the post only has about 8 views total. Anyway, I appreciate your feedback and your advice, and now I shall go read your letter to your son!
Matt PaolelliJan 274 min read
Half of 18 is 6
joe larson
394
Thanks for this thoughtful post, Joe. My wife is 12 weeks along in her pregnancy, so parenthood is still a barely comprehensible reality to us. Everyone is telling us how much our lives will change when the baby arrives in August, and it’s good to read about your experience and remember to enjoy the ride, even if it’s overwhelming at times. Sounds like you are a fantastic parent!
Don’t obsess over your audience. Don’t try to write what you think other people will want to read. Write about what you are excited about, because the best writing tends to reveal a ...
Write in 2016
Julie Zhuo
1.2K78
This is great advice, but it’s easy to lose site of that when you put your writing on Medium and become obsessed with the pursuit of green hearts. Thanks for this post.
Matt PaolelliJan 84 min read
Matt PaolelliJan 34 min read
Matt PaolelliDec 4, 20157 min read
Matt PaolelliDec 3, 20152 min read
If You’re Trying to “Save Print”, You’re Missing the Point.
Gary Vaynerchuk
53284
I’m reading this moments after giving the final lecture of my introductory reporting class for freshmen at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. My students — who are on the youngest tail end of the millennial scale — defied the conventional wisdom on millennials tonight when many of them talked about their career ambitions of writing longer…
Matt PaolelliNov 30, 20151 min read
What I’ve learned in 11 years working at the Chicago Tribune
Kevin Pang
29015
Since I first started following you on Twitter years ago, I have chuckled at your bio (“award eligible”) and may or may not have stolen that joke outright a few times. I’ve also admired your writing and various other groundbreaking projects at the Trib. Best of luck with whatever comes next. I’m definitely sharing this post with my wet-behind-the-ears freshmen journalism students at Medill. Thanks!