Slow Turn Around Time

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   Jean Bakulaposted 7 years ago

   I've been submitting hubs on HP to niche sites, and find the turn around time to be longer than a week in some cases. And it's usually a petty thing, not something listed in the rules. I had one hub held up two weeks for a colon I didn't put in. I ended up doing it, but felt it was linguistically incorrect,
   
   Earlier on, each time I tried to move a hub, I was told to use Call out capsules. I had never used them before, and if the hub is long, it takes a long time to do it. Now, I am being told to NOT use call out capsules, after fixing up hubs for movement and spending hours adding call out capsules.
   
   I am getting sick of these inconsistencies, so small they aren't always in the rules, which the moderators seem to make up as they go along anyway..
   
   At first I did well financially for hubs that were written a long time ago. But now it's almost not worth it, the blue arrows are all back. And you can either fix up good material (I was never rejected for a hub I asked to be moved) but this leaves no time to write new hubs. So this is the dying gasp it seems.

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      kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      @Jean,
      I hear you. I had one hub where I had an Amazon capsule on the hub that was referring to the text I had written and HP editor deleted the hub. I asked why when it was plain to see that my Amazon capsule was very clear about what I was talking about.
      Then I got an email about a two-fold, complex answer about a video being something about "non talkative" or something, I near did understand what they were trying to tell me, so I just quit trying.

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      1. 88

         Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Kenneth,
         It would help communications if the person who moderated our hubs gave a name. Then we could cut out a week or two. The way it is now, they take a week to read your hub. It takes little time to make the change, it could be to add a comma. But you have to resubmit the whole hub again. That adds another week.
         
         There should an in between step, or address, where we could resubmit the "fixed up" hub, instead of putting it into the whole process again. Or if we had a name, and didn't understand what the moderator wanted done, that can be quickly fixed, and shouldn't hold up the corrected hub for yet another week. I feel like giving up, and that's just fixing up old hubs. Now with the last Google slap, it's making the niche site idea worthless. If this doesn't work I'm just closing my account here. I don't even feel interested in the subjects of some of these old hubs anymore.
         
         Take care, Kenneth.

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            kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            @Jean will do and you do the same. Been building two separate orders for bat houses. Two friends in different cities have bought (in principle) two of these eco-balanced ideas that are going to work.
            Only thing is: 24" x 39" Height.
            And heavy for the main sections of plywood . . . .but it makes money when waiting for my pay-outs.
            And I am 63, I have had a light stroke and thank God, it wasn't serious, but watching and taking care of myself.
            Pray for me, if you will, please, dear Jean!
            Love You!

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            1. 88

               Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Hi Kenneth,
               My husband was into making bat house at one time, but they never attracted any bats! I live in a very wooded area.
               
               I will pray for you my friend. Take care of yourself.
               
               Jean

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2. 94

   Glenn Stokposted 7 years ago

   Jean, The issue with the changing attitude towards callout capsules is understandable. I had the same thing happen. I started using them a lot after some curators used them, only to have to remove them later.
   
   I say it's understandable because HubPages originally thought it was a nice touch to make subtitles stand out. But then Google introduced the Featured Snippets and HubPages always thinks of our success first. So the curators were instructed to stop using callouts for subtitles.
   
   The reason is technical. In HTML code the subtitle in the capsules applies to the content in the capsule. Google can see that and use it for Featured Snippets. However, if you put the subtitle in a callout capsule it may look nice to the eye, but it's lost as far as Google is concerned. 
   
   I discuss this in my latest tutorial hub: "20-Step Checklist of Hub Writing Success Strategies". You may want to check it out.

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   1. 88

      Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Glenn,
      I think it was you who answered me when I didn't know what a callout capsule was! Now I have a lot of hubs with them, that I haven't submitted to niche sites yet, so I can fix them again. I made the awful error of using one text capsule for a whole hub as a newbie, so it's a project to break up an old hub I have no interest in and then split it in more text capsules, and then add callout capsules too. I would rather be writing new hubs.
      
      Thanks as usual for your help, I'll be sure to check out your hub. They are always so helpful!
      Best, Jean

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      1. 94

         Glenn Stokposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Jean, Yes you do need to break up that single text capsule into separate segments with appropriate subtitles. However, the new standard that was discussed is NOT to use callout capsules for subtitles for the reasons stated. So your job is easier than you think.
         
         And remember that it's worthwhile doing since your old hubs are not earning any money for you as they are — without subtitles that attract attention and readership. I think you would do yourself an injustice to ignore your old hubs.

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            Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I think it is all of my hubs at this point.  I think each one had the callouts added before transferring to the niche sites.. Ugh.

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            DzyMsLizzyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I have never used the callouts for subtitles.  I use them instead to re-quote some part of the text, for emphasis, or to add a related quote or bit of trivia from someone supposedly well-known, such as Einstein.

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            1. 88

               Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               I didn't even know what call out capsules were, but the admin insisted on them about three months ago on many hubs I submitted.. Now I have at least 20 hubs I thought were ready to move, and I have to take them out. But that's easy now. The whole hub in one text capsule was luckily something I only did as a new hubber, but I was writing three hubs a week and that adds up fast. I think most of them are fixed now.
               
