I Published an Article to The Startup on my First Day.
And it got distributed by Medium, but I can assure you I am no expert at writing.
I know, right!
I’ve read so many articles on how to submit to massive publications such as The Startup and closed every single one of them discouraged, thinking I need experience and a track record of writing great stories to get in — none of which I had.
You know what? I’ll start from the beginning.
Why I wrote this story
Before everything, let me tell you how I got inspired to write this piece. I saw an article about how Kaneptune earned $0.73 in his first week on Medium, and just like any curious human, I read through the material and realized that we had the same reason to start writing on Medium.
Shelby Church and her video: Making Money Online Writing for Medium… Is It Worth Your Time?
I used to have a YouTube channel where I reviewed tech products. Although I stopped uploading there, my love for videography never died.
I enjoy making videos and editing pieces of clips together. It was my passion and my quota for the creative field.
I never thought I was a good writer or could come up with exciting things to write about. I still feel the same, except, with a ray of hope that I can write great articles.
But when I watched that video on YouTube, I was really bored and had a lot of time, thanks to the pandemic. So I figured, why not give it a try? If it works, great! I can write good stuff. If it doesn’t, well, that doesn’t change a thing — I’m still me.
But then I needed an idea which I didn’t have, so… back to square one.
NO IDEA = NO BLOG
I was staring at a blank document with a blank mind for so long that my screen decided to nap. And then, I continued staring at my reflection on the blank screen.
I looked down at my keyboard and saw the MacBook written on the laptop. Almost Instantly, an idea flashed!
I had recently watched the WWDC keynote and had some thoughts on how Apple has been handling things recently.
I woke the screen up and started smacking keys. I remembered something I had heard in a video by MKBHD and rewatched it to make sure that it was precisely what I had heard.
Then I drafted a 1,400 word document, did some structuring, and then some proofreading while totally unsure if it would be good enough. After all, what’s the use if no one’s gonna read it.
But I pushed through, copied it onto Medium, and then started adding some pictures to make it look more beautiful. A few minutes and a drop cap later, I was done.
Now there’s no turning back. I have the article completed. I’ve already put in many hours to research and write everything. So I hit publish and ran the heck out of there.
Any progress?
I checked on it the next day, and something wonderful had happened. I got a message from an editor at Mac O'Clock saying they’d love to have my story in their publication. That was incredible, so I submitted it, and they accepted.
Later that evening, I got a mail from Medium saying that my story had been recommended in Technology. I was astounded and kept telling myself that Medium does that to all the new writers.
And I didn’t think it could get any better. Obviously, it did.
A few hours later, I received a message from an editor of The Startup saying that they would love to include my story in their publication.
Damn, I had to make a choice — give up Mac O’ Clock for The Startup or not.
I made the choice. I’m sorry editors of Mac O’ Clock, it wasn’t personal.
I got my article published in The Startup!
Sweet sweet victory. My article was published in The Startup and what seemed like an impossible task felt so effortless.
For someone who wasn’t sure he could write a decent blog, this was game-changing. I had no intention of writing anymore after the first article, but this changed everything. Thank you Ali Mese.
The article didn’t go viral, nor did it make loads of cash. But the fact that it got published in The Startup was enough to convince me to continue and work on my writing.
I’m still pretty average, but at least I’m determined to improve. I’ve gone so far as to start a big project right here on Medium.
Looking back
Now that I assess the situation carefully and piece everything together, I think that the reason my article got published in The Startup was because of two factors
- It was distributed by Medium curators. When articles are distributed by curators, they show up under the tags they were curated for, and people who use those search terms can see your posts. Many popular publications often browse these tags to find new and upcoming articles they can include in their feed. I guess my article was under the right topic at the right time.
- Apple Silicon was the talk of the time. Right after Apple’s WWDC, every blog, news, and video platform was blasted with content about the event, highlights, and speculations based on announcements. Considering my article fits the criteria, I was able to grab the attention of both the curators of Medium and the editors of The Startup.
And maybe, just maybe, my article was also excellent.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Takeaway
If there’s something you want to do right now and you don’t think you’re good enough, DON’T THINK, ACT! You never know when the stars will align and you make it big. My goal was to get it published in The Startup and I succeeded. None of the other numbers mattered.
You don’t need to believe you can do it. You just have to. As long as you’re giving value to the other person you should do alright.
