An Interview with brittanytodd
One of HubPages newest upcoming Hubbers shares some very sound advice
How did you find HubPages? Why did you join?
This is actually a funny story. I was looking for a site to post free classified ads for my online jewelry store and someone mentioned HubPages. My first Hub was about my jewelry and where people could buy it, so it was almost immediately flagged for being overly promotional. I read all of the rules and realized that this site was perfect for publishing the other articles that I had written. I jumped in and wrote some how-to articles and then began to add and edit research reports that I had conducted in the past. So, although I didn't come to HubPages for the right reasons, I found that it was a perfect place to publish the numerous essays that were just sitting on my computer, as well as feed the passion I have for writing.
When you first joined HubPages, what did you plan to write about? Have your favorite writing topics changed since you started?
Once I read through the Learning Center and figured out what the site was about, I published a bunch of how-tos and analytical essays on books and films I enjoyed watching and reading. I got the Hub of the Day only two weeks after joining for
my book report on V for Vendetta, which encouraged me to write more.
Now that I have been here for some time, I love writing about whatever comes to my mind. I have Hubs about visiting the Big Island, which I am very proud of. I also have a bunch of cupcake recipes as I love to bake. I think my favorite topics are sociology (social issues), literature, and education. I am most proud of the sections of my large research project I have published regarding residential education. I did a long-term study on these institutions through interviews and surveys with former students and parents of those former students to discover the
benefits and disadvantages of residential education (i.e. boarding schools, wilderness programs, brat camps and military academies). Many people reach out to me via email about my study and the results for at-risk adolescents that have attended these programs and I am happy to direct them to HubPages instead of sending them my entire 52-page composition.
You have only been on HubPages for a short time, but already you have published over 100 Hubs- and high quality ones at that! How did you start excelling so quickly? What advice would you give to other newbies?
Like I said, I managed to write so many Hubs because a lot of them were written prior to joining HubPages, but have been edited and enhanced with photos and videos that keep people engaged. I jumped in hoping to finally write the articles that I wanted to as opposed to the work I have done for eHow, where they do not allow writers to choose their topics.
Shortly after I began, one of my favorite Hubbers,
homesteadbound (or Cindy), invited me to participate with her in the 30 Day Challenge. I immediately agreed and finished with 30 Hubs in 22 days. I think this helped me to make new friends, gain more traffic and also land a new job writing for a niche website.
For other newbies, I suggest that they work hard to make quality Hubs and not to worry so much about the quantity or number of Accolades they have. My best Hubs are the ones with polls, images and related videos that encourage people to read more. Worrying about HubScores and numbers of followers will only distract you from writing quality Hubs that people will want to read. Just have fun, follow the rules, and the readers will come.
You share on your profile that your most current work is Through the Lava Tube a young adult novel. Could you tell us a bit about it?
Through the Lava Tube began as a short story that I wrote for a creative writing class in college. The assignment was to write a fiction story under twelve pages, but I got carried away with the narrative and ended up with a twenty-page "Part 1." Like much of my fiction, this novel is inspired by the place where I grew up, the Big Island of Hawaii. Without giving too much of the story away, I can say that it is about a twelve-year-old boy named Makoa, whose father passed away in a mysterious surf accident. Without him, Makoa is very shy, subdued, and often bullied by other kids his age. He is pushed into an ancient lava tube that locals call, "The Toilet Bowl," and when he emerges from the ocean, finds that he is no longer home.
As you may have noticed from the title, this novel (or chapter book) is inspired by Through the Looking Glass, and has been called "the Hawaiian Alice in Wonderland." Although the novel is meant for a younger audience, there are themes that adults can relate to, like race, multiculturalism and self confidence.
With this novel, I want to provide an exciting and relatable story for the youth in Hawaii. I use Hawaiian Pidgin (or Broken English) to make the dialogue believable and real for those in Hawaii. I planned to have the book published by the end of 2011, but I have been reworking some parts and predict that it will be available for purchase by February 2012.
Do you have any particular Hubbing ambitions for the months to come?
I hope to find time to finish my novel while producing some quality Hubs. I have enjoyed making a collection of Hubs that are related (i.e. my "
Best Movies to Watch on a Rainy Day" Hubs and my
guides to the Big Island) and plan on producing a new collection soon. I look forward to gaining over 200 followers in the upcoming months as well as reaching 10,000 views, which should be soon as I am pretty close to that goal.
Other than that, I have been blessed to be contacted by another Hubber that wants me to write for his websites. I hope to possibly get more freelance work through the site while producing quality hubs that people love to read.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I am honored to be a part of the amazing HubPages community and look forward to meeting new and interesting people in the future.
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