Our Curators Were Not Able to Review This Story for Distribution in Topics Due to High Volume
This story will still be shared with followers
Time and time again, I have received this reason as an attempt to ease the blow of yet another failure. But the truth is, this is worse than actually having a story reviewed and turned down because my content is horrible.
I would prefer I was told my writing has no hope of being distributed than to have my articles turned down instantly by default.
I do not doubt that Medium flags profiles. This leaves every article submitted from that profile with no chance of being distributed farther than the organic reach of their followers.
I’m sure that my lack of talent and not my fearless approach to touchy subjects is the reason that the powers that be have decided to turn down every article I publish almost immediately, stating “Our Curators Were Not Able To Review This Story For Distribution In Topics Due To High Volume.”
I’m sure that’s precisely why there are writers that have NEVER seen this as a reason for the continued dismissal of their efforts. I have been investigating this “mystery” for quite some time. And the final step of the investigation was completed recently.
The first step was to set up multiple accounts. I used these as ‘secondary publishing stations.’
Next, I planned the perfect collection of stories to be posted. All of these articles were written covering subjects that were highly ‘contagious.’ I didn’t write these over the usual, mindless jabber I sometimes prefer to write.
I am aware that Medium is a business, and that they are only going to give a boost to stories that are going to help them gain new readers and add excitement to the platform. I have an extensive background in content marketing. I am very aware of the ‘one hand washes the other’ aspect of platforms of this type.
When I first submitted these articles from this account, I got the exact response I was expecting. Almost immediately, denial was handed to me in the form of, ‘ Bla Fucking Bla. We have a massive line at the counter, sir. So instead of waiting in line for your burger like everyone else. We would prefer you to leave and eat at home because we don’t like the way your hair looks’. AKA― High Volume Nonsense.
Upon receiving this expected response, I deleted the stories and immediately published them, one by one, spread across my fake accounts. And wouldn’t you know it? Many were accepted. Well, my hand doesn’t like to wash hands that don’t wash back. So, I deleted them all. I was in no way going to aid in attracting people to this platform. Paycheck be damned.
My stories are turned down immediately no matter the contents. It doesn’t matter if my writing may have improved or if I was writing what I felt needed to be written with no concern of my stories being distributed or not. No matter what the case, I have been given a name tag that reads, “NOT FUCKING WORTHY…. And never will be.”
If this platform does not give writers a chance to improve, to change, to develop, or to grow, then WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE DOING HERE?
I’ll tell you what we are doing here. We are making profits for Medium. If there wasn’t a hope of being published, then a huge chunk of people writing on Medium would not be here. And with their absence comes the absence of a ton of monthly fees.
True, the terms don’t require you to pay a monthly fee to get distributed or to earn a little scratch from your followers, but over 90% of the people hoping to be distributed on Medium and failing are still paying the monthly fee.
The idea behind Medium allowed everyone to have a voice. And distribution was something that merely added some toppings to the dessert.
If you feel I should fail, then tell me why. If you aren’t even going to give me a chance to improve based solely on past experience, then don’t give me lame ass excuses like, “High Volume.”
Brushing someone off without allowing a chance for their articles to be read is like telling a kid with special needs that it is too hot outside while he is waiting for his turn to run the bases and sending him inside instead of allowing him to strike out on his own.
But you know what? He IS standing in line. He knows there is a possibility that he might miss the pitches. BUT HE IS THERE BECAUSE HE WANTS TO GIVE IT A SHOT.
If he strikes out, he still knows he put out the effort. By dismissing him, you are only telling him he’s not good enough to even try. You are saying that he is so worthless that you don’t have the time to waste on watching his failure.
Emails to Medium and their responses
To Medium
“I may be submitting this to the incorrect department, or perhaps, it will be automatically sorted like so many other things appear to be.
I am writing regarding the curation “process.” Based on my experience, the experience of many others, and several tests I have run involving having stories selected to be distributed, I can tell that there is some kind of tagging system that determines which writers get an opportunity to have stories reviewed and which accounts have their work automatically filtered out and denied.
