On the Way to the Great Migration

Here is a quick guide to smoothly transition from Medium and get started with Scribe on Substack

Photo by Chris Briggs on Unsplash

This post may resonate with everyone, but today I am addressing you in particular, dear Scribe writers: do you remember when I told you about the great elk migration in Sweden in the April 20 newsletter on Medium?

Well, friends, I think it's time to take inspiration from these incredible and wonderful animals and begin your own great migration from Medium to Substack! It's official: the adventure of our beloved publication continues here, and I'm convinced that we're in for more (wonderful) surprises in the weeks, months, and years to come!

I also keep one thing in mind: whatever happens to the platforms, our community will continue on its path. Keep moving, always moving.

Last Sunday's newsletter on Medium may have convinced you to pack your bags too. If not, the newsletter is still online, and I'm available via direct message and email to discuss it with you. It's time we stopped feeding a corrupt system run by an equally corrupt CEO with our most honest writing.

Here's a quick guide to help you migrate from Scribe on Medium to Scribe on Substack as quickly and easily as possible.

---

Download all your information

The first thing to do, in my opinion, is to download the archive containing all your activity on Medium since you created your profile. I did this a few days ago and it went well, except for one small detail.

The link sent by Medium to my inbox to download the archive opens on a blank page in the Chrome browser, and the same thing happens in Firefox. However, it works fine in Safari. Is Medium making it difficult for us to leave the platform by taking our valuable data with us? It's a question worth asking.

To download your archive: when you are on your profile page, click on your photo in the top right corner, then go to “Settings.” Next, click on “Security and apps” in the center of your screen. Finally, click on “Download your information.”

After a few seconds, you will receive an email from Medium with the subject line “Medium download request” containing a link to download all the information you have published on the platform since creating your account.

I have carefully reviewed this archive, and it really contains everything: our stories, our responses, our highlights, etc. For me, this represents more than twelve years of activity, so it's reassuring to know that I now have all this information in my possession. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Reduce your subscription or cancel it completely

For reasons you are aware of, I have canceled my $15 per month “Friend of Medium” subscription and returned to the standard $5 per month subscription. I'm not sure it's worth mentioning that this is one of the many underhanded methods Tony Stubblebine implemented during Medium's turnaround to try to get the company's finances back on track. Charging us more while reducing our income to nothing. I played along (like an idiot) because I still had hope for Medium at the time.

There's a good chance I'll cancel my subscription completely in the coming weeks, but for now I want to be able to keep an eye on what's going on in the bad guy's lair.

It's up to you to decide what you want to do, but you know my opinion on the matter: let's keep our money and stop funding this scam that's been going on for years.

To switch back to the standard subscription, go back to “Settings” by clicking on your profile picture, then click on “Membership and payment.” Next, select “Manage membership” and make the change to return to the standard subscription. Your change should take effect with your next billing cycle.

To completely cancel your Medium subscription, select “Cancel membership” on the “Membership and payment” page.

Notify your loyal readers

It goes without saying, but it's important to mention it. Remember to let your friends, family, and most loyal readers know that you're off to explore new territory. The idea is to reach out to everyone who wants to follow you so that the migration goes smoothly and with a smile! Tell them that Scribe is more alive than ever!

Publish in Scribe on Substack

This is the last step in the migration! We're almost there! You'll soon be able to unpack your bags and start your new life as a writer with us!

In order for you to publish in Scribe, I need to add you as a contributor. To do this, just let me know and I'll email you an invitation to join the publication. Once you accept, I'll be able to add you as a contributor, and you'll have access to the publishing interface so you can publish independently in Scribe.

This is one of the big differences from Medium. Here on Substack, you can publish your work in the publication completely independently!

It's easy to imagine how much time this will free up for me to write and produce the future Sunday newsletter designed to support you!

Also, please note that it is entirely possible to publish simultaneously in Scribe and in your own publication, if you have one. I have enabled this feature so that you can enjoy Scribe while sharing your writing elsewhere, if you wish. It's a great way to get our words out to even more readers.

For your first few posts, I invite you to leave your final draft pending publication so that I can take a look and polish up the last details before it goes live.

This way, you'll see what my expectations are in terms of presentation and layout. But rest assured, I haven't changed and the rules are the same as on Medium! I'm sure everything will go well.

A cool extra feature: once you become a contributor, you can start discussion topics in the Scribe chat room, or literary salon if that's more familiar to you! The chat room is open to everyone.

Eventually, as I plan to welcome new talented writers to our family, I will probably write some guidelines similar to the ones I wrote on Medium.

Valuable Resources

Substack can seem a little confusing at first, as there are so many features available to help us write and be creative. But I say, let's rejoice! Of course, you can knock on my door if you have any questions about getting started here. I'll be happy to answer them. You can also turn to our friends

Caroline Mellor

,

Sam Aureli

,

Ken Martin

,

Jenine Baines

,

Carlos Garbiras

,

Christine Calandris

,

Philip Ogley

, and

Ginger Cook (GC)

who already have a lot of experience with the platform.

To help you get started, Substack offers valuable resources. First, there's the help center. Then there's the resource center. You also have the official publication “On Substack.” You can contact support directly, but you will be answered by AI. To my surprise, I was satisfied with its answers when I was worried about fixing Scribe's URL problem. I started by insulting it, then I relaxed.

---

A final word. Or rather, a first word

So there you have it, friends. I hope you find this little guide useful and that we will soon be even more numerous in reading and supporting each other in this new garden. As I said on Medium, I have taken great care in preparing our new hive. Now all that remains is to do what we have always known how to do with our respective talents: write from the heart, wander, and give free rein to our emotions.

See you soon,
Tom

---