How to Make Your Life as a Medium Editor a Little Easier
Unsuitable content, poorly credited pics & copyright issues
Editors on Medium spend a long time publishing submissions and an even longer time messaging writers about little adjustments that need to be made before the article can hit the feed of the publication. This is where the saying “work smarter, not harder” comes in, making the process of editing a little easier. How?
Through a set of standard messages.
It took me quite some while to figure out the fact that writers tend to follow similar patterns when it comes to submitting content. New contributors rarely thoroughly read the guidelines and, 9 out of 10 will forget about at least one of the following aspects:
Photo credits
Subtitle
Relevance of topic
Like plenty of other editors, I got fed up having to message the same words, over and over again and thus created a sheet with standard PMs, ready to be sent to whomever needs them.
For example, when it comes to articles which contain content that is not on point with the themes of the publication, my standard message sounds something along these lines:
“Hi, thanks for submitting this piece. It doesnt fit with the themes of KTHT, so I will have to pass on it. If you're unsure about what we do and don't accept, please review our guidelines. Thanks for understanding, looking forward to reading more of your work.”
Another example is when a writer poorly credits an image or uses one that they don’t have the legal right to use. My standard PM to that is:
“Hi, please credit both the website where you downloaded the pic from and the photographer's name. Thank you!” or “Hi, due to strict copyright rules, please replace the pic with an image provided by free stock websites such as Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels, etc., an image of your own or an image you can prove you own the license for. Thank you!”
The same thing can be done with the subtitle, certain grammar/spelling mistakes, etc. Sometimes we have to be specific as to what needs changing, in which case we would adjust the standard message accordingly.
Trust me, this technique saves a lot of time! A lot more than you realize, especially in the early days of editing. It was a game changer for me and I am sure that if you give it a try, you will highly benefit from it as well, as you’ll be able to shift your focus from messaging people all day long to publishing all those high quality articles your contributors wish to share with the world.
Thank you for your time!