As a writer, there’s little that’s more rewarding than when an article you poured your time and energy into is finally published.

But what about when you have absolutely no idea your article is live? There’s no parade, confetti, or dopamine rush—your story was just quietly published while you were none the wiser.

It sounds odd, but I can tell you firsthand that it happens. You’ll submit a draft to a client, make your way through the revision process, and eagerly await the heads-up that your piece just dropped. Yet, all too often, you hear nothing (unless you miraculously remember to follow up).

Whether writing is your passion, your career, or both, you deserve to know when the articles you worked hard on are officially pushed out into the world. So, let’s talk about why this matters—and some strategies you can put into play to make sure you never pass over your published pieces.

Publishing problems: Why is it important to know when your article is live?

Not being able to see the public version of your article feels a lot like planning a party but not getting an invite. But, beyond your pride and feelings, there are several other reasons why you need to know when a client or publication posts your story. This notification means you can:

  • Track your work for payment (or other contract milestones): Some clients and publications only issue payment after publishing. When that’s the case, you need to know exactly when your piece is live so you can invoice accordingly.
  • Share the story with your network: You probably wouldn’t write the story if you didn’t want anybody to see it. Understandably, you’re proud of the work you do, and sharing it with your network or promoting it on social media can help it get the traction and attention it deserves. You can’t do that if you don’t know it’s ready.
  • Send the story to your subject matter experts: When you interview experts and sources for stories, they want to see their name (and quotes) in print. Plus, sources will often share the article with their own networks, which means additional promotion for you and your work.
  • Maintain solid professional relationships: Alerting sources when a story they’re included in is published isn’t just about promotion—professionalism matters here too. They devoted time, energy, and knowledge to the interview, and the least you can do is reach out and let them see the fruits of their labor.
  • Update your portfolio: An up-to-date portfolio is one of your most valuable resources as a writer. Staying in the know on which of your pieces are published means you can add new articles to your portfolio and maintain a more accurate representation of your work.
  • Promptly check for any corrections: Occasionally, things happen between when you last see your piece and when it’s published. If you’re alerted when it’s live, you can review it immediately and confirm there aren’t any errors, typos, or other blunders—rather than waiting until it’s been published for weeks (or even months).

Getting a heads-up when your article is live isn’t just about ego—it’s about doing your job well. Whether you want to share it, get paid, or make sure it went out into the world in one piece, you deserve to be in the loop.

3 strategies to make sure you never miss a published article

That brings you to the inevitable question: How do you stay informed on the what, where, and when of your published pieces?

While it might not seem like a major challenge when you’re writing infrequently, tracking your work becomes a lot trickier when you’re writing a lot. Fortunately, there are a few different tactics you can put into play to make sure you’re never left hanging.

1. Check in relentlessly

This first strategy is both tedious and time-consuming, yet it’s one that many writers still default to.

Simply put, with this approach, it’s on you to diligently check in on your piece. This could mean regularly reviewing the publication’s recent articles or reaching out to your point of contact for an update on the expected publication date. Regardless, you need to remember to monitor your article’s status yourself.

The perks of this method are that it’s free and seemingly easy to start—there are no tools or approvals required. But the downside is that it can quickly become a drain on your time and energy, especially if you’re juggling multiple assignments or clients. Plus, there’s always the risk of missing an update if you forget to check or your contact goes silent.

2. Set up Google Alerts

If manually checking feels overwhelming, automating the process can save you hours and headaches. Google Alerts is just one (although, admittedly, imperfect) way to do that.

Google Alerts will monitor the web for new mentions of your name, your article titles, or key phrases related to your work. For example, you might set alerts for keywords like:

  • Your full name (e.g. “Kat Boogaard”)
  • Your byline with the site name (e.g. “Kat Boogaard” site:publication.com)
  • Common headline formats or recurring columns you write (e.g. “Ask a Freelancer”)
  • Titles or unique phrases from your submitted drafts
  • Your client or publication name and topic (e.g. “Fast Company” + remote work)

Whenever something new pops up related to those keywords, you’ll get an email notification—no digging required. This strategy can help you spot when your articles go live or get shared elsewhere online, even if your client forgets to mention it to you.

It’s simple to set up, free, and runs quietly in the background. The downside? It can be challenging to choose keywords that are specific enough to catch all of your work, without getting flooded with completely irrelevant alerts.

And, if your client changes something about your piece before it’s published (for example, the title), it could mean the keyword you set is now irrelevant—and your work will go undetected as a result.

3. Use Authory for easy, automatic notifications

Want a hassle-free way to stay on top of your published work? Authory has you covered. When you set up your Authory portfolio and sources (these are the sites where your work appears), Authory will automatically send you an email notification immediately after your work is published on one of your source websites. Authory is always monitoring those sites for you—no manual checks or clunky keywords required.

Let’s take a quick look at how to set this up in Authory. We promise, it’s quick and easy.

1. Add a new content item to your Content Archive. You’ll start by choosing the type of content you want to add (e.g. an article).

You’ll start by choosing the type of content you want to add to your Archive.

2. Choose how you’d like to add the article to your archive. You can select from:

  • Importing all of your articles with your byline from a specific website
  • Pasting URLs of the articles you want to import
  • Publishing an article directly to Authory (meaning it doesn’t “live” elsewhere)

3. When you add your content item, the source (the outlet or publication where the article originally appeared) is added to your source list in Authory.

You’ll see your source listed in your content preview.

4. Moving forward, Authory will automatically monitor your sources for new content items that contain your byline and add them directly to your Authory portfolio for you.

5. When one of your articles is published to a source website (and added to your Authory portfolio), you’ll receive an email notification right away. You can control these notifications in your notification settings.

Here’s what it looks like when Authory notifies you about a new content item.

What if your content is ghostwritten or written under a pen name? How will Authory identify your work and let you know about it?

You can also set aliases within Authory—these are alternative names Authory should use to look for your work. You can create aliases in your account settings, and you can add as many as you like.

With Authory, you don’t need to worry about constantly checking sites and publications, missing important updates, setting random keywords, or wondering if your work is just floating in cyberspace. You’ll know the moment your article is live so you can check it, share it, and celebrate.

Don’t find your work—let it find you

You shouldn’t be left guessing when your work is finally live. Whether it matters for your portfolio, your paycheck, or your pride, knowing when your article is published doesn’t need to involve detective work.

Sure, you could keep checking on websites, setting up messy alerts, or poking your editors for updates. Or you can let Authory do all of the heavy lifting for you. With Authory, you’ll get instant notifications—no refreshing, guessing, or stressing.

Start your free trial today and you’ll never miss another published piece.