Writing for a Big Publication May Not Be Right for You
Consider smaller pubs instead.
We writers have a common goal in mind: gaining more readership. And how do we achieve that? By publishing in publications with big following. When I say big publications, I mean those with 100k followers and above.
Submitting our drafts to huge following publications and getting them published, attracting readers to click and view those articles resulting in huge bucks coming our way. That’s the expectation, not reality.
I hate to break this to you, but the reality is far from what you expect. Submitting to those significant publications is an excellent strategy to gain more exposure to your stories and build your presence online. However, it doesn’t guarantee anything. There is a difference between having a huge following and active following.
Huge vs Active following
Having 100k followers does not necessarily mean having 100k active followers. There are plenty of readers who subscribe to publications then forget all about it. They are most likely to be readers who engage in online reading once or twice a month. In other words, they are occasional readers. Then, there’s another type of readers who actively engage with the publications they follow. They read stories published by the publications as frequent as multiple times a day. These readers often have hundreds of stories stored in their reading list, waiting to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee during breakfast. Active readers are more likely to notice you than the readers who read monthly.
The same applies to publications- active or dead. There are publications with over 100k publications, but their last published story was two years ago. You don’t want to submit to such publications. Chances are, your stories won’t get published at all.
You drown in the sea of stories in large publications
With many writers writing for the same publications, and multiple stories published throughout the day, your story is most likely to be at the bottom of the list. It’s challenging for new writers to gain exposure.
I experience this as a writer for ILLUMINATION. My story got lost in the sea of other stories, and it’s almost impossible to find my work. ILLUMINATION has come up with a solution to help writers gain more exposure by curating stories internally. Sure, readers can find my stories more easily now. However, there are at least 20 stories in one article. I don’t know where my story would rank in the article. If I’m lucky enough, my story would be the top few. But most of the time, my stories rank the bottom few.
Besides, I’m also fighting with well-known writers for attention. Some readers only read stories from their favourite writers; new writers don’t stand a chance. That’s the cruel reality.
Start your own publication
Fortunately, there’s a better way for new writers to expose their stories to readers; starting your own publication. Let me warn you, though, starting a new publication is tough. You build everything from scratch. Your publication is all about you; that’s all that matters. You don’t have to worry anymore about fighting for the reader’s attention. Your job is to publish articles, and readers will find their way you.
Sometimes, you may be better off starting small and publishing in smaller publications to build your presence slowly. Do consider the smaller publications, or do self-publishing in your publication.
Thanks for reading!
