Ask HN: Where do you write?
60 comments
I recommend a blog with your own URL (WordPress or Ghost). Then you can syndicate to Medium and Twitter with plugins. That way your content stays yours and you remain in control, while also getting the exposure from other platforms.
Does it really work to syndicate content to Medium?
I don't remember the exact number, but the vast majority of my Medium readers (something like 80% IIRC) came from HN, Reddit, Twitter, etc. My most read article had about 170k reads before I removed my content from Medium.
I don't remember the exact number, but the vast majority of my Medium readers (something like 80% IIRC) came from HN, Reddit, Twitter, etc. My most read article had about 170k reads before I removed my content from Medium.
Unless you have a very large following already, you're at the whim of the Medium editors to "elevate" content to the wider readership of the site, via the preexisting topics, or if you're really lucky, to feature your article on the front page.
* Edit: That doesn't mean you shouldn't! :-) However, you might get more readership - if that's what you're interested in - by writing pretty much anywhere, and just sharing it with the right communities.
* Edit: That doesn't mean you shouldn't! :-) However, you might get more readership - if that's what you're interested in - by writing pretty much anywhere, and just sharing it with the right communities.
There are plenty of static site generates that you can have on gitlab for free: gitlab.com/pages
Just clone an example repo and push a commit, it should generate your site.
You can still add a custom domain in gitlab project settings.
I really wonder how it could be easier (fork a repo, push a commit) or cheaper (given that it's free).
Just clone an example repo and push a commit, it should generate your site.
You can still add a custom domain in gitlab project settings.
I really wonder how it could be easier (fork a repo, push a commit) or cheaper (given that it's free).
Serious question: have you considered writing for just yourself?
I've found in this age of online sharing my motivations and enjoyments of things is more pure if I just do it for myself, and maybe share with one or two appreciative people.
In addition, I find that not telling anyone your goals or ambitions is extremely underrated. There's research that shows that if you do that, you get some of the reward for having done something worthwhile without nearly as much of the work, so the actual work becomes harder to do. And personally, I find it's absolutely true. The rest of the world's noise and opinions interferes with my own developmental process.
If I do things for myself and only for myself, it usually goes so much better.
I've found in this age of online sharing my motivations and enjoyments of things is more pure if I just do it for myself, and maybe share with one or two appreciative people.
In addition, I find that not telling anyone your goals or ambitions is extremely underrated. There's research that shows that if you do that, you get some of the reward for having done something worthwhile without nearly as much of the work, so the actual work becomes harder to do. And personally, I find it's absolutely true. The rest of the world's noise and opinions interferes with my own developmental process.
If I do things for myself and only for myself, it usually goes so much better.
> you get some of the reward for having done something worthwhile without nearly as much of the work
I think it's ego satisfaction or something? I personally have started to tell myself "get it done/build it first before you share it". Like buying a domain before the site/app is ready.
I think it's ego satisfaction or something? I personally have started to tell myself "get it done/build it first before you share it". Like buying a domain before the site/app is ready.
The important thing is not where but how. What matters is a platform that doesn't get in your way. You need something that helps you focus on writing while keeping useless distractions (such as colors, formatting or html) away. Medium is good for that and so is the distraction free mode of WordPress. You can always write on Word and copy and paste the text later too. You can even use notepad or wordpad. I generally use metapad for this.
In my personal case I find markdown very useful when I absolutely need some formatting but don't want to waste time with HTML, toolbar buttons or having to remember keyboard shortcuts. The great thing about it is that it doesn't break the flow, I can just keep writing.
For publishing (which I do rarely as I mostly write just for my own amusement) I use Neocities because it's just old school HTML and doesn't get in my way, GitHub pages work for that too. The good thing about those two is that backups are basically hassle free, you always have a local and a remote copy and don't have to worry about having to backup a database or export a blog (as is the case for Medium or WordPress). Since you asked for cons too: static site generators and GitHub commands not only are something else you have to install, learn and keep up-to-date, they also break the flow so only use them once you've finished writing.
So here's my summary: choose whatever platform you feel that doesn't get in the way of your writing.
In my personal case I find markdown very useful when I absolutely need some formatting but don't want to waste time with HTML, toolbar buttons or having to remember keyboard shortcuts. The great thing about it is that it doesn't break the flow, I can just keep writing.
