Welcome to Pomqa!
Purpose, guidelines, channels, and more…
(See the end of this post for the sign-up form.)
Writing is largely a solitary process, but at Pomqa we’ve built an environment in which we can all share in this challenging, creative process. Taking advantage of the Slack platform, we all, as “People of Medium” (POM), work together to answer questions like:
- How can writers, editors and publishers more easily connect and communicate?
- How can we improve pre-production collaboration?
- How do we recruit, pitch, research, or promote the pieces we write?
- Are there creative ways in which we can “monetize” our efforts?
- and plenty of other burning questions and witty answers…
Take a look at the information and guidelines below, and then come back to Pomqa and dive in!
Channels
We’ve experimented with various channel configurations in an effort to maximize the value of this space for a wide range of needs and personalities. Our current channel structure is as follows:
#pomqa: Pomqa announcements, greeting new members, and having occasional open discussions about major issues of general interest.
#random: Random discussion and just hanging out.
#boost: A place for people to discuss anything and everything to boost your writing or the writing of others, including workshopping, writing opportunities, and (self-)promotion of stories you’ve enjoyed.
#medium: Talk about all things Medium, the service.
Our general philosophy is that too much channel structure stifles conversation and makes it harder to get to know everyone. Because Slack now does conversation “threading”, it’s a lot easier to handle multiple conversations in a single channel. Got two conversations going at the same time? Just branch one off into a thread. It’s super easy and does away with the need for lots of different channels for different topics.
We also encourage you to create private channels for working on group projects. Got a new publication with multiple editors? Use a private channel at POMQA while things are small and don’t require your own dedicated Slack environment.
For more great tips, check out the following post by Todd Hannula:
Pomqa Guidelines
- We’re an inclusive space. This means we actively support diversity of identities and ideas.
- We succeed together. Individuals succeed when we help others to also succeed. Let’s work hard, contribute, and support each other.
- Treat each other well. Empathize with one another and understand each other’s needs. Be open to new perspectives.
- Be better today than yesterday. This is a continuous learning environment. Be open to giving and taking suggestions.
Notes:
- This is an unofficial Slack channel and is not sponsored or regulated by Medium in any way.
- Pomqa reserves the right to monitor and maintain membership to ensure that a strong writing environment continues to thrive.
- Pomqa seeks to address writing challenges with a forum that assists writers, editors and publishers in achieving their goals.
Sign up for POMQA here:
Requests are processed manually, so please be patient. We do try to respond to membership requests within a few days. Thanks, and see you soon!
