A Suggestion for the HubPages Staff: Celebrate your Poets

I’m the fly on the wall at HubPages that won’t go away. You know the fly I’m talking about, the buzzing little nuisance that shatters your tranquility and always manages to settle upon your dinner just before you take that first bite. Yep, that’s me!

So I’m feeling the need to do a little buzzing again, and hopefully that buzzing will be so annoying that the HP staff and management will just give up on the fly-swatter and give in to my suggestions.

Before we begin, let me state as clearly as possible that I am not a poet. In other words, I don’t have a horse in this race. My horse is residing, quite comfortably, in the creative writing barn, snacking on oats and whinnying to a tune of my own composition. I mention that so no one feels I am being self-serving in writing this. An article of this sort does not benefit me in any way, shape or form, but I do think it is necessary.

I have felt for some time now that HubPages is missing the boat. There are so many quality writers who simply get zero recognition from this site, and I think it’s a shame. Listen, I get it, HP is all about “show me the money,” and poetry doesn’t sell online. You’ll get no argument from me on that point. Poetry and creative writing are dead at the starting line when it comes to online revenue. That’s just the way the world is, and although I don’t like it, I do understand it.

So daily we see the flood of new articles telling us how to do this and how to do that, because that’s what the search engines want. We see recipes by the thousands, and travel articles, craft articles and parenting articles….and the money rolls in at HP and almost everyone is happy.

Except for the poets and creative writers who languish in the dumpster of obscurity.

But HubPages, you can do something about that, and it won’t cost you a darned thing.

Here’s my idea….you don’t have to thank me for it….I’m just glad I could help.

You already know how I feel about the HOTD, or Hub of the Day, for those of you unfamiliar with that acronym. Each and every day we wake up, log on to HubPages, and find an article, chosen by staff, that is considered outstanding in every way. Well, not every way…sometimes the quality is a bit shaky…and sometimes the grammar leaves a bit to be desired…but heck, nobody is perfect, right? The HP staff is happy with their selection so who am I to argue?

Also, weekly, we receive our newsletters, and in every newsletter we are told the outstanding questions of the week. I have no idea what this has to do with writing but what the hell, I’m all for a little obscurity, so go with it if it makes some people happy.

Then we have tips from the HP staff on how to write better SEO-friendly articles, and we have interviews with new editors, and a bunch of other stuff (excuse my poor choice of words) that I can live quite easily without but I really don’t have strong feelings for or against.

Did I miss anything?

Well yes, yes I did.

I missed anything with substance!

This is where HP is missing the proverbial boat. There are some seriously good writers on this site, but they are basically ignored week in and week out. Wouldn’t you think that HP staff and management would want to showcase those writers in an attempt to present itself as a serious writing site? It just makes good sense (or cents) and for the life of me I don’t understand why it isn’t done.

So here’s my suggestion.

Every week on the newsletter, HP, you should have a Poet’s Corner. In that weekly article you can highlight one of the fine poets on this site. Please note this will not cost you a penny, but it will give the poets some recognition and we all will share in the good vibes. Poets on HubPages aren’t asking for much, and they are expecting less. How about giving them some recognition just for the hell of it? You benefit from doing this, they benefit…my God, I’m getting all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.

You could do the same thing for short story writers, but if I suggest that I’m going to sound self-serving, so we’ll table that idea for the time being.

What’s that, you say? Nobody on the staff has the time to write up an extra blurb? Well of course you do. Whoever is in charge of choosing “favorite questions” can just toss that away and insert this new feature. Or, if you like, I’ll be more than happy to write the weekly blurb and you won’t have to do a thing other than copy and paste.

I really think this is a great idea, and I’ll bet, if you read the comments on this article, you’ll see that quite a few of my peers feel the same way.

My goodness gracious, where do I begin? There really are some high-quality poets on this site. Just off the top of my head I would mention AudreyHowitt, Smilealot, Wayne Barrett, ChristyWrites, Jodah, Manatita44, and so many more. I’m sure you can name some yourself, right? You must have noticed them from time to time when you weren’t choosing your favorite questions of the week. How about sending them some love so they will feel appreciated?

What do you think of it? A weekly Poet’s Corner highlighting one poet. It won’t take you much time and it sure will make some poets feel good, and if time really is an issue then I’ll be glad to write it for you.

How can you lose? What possible objection could you have to this?

I look forward to hearing from you, and I look forward to hearing from my peers.

Don’t try to thank me, HP. I’m just trying to help you spread your wings and fly.

2015 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”