How I Reached 150 Followers Without Any Writing Experience
5 Lessons For Beginners
I published my first story on Medium on September 5, 2023. It’s been just over two months and at the time of writing this I have 151 followers. Nothing to brag about. But, it feels good.
It is good to know that there are people who are ready to read my thoughts and even appreciate them. There are people who spend a few minutes of their lives reading content written by me.
I am an average writer, at best. I have neither taken any special writing classes nor have I been writing on Medium for years, or any other platform for that matter.
Still, two months in, this average writer has a triple-digit following. I am sure if you’re new, you would love some honest guidance from someone who has been in your place and is moving forward.
Here are 5 tips for new writers on Medium:
Read More
The key to good writing is reading. You need to embrace others’ content for your content to be embraced.
You don’t need to read everything available on Medium. You can read stories on the topics that attract you.
But you need to read more. Read from popular authors. They are surely doing something right that you’re probably missing.
When you read more, you start recognizing patterns of stories that attract you. These patterns gradually seep into your writing style.
Practice Your Headlines
The title of your story is the first thing a user can see.
No matter how good the content might be inside, if the title is not good enough, the reader won’t click on it. If they don’t click on it, they don’t read it. Simple as that.
There are a few different ways to get better at writing headlines:
- Don’t write the headline first: If you’re planning to write a story about something, you have that “something” on your mind. Write that something’s story first and then think about the best headline.
- Write 10 headlines: You have a headline? Cool. Write the first one that pops in your head. Now, let your imagination fly. Think of 9 more. Pick the best one, once you’re done with your story.
I use a hybrid method where I write a headline, then start writing my story, and then keep changing the headline as per the tone of my story.
After I finish, I read the entire thing again and then finalize the headline.
Be Your Best Critic
Did you finish writing a story?
First thing, run a spellcheck with Grammarly or even good old Microsoft Word.
Now, get back and read your own story thoroughly.
Did you find that line? Is it uneasy on your eye? Rewrite.
Accept the fact that no one gets it right in the first attempt. If you want to serve some well written content, you need to like your own dish first.
Read and rewrite multiple times until you’re satisfied with the quality of the value that you are going to be presenting in front of your readers.
On the flip side, don’t get caught in a cycle of endless rewrites. You need to stop at a point when your writing is good enough to be published and just go for it.
Be a good critic. Not a destructive one.
Honesty is The Best Policy
The key to writing stories that resonate with others is to share what you care about. You need to be true to yourself for your writing to reflect the same.
People appreciate you for standing up to share your vulnerabilities. It’s not easy to put real emotions into words. It can be challenging and scary.
So, when you pull it off, people know it and appreciate it.
This is the reason no matter how good AI gets at imitating human beings. It would still be an imitation. The human soul is beyond replication.
Bring your humanity into your writing.
Express Gratitude
I am lucky. So are you.
We’ve had enough resources to have an education, we have an internet connection and we possess an electronic device on which we can read or write.
719 million people — 9.2% of the world’s population — are living on less than $2.15 a day.
We are incredibly lucky.
Why don’t we take this opportunity to be kind and grateful?
If you connect with something on this platform, take a moment to appreciate the writer’s efforts.
Kindness echoes.
Once you let out the appreciation that originates from within you, you will soon be on the receiving end too.
Engaging with other writers’ stories will eventually bring engagement to your stories too.
These were the 5 lessons I’ve learnt over the last two months that have helped me become a better writer. What is something that you’ve learned by writing on Medium?
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