               Dolores has a good point. For some reason, I forgot about a certain percentage of old hubs. I was going to delete them. But as I read them, they had good bones and with a little care and revision, were potential keepers. I've had 4 moved. We need to be patient. Also, it takes time when a hub is moved to gain traffic. We need to stay optimistic. I want to read more of other people's hubs too! But remember, when we read each other's hubs, that doesn't help our traffic!

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   2. 83

      Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      O.M.G. I never likes the look of it, and did it because I thought they had an SEO secret.  Are you saying I would be well advised to change them back to subtitles?  Chores...

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      1. 88

         Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Solaras,
         Yes, they have reversed themselves after urging us to add callout capsules on any hub moved to a niche site. It's a tremendous amount of work to go into old hubs. Many of my first hubs have been changed about 5 or more times. I once wrote hubs in one text capsule. So it's an amazing amount of work, to edit all that, and add callout capsules, only to know I have many more that I thought were ready to go, and now I have to change them. Again.
         
         The administration isn't communicating enough. I am also having a turn around time of almost 2 weeks or more when a hub has been submitted to a niche and read once, and then the moderator picks on silly things. They don't give names and so once you add a comma, or fix a one minute thing, you have to resubmit the whole hub and wait as much as another week. There should be a step in between, for hubs that have been corrected, without waiting so long and being resubmitted as new to the niche site. It results in not being able to move 2 hubs in a month, and allows no time to write new ones.
         
         I wonder how people feel when they see the hubs they are reading are years old? I always wrote evergreen, but it makes the niches look bad. After I move as many hubs as I can, I am not changing them all again.

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3. 88

   rebelogilbertposted 7 years ago

   Jean, I never used callouts much at all. I saw members use them for sideshow added effect.  I liked it and used it in my last hub, and a hub I published not long ago. I've never received feedback from the head office, emailing me to make changes. I do empathize with your frustrations about recent changes. Some hubs I wrote in the past had much higher scores. With time, they seem to go down.  My overall hub score as a member isn't bad. I get angry now and then. I think it should be higher, but I stick with the program, work on more articles to publish, get around and read different members hubs, which I think is a good thing. It's important to read what other writers are putting out. I don't comment on everybody's hubs who follow me, or who I follow. There are certain people with recently published hubs I used to comment on consistently, but they never comment on anything I write. I don't think that's fair. I recently received an email from Christy; she informed me about certain changes to google that is making it difficult for us to generate traffic. I would hate for hubpages to go down. It's a nice way to stay in touch with social media. I like the tools hubpages provide us for creating interesting hubs. Your new discussion thread,"Slow Turn Around Time," reminds me of another recent discussion forum hub where I heard about many hub members complaining, but I think that is a danger. It is good you're submitting to other niche sites. We don't know how long hubpages may last. Recently many writing sites had to close down. We should seek new opportunities anyway we can.

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4. 83

   Solarasposted 7 years ago

   I just updated one and it was pretty easy. Much easier then adding all of those callout capsules and getting them in the right place in the article. It just takes about 1-2 minutes per article, but I won't be adding them back lol.

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5. 92

   Dolores Monetposted 7 years ago

   Change is good! As Google changes what it wants to see, we need to adapt in order to get traffic. Also, edits keep your articles fresh. Big G doesn't like to see an article that just sits there. As an older person I understand that learning new "tricks" can be a headache, but learning a new concept is good for the brain as well as for my hubs. I am not the  most organized person so I don't even remember which of my hubs have callouts. Think of it as a little chore. At home we often need to address dumb little chores quite often. How much fun is it to clean out the refrigerator, polish the counter, weed the garden? But if we don't, our homes deteriorate. Maintaining order and refreshing our surroundings is essential to living in a pleasant environment. Think of your edits like that. I have come to enjoy weeding. The ability to adapt is what makes us human.

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   Brynn Thorssenposted 7 years ago

   I mean .... you have fantastic views on your hubs, why does it matter if they are accepted on a sister site?

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7. 88

   rebelogilbertposted 7 years ago

   Jean, it's just good to read other hubs to learn from others. I'm pleased a lot of your recent posts are more optimistic. It seems members are willing to learn, be patient, and adapt to changes. I by no means am attempting to act like Mr. Goody-too-shoes of the classroom, but too much complaining could lead to closure of the hubpages' website. We should all try to improve and learn from one another.

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8. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   Jean, you keep talking about the time when they asked you to change punctuation before they would agree to move one of your Hubs.
   
   I have never, ever, ever been asked to make such a small change. The editors themselves make those small changes.  You  get an email saying THEY  have made "a small edit" to my Hub.   Then you can click on the link in the email. or on the little red pencil on the green edit symbol, and go and look at what they've done.  BUT you don't have to do anything.   A few days later, the Hub will be moved.
   
   If someone was indeed arguing with you over one colon, I'd be willing to bet that editor isn't working for HubPages any longer!
   
   It is a pest about the Callout capsules.  After the editors revised my early Hubs to include them, I've been changing all my headings over to Callouts.  So now I need to change them all back.  Nuisance! But I do understand it's just another case of Google changing something so we have to kow-tow.

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