I have submitted articles on a vast array of topics, points of view, and news (both trending and not), most any heartfelt, popular, unpopular, fringe, or any other type of subject matter you can think of, and they were all denied before they could be read.
However, many were accepted when published under another account. That means that it must be something else that is the deciding factor when it comes to the failure of stories published from this account. I have dug through the guidelines, and I have made sure that I have submitted stories that follow, and even some that do not follow, the guidelines. The only thing I can find that this account doesn’t comply with is the mention of a clear profile picture that shows my face.
Well, I write under a pseudonym. Actually, I write under many pseudonyms on and for many different platforms and in many different genres. But for serious reasons that I cannot mention, I cannot and will not post a picture of myself on my profile. Circumstances prohibit me from allowing my image to be seen by just any random person who stumbles across my profile.
As for the curation process, I know that a type of grading or ranking system has been put in place to usher specific people to the front or to allow them to skip the entire process altogether. Some writers have never seen the messages that I have been given as the reason all of my stories were turned down. I have submitted stories on countless occasions that were denied immediately. The reason: “Our Curators Were Not Able to Review This Story for Distribution in Topics Due to High Volume.”
So, since a lot of people are trying, others don’t get a chance?
So, what exactly decides that some people get to stand in line while others are sent to the parking lot to wait in the car until the concert is over? — especially since the same story gets the high volume excuse on this profile and then gets approved within an hour on a different one.
I am, by no means, saying that my writing deserves to be distributed by Medium to readers everywhere. What I am saying is there shouldn’t be something that automatically denies articles based on who submits them.
So, is the profile picture the issue here?
It would be great to know why my work is being denied BEFORE ANYONE HAS EVEN HAD A CHANCE TO READ THE TITLE.”
From Medium
“Hi David,
Thanks for writing in.
Posts submitted to curation reviewed by human curators.
Please review our Curation Guidelines and Distribution FAQ.
If the answer to your question isn’t there, please reply to this email, and we’ll help you further.”
To Medium
“That didn’t answer anything.
I have read everything from those links a million times. It has nothing to do with any of that. I submit stories, and they are denied instantly, but when I submit the exact story on a different account, it gets accepted, why?
There’s no way that humans can read all the stories submitted to Medium. There are thousands of times more minutes worth of writing submitted every month than there are minutes to read them. So, I know that it’s not all being read.
It just makes sense that there would be something that scans every submission to ensure proper formatting before it is passed on to a human for reading. My articles are being flagged, and I would like to know why. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY ARTICLES ARE BEING DENIED, and it is not writing errors that are causing this. As I said before, the stories that are denied from my account are accepted from other accounts.”
From Medium
“David,
Our curation uses the same guidelines. I am sorry. I don’t have any other information to provide.”
The Conclusion
During the time I have spent operating several accounts, I have come across more and more people that seem to be running into the same issue that I have encountered. So many in fact that it convinced me that distribution on Medium is something that we should be looking at differently.
It is not a way to reward the effort of writers as Medium claims. Instead, distribution is actually a tool — a product. Medium uses it to attract people to lend their content to Medium, which Medium uses to attract readers and other writers with hopes of being distributed. By submitting your work to be reviewed for distribution, you are preventing people who don’t pay Medium’s monthly fee from reading it. So, you are in turn, earning money for Medium, whether Medium decides to distribute your work or not. And, that’s why I have chosen to make most of my stories available to non-members.
Now, of course, not all articles submitted should be distributed, but more and more people are starting to notice that it is the same people that are distributed on a regular basis, and newer writers are given less and less of a chance to be reviewed. And I am not saying that everyone should have something distributed. That’s like getting a participation medal. But when the author is becoming the deciding factor instead of the content, it shows that Medium is losing the one thing that was the reason so many people chose to write on Medium in the first place — An Equal Shot.
And Medium is becoming something that many people would rather have no part of — A Social Media Platform and A Popularity Contest.
