As you're about to see, when it comes to publishing writers' work, we try not to create too many unnecessary barriers or enforce too many obscure rules.
However, we do request that every story we feature meet the following standards and criteria. By doing so, your work will have the best chance for success on The Ascent and on Medium.
In fact, many of the items below reflect Medium's own curation guidelines, so get familiar.
Start by asking yourself: what's in it for them? We see a lot of stories rooted purely in opinion, speculation, or emotion, but that don’t necessarily provide real value; and without value, you're more or less just risking wasting the audience's time.
What is the goal of this particular piece? Is the story meant to educate, inspire, or entertain? What are the actionable takeaways for the audience you have in mind? Are you communicating what you know? Try and ask yourself these questions before pressing that submit button.
The Ascent is "a community of storytellers," meaning our content focuses on the life lessons, first-hand accounts, and personal experiences of our writers. Emphasis on the word personal.
In our opinion, there are way too many writers out there who like to talk at or down to others, possibly without even realizing it to a degree. They offer up unsolicited advice or unfounded information on how to obtain success without ever validating who they are through experience.
Everyone is on a journey of some kind, whether it's chasing success, experiencing failure, seeking fulfillment, or undergoing change. Those stories help people because they're honest, truthful, and personal, which is why and how they matter.
Here are some popular stories that successfully achieved both of these things: