Change Your Genre to Change Your Mind
Trying something new made my writing more readable and relatable
A big part of my job as a professor is writing for peer-reviewed journals and conferences. After years of frustration with this process, I made the leap and began writing online as well. It was a scary decision. While frustrating, peer-review meant that my ideas had been “vetted” by experts before publication. This was comforting. The idea that I could simply write, for myself or for a website like Medium, was intimidating. No hiding behind a journal paywall in an obscure database. Just me, writing on the internet. But, by stepping out of my comfort zone, I’ve become a better, more audience-conscious, writer.
Quick feedback means quick improvements
I have an article coming out later next month in an academic journal in my field. I submitted this article in April of 2020. The journal accepted the article in December of 2020 (8 months from submission). I submitted revisions in January of 2021 (9 months from submission). I agreed to the journal’s formatting changes in May of 2021 (13 months from submission). The article should be published in July (15 months from submission).
This process also occurs after you’ve spent months (or longer!) designing experiments, analyzing survey data, or conducting interviews. Then, you still have to write up your results in the appropriate format. While the pandemic absolutely caused delays, my experience is actually pretty common.
The massive time between submission and feedback makes it hard to improve. I didn’t sit around for 8 months thinking about how to improve this article. I didn’t know what the feedback would be! By the time I received feedback, I had moved on to other projects and had to re-familiarize myself with the content.
Compare this with one of my first experiences writing online. I wrote this short piece for zippia.com back in November of 2020. Zippia requested this piece in early November. I submitted it around November 15th. They wrote back a few days later and asked me to expand on one of the ideas. I sent the revised version back on November 20th. They said,
“Cool, it will come out next month. Thank you.”
The quick turnaround showed me there was a better way to reach people. It also gave me rapid feedback on how to make my writing better, which benefits my audience too.
Writing online = more readers = helping more people
In 2017, I published a journal article about an activity I designed for one of my classes. I loved the activity, and the students always learned a lot. Since 2017, about 500 people have viewed the article on the journal’s website. Compare that with the zippia.com piece, which has had more than 10,000 views since December 2020.
When I started reading content on user-generated platforms, I realized I was learning so much. These authors weren’t letting hang-ups about journal impact factors or h-indexes stop them from writing and publishing their work. Also, the cost for reading Medium and other online content is tiny compared to the cost of an academic journal subscription.
Write in a new format, gain a new skill
Stepping outside of academic publishing has made me a better writer. I had long felt constricted by the norms and rules of journal articles. Writing online gives me flexibility I don’t have in my 9–5 writing. I am more creative, and more engaged with my readers. I can also adapt to change more quickly, reach more people, and write in a more flexible format.
My genre-switch was from academic writing to online writing, but a change-up can benefit any type of writer. Do you primarily write non-fiction? Consider writing an op-ed for your local paper. Are you a personal finance blogger with a secret roller derby obsession? See if your local league needs more people to boost their social media posts. Writing in a new genre can also be done as a mental exercise. Not everything has to be for a publication. Sometimes, it’s the practice that matters more than the game.
If you’re wondering if you should take the leap into online writing and publishing, go for it. Medium, Substack, and other user-generated content platforms are great places to get feedback. The fact that you can make money from writing online is also nice (Oh, that article that took 15 months to publish? No, I didn’t get paid for it).
Trying a different type of writing when you’ve trained for years in a specific niche can be scary. But it is so, so worth it.
