Hubpages, my first year

I have been writing, off and on, for most of my life. Many years were spent filling up notebooks and journals that ended up in boxes at the back of the bedroom closet. Few of my friends and family were even aware of my late night obsession.

Still i continued to write for an audience of one. I was certain that one day I would make my mark and only needed to wait until the right oppurtunity came along. The problem with this approach was that my only hope for success was having a publisher discover my writings in the closet. I had to find a way for people to be able to read the things I wrote.

It was purely by accident that I stumbled upon hubpages in the summer of 2011. I do not even remember what it was that I was searching for at the time, but I now look back and realise that my life changed on that day.

When i first found hubpages I knew there was potential. I had many ideas and I knew that hubpages could be the perfect vehicle for me to get those ideas out to the world.

It did not happen over night, in fact, it was a very long process. However, this was not a concern to me, as I approached the whole idea with realistic expectations. I had no plans regarding how to spend my newly acquired fortune. I knew that it was going to require lots of hard work and dedication, both of which I was willing to give.

Still I had to confront the fear of failure. I had held the dream of being a writer in my heart for most of my life, yet it was always a dream that I kept hidden from the world. If I published my writing on hubpages I would have to be open to the idea that others would not be interested in what I had to say, or how I said it. This fear of failure has been my biggest obstacle. It was a difficult choice for me to make, but I knew that if I let fear win out then my dream would never have a chance.

My first six months on hubpages was nothing stellar. I spent a lot of time just checking out the website, getting a feel for the community and learning what sort of hubs were being published.

I really liked the whole layout of hubpages and the interaction of the community. I felt comfortable that hubpages was where I belonged, even if I was a little intimidated by the idea of other writer's reading my material.

Finally, I felt ready to put together my first hub. I decided upon a short, humorous story about my landlord, called My Crazy Landlord. Nothing too fancy, it allowed me to get a feel for the workings of the hub editing tools. After I published it I had a few readers and a couple comments, all positive.

It was not a big success by any means, but it did give me the confidence to continue on. Now I have a few hubs under my belt and I would like to think that I am getting better as I move forward.

As I continued forward, the next few months came a bit easier. I began to get the hang of putting hubs together, even though success in terms of traffic proved to be hit or miss. I still have much to learn in terms of SEO, admittedly I tend to write whatever comes to mind and never give much thought to bringing in readers. Certainly not a recipe for success, but I am taking this one step at a time.

As I begin my second year here on hubpages I look forward to being much more active. I hope to interact more with the community and get the most out of hubpages.

I want to thank all the hubbers who have taken the time to read my hubs and leave comments. It has meant a lot to me and you all have my gratitude.

My first year on hubpages has been a great experience and I anticipate more of the same in the months and years to come.