For publishing (which I do rarely as I mostly write just for my own amusement) I use Neocities because it's just old school HTML and doesn't get in my way, GitHub pages work for that too. The good thing about those two is that backups are basically hassle free, you always have a local and a remote copy and don't have to worry about having to backup a database or export a blog (as is the case for Medium or WordPress). Since you asked for cons too: static site generators and GitHub commands not only are something else you have to install, learn and keep up-to-date, they also break the flow so only use them once you've finished writing.
So here's my summary: choose whatever platform you feel that doesn't get in the way of your writing.
I have used svbtle.com for years, and generally like it.
I am all-in on Notion these days, though, and wish I could use it for my blog. I could but I want nicer URLs and to have it be on my domain.
I am all-in on Notion these days, though, and wish I could use it for my blog. I could but I want nicer URLs and to have it be on my domain.
Check this out. Notion as a blog -> https://github.com/ijjk/notion-blog
I've found Duotrope is useful for tracking down science fiction and fantasy outlets if you're looking to place stories in a professional setting.
I've written a bunch of short stories over the years. Some I've trunked after they didn't go anywhere. In a couple of instances, I've published them on my newsletter (andrewliptak.substack.com), and then republished them at Curious Fictions.
I've written a bunch of short stories over the years. Some I've trunked after they didn't go anywhere. In a couple of instances, I've published them on my newsletter (andrewliptak.substack.com), and then republished them at Curious Fictions.
It depends on how pro you want to get. If you have the means, I suggest getting both a story editor and a proof reader and ask them to give brutal feedback. The reality is that most stories that are written are low quality and thus don't get the audience that the writer would desire. Much like programming, it takes a while to get your stuff where you want it to be.
I just do a bunch of markdown files in a private github repo. There are a lot of great markdown editors to make the writing experience pleasant (I use typora https://typora.io/), plus text analysis is easy given it is just plain text file.
What do you mean by text analysis?
I self-host a couple of blogs using Wordpress. For over eleven years, I've posted a photo every day at https://www.75centralphotography.com/, but that's not really writing. For writing, I've just recently spun up http://www.robotsprocket.com/ to share ephemera, code and other things I've found interesting. Having played around with Medium, Squarespace and Wix, I find WP to be superior in its flexibility and the fact that I'm ensured that I own the content.
I wrote a blog post about that: https://letterstoanewdeveloper.com/2019/10/14/how-to-start-b...
But the short answer is: wherever is easiest. I find setting up a wordpress.com blog (free) easiest, but medium or dev.to are good as well.
Don't let your desire to find the perfect platform inhibit your writing. The hard part about writing is the writing, not the platform. As a developer, I find it easy to get tangled up in tech choices, package upgrades and deployment pipelines, which lets me avoid or defer actually writing.
But the short answer is: wherever is easiest. I find setting up a wordpress.com blog (free) easiest, but medium or dev.to are good as well.
Don't let your desire to find the perfect platform inhibit your writing. The hard part about writing is the writing, not the platform. As a developer, I find it easy to get tangled up in tech choices, package upgrades and deployment pipelines, which lets me avoid or defer actually writing.
> Don't let your desire to find the perfect platform inhibit your writing. The hard part about writing is the writing, not the platform.
This is why the vast majority of my writing is on paper, never to be published. The act of writing helps me order my thoughts, and that’s much easier to do if I can be confident they’re only for me.
This is why the vast majority of my writing is on paper, never to be published. The act of writing helps me order my thoughts, and that’s much easier to do if I can be confident they’re only for me.
100% agree that writing clarifies my thoughts.
I will say there's sometimes additional clarification that occurs if I'm going to publish something (internally or to the world). I find that makes me aim for that extra bit of polish or certitude.
I will say there's sometimes additional clarification that occurs if I'm going to publish something (internally or to the world). I find that makes me aim for that extra bit of polish or certitude.
A good place to start off might be on an appropriate subreddit. It's low effort, pseudonymous, and you get an immediate audience. You can post it somewhere and get immediate (encouraging, good, bad, scathing) feedback.
Not so much a recommendation on where to publish, but I do suggest you form relationships and connections with other writers. It may seem like a solitary art form, but you can’t do it alone.
