This Article Won’t Be Curated

But I’m crossing my fingers for the future.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

I read an article somewhere on Medium that one of the surest ways to not be curated is to write about curation or Medium or both. So I present this article as a sacrificial lamb of sorts.

I recently published an article that mentions curation bias. I tried to be respectful. I don’t claim that those who are curated don’t deserve to be, but it is frustrating to hear that some have over half their articles curated and so many do not even get read.

Curators are busy. Thirty-five people reading thousands of pieces and trying to pick what is good for the site has got to be a hard and often thankless job. I get that. I really do.

My Part

Has my content been the shining beacon of informative literature at every go? I admit, not necessarily, but I have written some good pieces. A couple of them have led me to dare to hope, although I try not to.

I don’t tend to win lotteries. At this point that seems to be what curation is for me. As much as I try to “curate myself”, I am still not drawing in the readers curation can potentially bring. I try to write well. I format properly, using subtitles and highlighted or bold text sporadically throughout. I use images I have a right to use. I use Grammarly as I write to check grammar and lately I have been double-checking in the Hemingway app.

Still, nothing. High volume. No time to read.

What Else Can I Do?

So I think, “What else can I do?” Keep writing and hoping? Tweeting and schmoozing on Social Media? Curated or not all that is important.

I wrote the article you are reading now relatively quickly compared to other stuff in my drafts folder. I have one piece that is shaping up nicely. I am near halfway done, and it is 1200 words so far. It is about when I needed to use internet research in order to receive quality medical care.

I am proud of the piece and will finish it in the next couple of days, but I anticipate a bittersweet experience. I predict that a fully curatable article will not be glanced at, and several hours of work will yield me all of 42 cents lifetime earnings. It makes me sad.

Trying to Play to Trends

Since I have read a couple “watch out for Dr. Google” articles lately. I figured there might be enough interest to bring a few views. Maybe I’ll get a little more after all.

In my next round of serious articles, I have tried to play to trends a bit more. There is an intro in my drafts folder about how we need to be careful when connecting gun violence and mental illness. Another one I want to do is showcasing the power of the disabled population to inspire, both as ordinary people and celebrities.

Unfortunately, gun violence and mental illness are always trending.

Disabilities should have a slight uptick on trends since Ali Stroker just became the first wheelchair-bound woman to win a Tony award.

The Medium Learning Curve

The first things I published on Medium were not my best, but after not writing in my own name it was what I had in me at the time. I hope that less than perfect work out of the gate has not disqualified me for curation for the long haul. But there is more to the site than curation. I’ll be here regardless.