FIFTY HUBS ALREADY

When I first understood the idea of HubPages I was surprised. It was so logical, why had Bill Gates not colonised the concept 20 years ago? The 60:40 split is better than most publishers would offer a new writer. New writers need encouraging and guidance, and HubPages does that pretty well.

The HubPages paid people seem fairly sane. I gather they are "liberals" by American standards, or so some of the Republican political hubbers claim. Mind you, some of the Republican hubbers would claim Genghis Khan was a limp wristed liberal. One hubber seems to me to have some valid grounds for complaint about the HubPages liberal conspiracy. Alas I am too busy and too selfish to spend any time asking their side of the story. They have more sense than to answer most complaints about them, because it gets in the way of running a business.

I was a bit daunted by the thought of getting to 50 hubs one day. I have too much going on in my life to be able to set targets, so I wrote hubs as and when I had time. I was stunned to see I have written 50, and I am just getting into second gear.

Of my 50 hubs, three are on Page 1 of Google. "Ethics in Immigration Law" is at number 6, "What is Domicile?" is at number 2, and "Legal Systems and Refugees" is at Number 1.The first is an academic article I published in 2005, and the other two are extracts from my Law Masters thesis I wrote in 2008. They have got to these positions without back linking etcetera by me, although quite a few other people have established links to "Legal Systems and Refugees". These pieces show that real solid content will drift to the top of Google eventually.

The first piece I wrote for HubPages was about "How To Be A Good Student", currently on Page 2 of Google. This one piece generates over a quarter of my viewings, with "What is Domicile?" generating about 1/8th.

I have proved to my own satisfaction that I can write solid stuff which people want to read.

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 I have also a lot of lightweight whimsical hubs which are largely generated from my chequered past.  I have enjoyed writing them. The articles are sparked into life by some reminder of a past incident.

When I have enough of it I may turn it into an e-book.

The money side is pathetic. My Adsens earnings since I started, added together, would not buy a pint of beer in my local pub. On the other hand, I have not been writing "commercially". I have been writing for my own pleasure.

I have an identity and body of writing as Charles James. I am proud of what I have written, and will add more to this. Areas for exploration are British Immigration about which I am an expert, and the legal profession and legal education, but I need to get my Law of Packaging and Labelling book finished first. All being well that publishes in January and I will then be free to write about immigration.

To make money, I need to write commercial pieces like "Five Best Bikini Waxes" and "Seven Best Wheelbarrows", with links to Amazon. (Apologies to anyone who may have written these pieces already.) I have devised a different identity, and most of my next 50 hubs will be of this nature. I will report back as I approach hub 100.

I have really enjoyed my sparring with the hubbers from the Republican and Conservative right. They seem stunned that I am courteous towards them. It seems that their past experiences of socialists and liberals is that we cannot string an argument together and we descend to insult at the earliest opportunity. I was brought up to be courteous.

They are also somewhat flummoxed that I openly state I am a socialist. "Socialist" tends to be their insult of choice, so they are bemused when I say it first.

Writing is a lonely activity, and the forums do provide a discussion area rather better and considerably cheaper than my local pub. Its also much easier to dodge the bores and boors than in my local pub.

The concept of HubPages is brilliant. The site has grown amazingly fast. Well done whoever launched it.

I personally am not worried about HubPages getting rich at my expense. You are welcome to the £2 or so you have already extracted from the sweat of my brow. I would happily have paid £2 to have a platform that has already reached 4,000+ readers, and is reaching another 200 every week.. If my commercial pieces make money you will have earned your share.

On to the next million!/billion!  (hubs/readers)

I have just had an interview for a job as an immigration lawyer. My ability to backlink to their firm's web site from three Page 1 immigration articles may swing the job for me. We will see.