Thy said, the platform doesn’t matter. No one will find your content unless you cultivate an audience. There’s not much difference between Medium and GitHub and pastebin as far as your audience is concerned. If you want readers you’ll need an outlet that has them already (existing magazine, for example) or you’ll have to learn about marketing and promotion.
Good luck. Keep writing! The world needs your stories.
Thy said, the platform doesn’t matter. No one will find your content unless you cultivate an audience. There’s not much difference between Medium and GitHub and pastebin as far as your audience is concerned. If you want readers you’ll need an outlet that has them already (existing magazine, for example) or you’ll have to learn about marketing and promotion.
Good luck. Keep writing! The world needs your stories.
I think the key is finding a community, if feedback and potentially an audience is what you are trying to build.
Wattpad has been popular for those who can keep up with the social requirements (frequent updates, networking, etc.)
Wattpad has been popular for those who can keep up with the social requirements (frequent updates, networking, etc.)
I just use Hugo and generate static html that I rsync to my web host. I have found this much easier to deal with and much less prone to hacking than something like wordpress or other CMS platforms.
I would use my own domain, so that I have the control of my site. Why hand over the control to Medium or Wordpress.com?
Same thing with the SEO. Why give the SEO juice to Medium instead of your own personal domain?
Building a static site with e.g. Hugo or Jekyll is an appealing choice. If you want you can use Cloudfront + S3 to host it.
OTOH, Wordpress is very convenient to work with and quick to set up. If you don’t have a VPS there are shared web hosting sites that should be good enough in the beginning at least. Shared web hosting can also be used for static sites.
Same thing with the SEO. Why give the SEO juice to Medium instead of your own personal domain?
Building a static site with e.g. Hugo or Jekyll is an appealing choice. If you want you can use Cloudfront + S3 to host it.
OTOH, Wordpress is very convenient to work with and quick to set up. If you don’t have a VPS there are shared web hosting sites that should be good enough in the beginning at least. Shared web hosting can also be used for static sites.
I use Hugo and I host my blog out of an AWS S3 bucket.
Pros:
Pros:
- Cheap.
- Static and small. Hugo lets me really make everything tiny.
- Learned more about AWS.
- A lot of work because I had to setup Route 53, CloudFront, Certificate Manager and S3.
- Learning about the permission model and setting up an IAM user with right permissions.
- Figuring out how Route 53, Certificate Manager and CloudFront work together so I could have SSL.
Also, gitlab pages will host your pages for free, there are many site generates you can choose from ( gitlab.com/pages ), including Hugo, you don't get any of the con, and it's completely free to use.
Community Advocate with GitLab here, just wanted to share the link to GitLab Pages in case anyone is looking for it: https://about.gitlab.com/stages-devops-lifecycle/pages/
Vuepress → Github actions → static site deployed to GCP/Storage. Writing Markdown in VSCode is _significantly_ better than all the online editors I've tried.
I am using a self-hosted Wordpress instance, lets encrypt, and cloudflare to proxy requests. A few automation scripts to ensure the apps are updated and IP changes are corrected with google domains. Every now and then I check my site to ensure everything is working as it should.
Granted, it doesn't get much traffic except for 2 post that gets me 5-10 visitors daily. https://ianmf.com
Granted, it doesn't get much traffic except for 2 post that gets me 5-10 visitors daily. https://ianmf.com
I just have a PHP site on my own domain and I also created a very simple PHP script to load and display markdown files. This way I write new posts as markdown files (so I get versioning and all), and there is no build step, I could edit files directly on the server.
https://github.com/Cristy94/markdown-blog
https://github.com/Cristy94/markdown-blog
The content matters. The tool doesn't.
Based on painful firsthand experience, don't waste much time optimizing for the 'best' way to share. Just create, share, adjust. You can always switch to another 'tool'--tools are cheap, plentiful, and don't matter much. You'll kill every ounce of creativity and momentum mucking around in the weeds looking for the best 'tools'.
Based on painful firsthand experience, don't waste much time optimizing for the 'best' way to share. Just create, share, adjust. You can always switch to another 'tool'--tools are cheap, plentiful, and don't matter much. You'll kill every ounce of creativity and momentum mucking around in the weeds looking for the best 'tools'.
