Why I Write for HubPages

Why HubPages?

I stumbled upon HubPages while researching freelance writing online for money. Another fledgling author had written a long list of places where you could submit your writing and I looked into a lot of them, but HubPages stood out. It offered a great base of potential readers, was easy to use and the end results looked fantastic, plus I could write about whatever I wanted to. So I jumped in with both feet.

My first hub was about the difficult decision to put one of my children on ADD medication. It was a subject I had discussed a lot with people and felt like it could be my niche in writing. I learned a lot writing that first hub, like not to put everything into one capsule and the importance of a good summary and pictures. I got my first comment along with some great support from friends of mine who read it via my post on Facebook. I felt like the ball was rolling and nothing could stop me.

Learning Curve

I was so excited by the prospect of my writing actually being read that I couldn’t wait to get more out there. Each hub I wrote taught me something more about the tools provided and educated me as a writer about things I had never thought of before like keywords and how to ping your articles. I quickly discovered sources of royalty free pictures and even started taking some pictures of my own. It was exhilarating and challenging. I had literally filled my iPhone with over 100 ideas for hubs, now I just had to get them out there.

Money, Money, Money

It took me a little over a month to get my adsense and other potential money making accounts set up. It turns out you have to publish a few hubs before they will accept you. I remember the day I checked my account and saw that I had made $0.05. I was overjoyed. It was the first time I had earned money from my writing. It felt amazing! Of course the money hasn’t exactly flowed in since then. I think I have made a total of $3.78 after writing 17 Hubs and being on here for over two months. No pay out yet, but I remain optimistic…or do I? Maybe the lack of real dollars and cents being attributed to my effort has left me feeling a little down and unmotivated. I had a lot of reasons for starting my online writing career and money was definitely one of them.

Community

What kept me coming back in the early days was the sense of community I had found here. You really do feel like you are connecting with people in a very real way when they comment on something you’ve written. It’s hard not to connect with people who share so much of their personal trials and tribulations on here. One of the very first Hubbers I came across and continue to follow is billybuc. He has made some incredibly courageous life choices and has been open enough to share some of his major missteps in life on here. What I’ve learned from reading his hubs alone has made my time here worthwhile. I’ve also connected with a lot of people who share similar life philosophies from all over the world. People who I will likely never meet in person, but have forever altered the way I view the world for the better.

Pat on the Back

An aspect that I absolutely love about HubPages are the accolades. Who would have thought that a little coloured trophy icon would come to mean so much to me and motivate me to keep going? They serve as milestones and targets to shoot for as I slog away in the virtual unknown. Nothing like a little positive reinforcement and a dangling carrot or two to keep this old mule going. I liken it to getting a gold star when you’re in grade school. It worked on me then and works on me now. I can’t wait until I reach 10,000 readers and have one of my hubs chosen to be Hub of the Day.

Love of the Written Word

Ultimately what keeps me here is not money or praise or even community, but a deep love of the written word and the desire to create. HubPages provides me with a forum and the tools to pursue my passion. Whether it earns $0.03 or $3000 or is read by 3 people or 3 million people, doesn’t really matter. I love to write and HubPages is one piece of the puzzle that helps me do that.