Member-only story
I was Accused of ‘Publicly Flaming’ a Mindful Publication — Here’s What Actually Happened
A few days ago, on my personal Facebook page, I called out a publication I have loved for years for publishing an article with what I thought was an offensive and condescending title.
The ensuing drama of the past few days has been exhausting and overwhelming, to say the very least.
The reason I called this publication out is because I have been a part of their community for several years now and regardless of what the owner of the publication thinks, I care deeply about all the writers and editors I have met there. I have always loved that they were a mission-driven publication and strived to be of benefit to others.
But this time, they missed the mark.
I called them out for one reason and one reason only. To hold them accountable for what they teach their writers to do — and what not to do — if you want people to read your articles.
As an apprentice in their writing program several years ago, I was taught that if I want someone to click on my article and read it, I need to have the perfect combination of a compelling title and caption, and a relevant image that will draw the reader in. We were taught that these three factors are crucial for getting your article read when sharing it on social media.
The article that came through my newsfeed a few days ago was entitled something like, “Divorced Women Over 50: You Can Still Have an Awesome Life.”
And I think when I saw the post, I actually muttered out loud to an empty room, “Oh, for fuck’s sake. UGH.”
As a divorced woman over 50 myself, I thought the title was insulting and patronizing. It mattered not at all to me if the author was male or female or writing from their own personal experience — that title was the sole reason I was not going to click on the article to read it.
It’s not often I get fired up enough to share something negative on social media, but the more I thought about it, the more it grated on me. Mostly, that such a mindful publication would share out an article with a title like this before editing it first, in order to be more of benefit.