If I would start a blog, right now I would use Gatsby + Markdown + own domain. Using free repository hosting and static cloud hosting which in many places is also free. Basically for 10$/year and occasional backup you would have a platform and service independent blog which can easily be migrated wherever you want. Aware that for these you need some basic tech skills indeed.
Do you work on React/etc. on a regular basis?
I attempted to use Gatsby for a personal blog/knowledge base-style setup and was immediately turned off by the seemingly immense overhead involved (React, CSS-in-JS, GraphQL).
I ended up with Vuepress instead and I'm happy (so far, anyway); a big draw is that it doesn't really require any Vue knowledge to get up and running.
I attempted to use Gatsby for a personal blog/knowledge base-style setup and was immediately turned off by the seemingly immense overhead involved (React, CSS-in-JS, GraphQL).
I ended up with Vuepress instead and I'm happy (so far, anyway); a big draw is that it doesn't really require any Vue knowledge to get up and running.
Of course, Gatsby is just a choice. Using markdown gives you more flexibility. Almost every static site generator support markdown content.
I’m using ghost at https://mattbrandly.com/
I intend to write more technical content, and I don’t think ghost is that great for the purpose. I wish I were writing markdown and generating static assets locally. Having to send highlight.js to every client for syntax highlighting is unnecessary.
I intend to write more technical content, and I don’t think ghost is that great for the purpose. I wish I were writing markdown and generating static assets locally. Having to send highlight.js to every client for syntax highlighting is unnecessary.
Always always always own your own content. Don’t post on medium often (might be worth it to build a following).
I post exclusively on my own Wordpress blog hosted on vultr for $5/month. If you aren’t a developer I’d recommend some self service option.
To build a following perhaps try twitter, Reddit, and medium. There’s also probably locations to post short stories I’m unaware of
I post exclusively on my own Wordpress blog hosted on vultr for $5/month. If you aren’t a developer I’d recommend some self service option.
To build a following perhaps try twitter, Reddit, and medium. There’s also probably locations to post short stories I’m unaware of
I have my own personal blog using Jekyll.
Your own blog first if not for any other reason then the fact that you own it and are not at anyone's whims but your own. I used it as an excuse to get Ghost up and running in my Kubernetes cluster. Win-win.
Then push content out to Medium, dev.to, Twitter, etc if you're looking for more of an audience.
Then push content out to Medium, dev.to, Twitter, etc if you're looking for more of an audience.
I was mainly using Literature & Latte's paid app Scrivener for years, but recently the free open source app Joplin has become my primary drafting environment. I still recommended both -- I use Scrivener for capturing research, organizing projects, and producing publisher-ready files.
I've got a blog nobody reads that I host with Netlify. It's just a simple Hugo-based static site.
Write Everywhere.
Write on Medium and Your Blog
Write on Substack. <=== I do. Pros: I can get paid. Cons: Formatting is simple.
Write on Amazon Publishing
Write on Medium and Your Blog
Write on Substack. <=== I do. Pros: I can get paid. Cons: Formatting is simple.
Write on Amazon Publishing
Do you write the same content (cross post)? Or do you write unique content for each platform? If so, how do you decide which platform for which piece of content?
Running a blog for my outlet: https://confessionsoftheprofessions.com
Started about 7 years ago and still haven't stopped. I did try a few times, but people keep emailing me.
Started about 7 years ago and still haven't stopped. I did try a few times, but people keep emailing me.
For personal blog: 11ty + travis ci + github pages.
Its easy way to write and publish content.
Just checkout git repo, write posts with your favourite editor and push changes to github - thats all.
Previously, I've being using Wordpress and Ghost. Both were real nigtmare to manage.
Its easy way to write and publish content.
Just checkout git repo, write posts with your favourite editor and push changes to github - thats all.
Previously, I've being using Wordpress and Ghost. Both were real nigtmare to manage.
I've not tried out Ghost yet - I thought it was suppose to solve WP's bloat and UX issues.
What was nightmarish about Ghost and when did you last use it?
What was nightmarish about Ghost and when did you last use it?
I know a couple people writing on posthaven.com, and when it comes time for me to start putting stuff online, that's what I plan to use.
Their value proposition is 1. they will keep the servers online for all time 2. low bullshit post hosting
Their value proposition is 1. they will keep the servers online for all time 2. low bullshit post hosting
I keep a blog at https://vorpalhex.com and I primarily keep it as a repository of thoughts, ideas and odd projects.
