How to Be a Writer on Medium

Writers of every class and caliber have the opportunity to share their work with the world through Medium, an online publishing platform anyone can use. If you’re interested in promoting your work, expanding your network and making your mark — you’ve found the right site.

With engagement metrics that are simple to grasp for non-analysts, streamlined interfacing with social media platforms like Facebook and popularity among top-tier publishers, Medium is the choice for authors of all varieties of content, both short and long. Learning how to be a writer on the site is a simple process.

The only obstacle between you and success is a basic understanding of how Medium is structured to work. By following the steps detailed in this article, you’ll learn how to move your piece from concept to execution. If you’re ready to begin, then let’s jump right in!

Step One: Create an Account

Typical of almost every site you want to contribute to, participation requires an account. To publish on Medium, users only need to link their Facebook, Twitter, Google or email to gain access. You’ll find the “Get started” button located at the top right corner of the homepage.

I recommend you link a social media account if you want to keep your existing audience — otherwise, you’ll have no followers to start. From there, you can customize your account in the settings by adding or changing your picture and bio, reconfiguring email preferences and so on until satisfied.

As you develop your profile, you’ll have the option to follow different people, tags and publications. Much like Tumblr’s dashboard or a standard Twitter or Instagram feed, the content you see comes from other accounts who share items of interest. With the number of creators on Medium, your choices are nearly limitless.

Step Two: Writing Content

Now that you’ve set up an account and made it your own, you can interact with the broader community. Medium has an integrated editor that allows users to outline and compose their content within the site itself. Simply click the “Write here” button and you’ll transition to the editor.

With all the essential functions of an editing program — such as hyperlinks and highlighting — you’ll have no trouble mastering the art of a perfectly formatted piece.

From features like bold typeface to drop caps, you’ll find everything you’re looking for. Just don’t let the bells and whistles distract you from the task at hand!

As you’re working through your content, you can add different media like images and videos with different size options. After you’ve placed the finishing touches on your final draft, publishing is the easiest part. In the next step, I’ll show you how to turn your work in progress into a finished product.

Step Three: Publishing

When you feel like your work is prepared for public consumption, look towards the top navigation bar where you’ll find two buttons — “Share” and “Publish.” Though they seem similar, these separate links have very different functions, so make sure you don’t mistake one for the other.

Clicking the “Share” button generates a URL to the draft of your piece, which can copy and paste into several different contexts. Those without a Medium account can still view your draft and offer comments and constructive criticism which will aid you in editing before you move on to official publication.

Choosing the “Publish” option leads you to a menu where you can select tags relevant to your topic. Tags will dictate how your work is categorized and where other users can see it.

Once you’ve decided on your tags, press “Publish” and voila — you’re now a contributing member of the Medium community!

My Success Story

Many budding writers like yourself have found incredible success on Medium. Few other platforms I know allow for the same flexibility or degree of freedom. I use its compatibility with WordPress to sync posts and reach a wider audience, producing articles on everything from ways to improve your charisma to the power of naming tasks and its effect on productivity.

In addition, Medium makes it easy for me to submit work to multiple publications at the same time, and its backlog serves the secondary purpose of a portfolio that I can use to pitch to other publishers. For creators who want attention, Medium is the premium choice.