This is Why People Aren’t Reading Your Articles

As the owner of a viral publication, there are three vital mistakes I see writers making.

Photo by Andraz Lazic on Unsplash

I’ve been writing for the vast majority of my adult life. It’s the only career I’ve ever had, aside from a few odd-jobs as a cashier and what have you.

My passion for the written word dawned during my pre-teen years, when I’d spend my free time handwriting war stories and sketching the characters produced by my juvenile mind into the pages of infinite notebooks.

I carried that passion into adulthood, and I shaped it into a viable career. Now, my day-to-day work consists of reading, editing and publishing anywhere from five to ten articles for my publication, Mind Cafe.

My job gives me the luxury of reading all manner of insightful articles about personal development, psychology and answers to the question of happiness. But it is here, sitting at my laptop each day, that I notice truly talented writers making the same mistakes over and over again.

Of course, each author should maintain their unique voice. They should write freely and per their style, in line with their values and intentions. But, even when doing so, there remain several simple, easily-fixable errors that seem to litter their otherwise exemplary work. It’s these mistakes that may be preventing genuinely talented authors from making their way into top publications, books and positions of employment.

While the three blunders listed below might not seem catastrophic as far as quality is concerned, sharpening up these small things could transform your writing. But who am I to tell you what you’re doing wrong? Why should you listen to me?

Well, I’m not a bestselling author. I have no degree in the English Language. My writing hasn’t broken any records, and I certainly haven’t won any awards.

Yet I see far more written work than the average person, and it’s my job to check it for errors and ensure that it meets an exceptional standard. I might not be a writing expert, but multi-national media giant, Medium, has entrusted me as their partner. With their support, I manage a viral publication full-time — a digital magazine with over 1.5 million monthly readers.