I use Hugo because it's simple yet flexible, powerful and produces a static bundle that is easily hostable anywhere. I use the `hello-friend` theme with significant tweaks, mostly a lot of shortcodes for better and more-responsive friendly image handling. I wanted a markdown based flow with minimal JS that didn't require node/rails/etc toolchains. Hugo is available both as a docker image and a small compiled binary so both local builds and CI builds are very easy. Currently I'm hosted via Gitlab for ease (I can use my own CI runner and the hosting itself is free with SSL support) but I've used S3 and others with great results.
I do my drafting in my favorite notes app InkDrop, and then just take my markdown file and drop it into my repo. One git push and it's published. Still haven't found a great platform to let non-technical folks edit my posts though.
I keep my images and big files in a Digital Ocean CDN. I use rclone to manage cdn contents (it uses the s3 protocol) and have some utility scripts to pull the cdn locally and then sync up changes. I ended up having to write a small golang program to easily bulk resize images at responsive breakpoints: https://gitlab.com/vorpalhex/responsimg
For me, this setup makes it very low friction to compose blog posts and get them published and it gets good lighthouse speed scores and loads quickly on even low end devices with bad connections. No medium paywall, no facebook SDK, etc. I did end up caving and installing Google Analytics (I was very displeased with piwik).
I use Hugo because it's simple yet flexible, powerful and produces a static bundle that is easily hostable anywhere. I use the `hello-friend` theme with significant tweaks, mostly a lot of shortcodes for better and more-responsive friendly image handling. I wanted a markdown based flow with minimal JS that didn't require node/rails/etc toolchains. Hugo is available both as a docker image and a small compiled binary so both local builds and CI builds are very easy. Currently I'm hosted via Gitlab for ease (I can use my own CI runner and the hosting itself is free with SSL support) but I've used S3 and others with great results.
I do my drafting in my favorite notes app InkDrop, and then just take my markdown file and drop it into my repo. One git push and it's published. Still haven't found a great platform to let non-technical folks edit my posts though.
I keep my images and big files in a Digital Ocean CDN. I use rclone to manage cdn contents (it uses the s3 protocol) and have some utility scripts to pull the cdn locally and then sync up changes. I ended up having to write a small golang program to easily bulk resize images at responsive breakpoints: https://gitlab.com/vorpalhex/responsimg
For me, this setup makes it very low friction to compose blog posts and get them published and it gets good lighthouse speed scores and loads quickly on even low end devices with bad connections. No medium paywall, no facebook SDK, etc. I did end up caving and installing Google Analytics (I was very displeased with piwik).
Do you want to advance slowly in your skills? Then self publish.
Do you wish to advance painfully and quickly? Then find a traditional (online or paper) publisher and submit submit submit until you write something someone likes.
Do you wish to advance painfully and quickly? Then find a traditional (online or paper) publisher and submit submit submit until you write something someone likes.
At work we use write.as for the blog, and I like it so far.
For my personal website, I use Jekyll on Vercel (ex. Zeit). I only did it because I wanted to code a bit and own the domain and the content.
For my personal website, I use Jekyll on Vercel (ex. Zeit). I only did it because I wanted to code a bit and own the domain and the content.
Self Hosted WordPress with minimal plugins. Doesn't get in my way and I can write. No need to compile anything or create static files etc except a simple caching plugin.
First I put it on my personal blog (11ty+netlify), so I own the rights. I wait at least a couple days before publishing or promoting elsewhere (medium, DEV, hackernoon)
Medium will be OK for this purpose.
1. It's pretty quick to start
2. It's free but you can upgrade to premium for advanced features
3. Also Medium's community is a huge advantage
1. It's pretty quick to start
2. It's free but you can upgrade to premium for advanced features
3. Also Medium's community is a huge advantage
If you’re interested in short stories To be published I recommend trawling The Submissions Grinder. This is duotrope but free.
If you just want to write and could care less about ownership of content, pick Medium.
fanfiction.net :D
Mostly twitter, and my company's blog.
Github?
Short stories on Github? Really?
Why not?
Because that's not what Github was created for, as far as I know... "built for developers" is the first sentence on he homepage.
Whatever you are writing, fictional or not, which platform do you use to publish ? And what are the pros and cons ?