My First Year on Hub Pages

A force of magic brought me to Hub Pages. It was surrounded by a warm glow that includes all the colors of the rainbow. I was determined to begin making a living as a writer in order to support my journey of home-schooling my daughter. My objective was to set up as many sources of passive income as I could while I spend more and more time with her, instead of so much time at the computer. I wanted to use what I earned here to support all of our exciting home-schooling activities. What happened was very different, yet it approximated my vision.

When I first signed on to Hub Pages in August of 2009, I created my profile and obtained affiliate accounts with Google AdSense and Amazon. Then I set to building a few hubs. The title of my first one was Karen Szklany Gault: A Seafarer Mama. Being welcomed warmly into the Hub Pages family by "Sufidreamer" encouraged me to publish more of my work, so I wrote out some of the poetry I had been performing at local poetry open mics in Boston and Cambridge. Those poetry hubs are Moon, and other Acrostic Poems and Dark Forest.

In September, I began home-schooling my daughter, and started writing a hub about what our schedule was like. Between home-schooling activities and writing, there was a stretch of about 6 weeks before I published another hub. In October of 2009, I published two on the same day:A Hole in My Ceiling, based on a sad experience as a new homeowner, and Teaching My Daughter at Home, about our entry into the world of home education.

After that first rush of hubs, I took a hiatus from Hub Pages to write a gardening guide book about growing your own fruits and berries. This process lasted from November 1, 2009 through July 4, 2010, when I sent the final revisions to my editor. It is exciting to anticipate the book finally making it to print by December 1, 2010 - almost thirteen months from the day I began. I have written another hub about that process, titled An Adventure Called "Writing a Book.

Creativity

All of this would not have been possible without my keeping in close touch with my muse. The muse that inspired my completing a book manuscript also inspires me to keep the hub ideas flowing from my brain onto the page.

This relationship with my muse is strengthened by my connection to others. The muse is all about relationships, both temporal and spiritual. Our friendships keep us going, and so does our involvement with community. The Hub Pages community is one that I love being involved with. There are others as well, including my fellow musicians and other artists.

When the job of writing my book was complete, I turned back to Hub Pages as my main creative outlet as a writer. There were lots of ideas brewing at the back of my brain, but there were a few pieces hiding in my "works in progress" file that needed some dusting off, revision, and a "home" found for them through publication via Seafarer Mama. Those were Angel in My Closet, which I published in May of this year (2010), and The Evolution of a Relationship, which I published in August (2010). The "Angel" piece was submitted to a few angel-themed magazines, then purchased by a Canadian Catholic magazine. Yet, it was never printed in an issue of that magazine because the editors were obliged to print the work of Canadians first, before publishing the work of authors who live in other countries (a grant requirement). I am grateful that they paid me for my work in the first place, and that I can also publish it for wider readership here at Hub Pages. The "Relationship" piece was submitted for publication in response to a call for essays about relationships for inclusion in Chicken Soup for the Bride's Soul. It didn't make the editor's cut for that book, but I am glad to have had the chance to publish it, too, on Hub Pages.

When I decided to return to Hub Pages and write full force in the face of the prospect of making more money, I read some hubs about how to most efficiently approach the task. One hub mentioned Sunforged 's 60 Day Challenge. I thought that this was one way to generate a large body of hubs in a short amount of time, in community with other writers doing the same thing. So, I went public with my goal of meeting the challenge with My Participation in a 60 Day Challenge. In this "hublog" is listed the 30 hubs that I wrote for the challenge. The topics covered included parenting, spirituality, creativity, home-schooling, travel, co-housing, recipes, and living an eco-friendly lifestyle. Some of the hubs I wrote for this challenge were also submitted for entry into the X Marks the Spot travel writing contest. It took me somewhat longer than 30 days to come up with all 30, but I know that I have been promoting them in tandem with the writing, and have been spending time reading hubs by my fellow hubbers, too. Of course, I have also been balancing the writing with promoting my book and spending precious time with my family.

My journey as a writer on Hub Pages has just begun and I know that the ride will be filled with surprising turns. The more hubs I read by fellow writers, the more I am inspired. My next step in my work on Hub Pages is to get to know more of my fellow "hubbers," to follow them and send them Fan Mail. This hub is my "bridge" between where I have been and where I am headed as an author.

There is so much I'd love to write about. I have a notebook full of topic ideas for pieces to publish here on Hub Pages. Some of those topics include nature, parenting, travel, national parks, mythology, theology, and maritime history/culture. I look forward to the thrilling ride of learning new things. But for now, Slainte!