Editor’s Note from Paper Poetry
in regards to a latest update
As a publication owner and an editor of Paper Poetry, it is my responsibility to break out the news, which I heard yesterday from one of our previous writers. One publication in Medium has decided to include Paper Poetry writers’ into their block list (a recent addition to their block list). It was surprising that Paper Poetry is on the list, and of course, I wanted to know the reasons. If there is a real fault from our end, it is our responsibility to rectify it.
So, I reached out to the editor to know more details and background behind this step. My ask was simple: to understand the reasons in a humble way. And the editor replied that I know what the reasons are and where I’ve learned it. He then included a link to his reply, which elaborated on how different publications create the ‘cult culture’ and ‘cult group,’ who follow each other to promote their contents.
I have gone through the link to check the accusations he mentions to block a publication, and after reading out that content, I’m sure that none of those claims are applicable for our publication.
So, to elaborate, I’m mentioning the following, which will point out precisely what he is referring to and what are our standpoints in that regard:
# of contents I publish under Paper Poetry
As a publication owner and editor, I could have published every day with different perspectives on the publication, which I didn’t. For the prompts challenges, I publish one poetry for each period, and even the prompt challenges are now under a tab to review. So, gaining more views by posting the same content or frequent content is not applicable in this case.
Followership
As an editor or writer, I have not written a single line to encourage followership or to like each other content. I often mentioned that we are proud to have your support and contributions, but that doesn’t mean that we are encouraged to build a community that will only be liking and clapping each other’s content!
Writers
Whenever any individual expressed their interest in Paper Poetry, I always checked their previous content on Medium and then reached out in that regard.
Single-handedly managed publication
As I’ve mentioned in two of my posts, initially, I have managed our publication as a single editor, like most of the publications in Medium. As a non-native English speaker, it was challenging for me, but I wanted to take the challenge. When Paper Poetry was gradually growing, I required the capable support of an additional editor, where Melissa Bee joined in. I believe she is doing excellent work, supporting and contributing to our publication in that regard.
My contents in other publications
If I’m writing for the blocked-publications, does that give the excuse to block my publication? As a writer, I can write in any place, but to put a red-mark on a publication based on that will be an injustice.
Link spamming
As you know, our newsletters come out every 15 days, containing the last 15 days’ contents, with other announcements. If the content links by our writers mentioned in the newsletter are considered spam, then most of the newsletters are doing that. According to Medium’s publishing guideline, incorporating content links in a newsletter is permitted.
Stories I have published under Paper Poetry or any other publication didn’t include more than two links of my contents. For any Paper Poetry related post, there were no personal links included.
Scheme
Ponzi scheme requires many followers to follow and support it. We have started in August 2020 and currently with 260+ followers and supporters. Compared to the other mentioned publications that he has blocked, we are still a newbie in Medium. Plus, we do not publish hundreds and thousands of content every day. As editors, we check each story for quality checks and corrections. I’m pretty sure that our contributors can vouch that sometimes we go the extra mile to indicate what’s mentioned in the Grammarly and Hemingway app so that they can consider those edit options for their contents.
Sections on the home-page
The home page contains ‘trending,’ followed by ‘latest sparks,’ ‘Prompt Contents,’ and lastly’ notes and journals.’ We announce our prompt champion’s name in our newsletter and highlight their content on the first or 2nd section for a couple of days.
Trending contents are auto-selected by Medium, based on the statistics embedded; editors’ do not have any hand on that part. When we post new content, it automatically comes to the front of the section. The same goes for prompt words too. For the last part of the home page, we have kept a few notes and journals by several writers, as the number of items is lower than the poetry contents.
Editors’ contents
Finally, apart from the latest editor’s note, none of my contents are at the forefront of the publication’s initial sections. When a newsletter or a prompt announcement comes in, we must inform our readers and writers as the editors. So, we make a separate section with the editors’ notes, and then after 2 or 3 days, we remove the part, as other contents are most important to showcase. So, I’m not sure about the ‘where’ and ‘how’ part of the editors’ content promotion at the forefront of Paper Poetry.
The reason to utter the words is pretty simple: to remain silent against the false accusation makes the accusation stronger.
As a writer and an editor, I will respect your decision whether to stay with us or not. Paper Poetry will not be blocking any writer who is writing in any other publication. We believe that every content is different, and we publish words based on the quality of the content only. We don’t want to judge a writer or reader based on their contribution to other publications. Nor, we have the time to manage the pain to research who is writing for whom.
We all experiment, make mistakes and learn from mistakes, and that’s how most writers develop. If there is any improvement requires on our side, we will incorporate those in our publication to enhance our quality. We have connected with our readers and writers from time-to-time to know their opinions and strengthen Paper Poetry continuously. And, we will keep putting the same effort in the coming days too.
That’s my two cents for the day. Thanks for supporting Paper Poetry.
Best.
