Does writing on Hubpages mean one is a published author?

1. 61

   toys-everywhereposted 13 years ago

   Does writing on Hubpages mean one is a published author?

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2. 59

   Evylyn Roseposted 13 years ago

   No. Anyone can publish anything on the internet. As such, if you were trying to get a publisher to sign you on for a book deal, they would see you as an unpublished author when making their decision. That said, publishing good, high quality articles on HubPages provides a central place that you can refer others to see your writings. Having your articles visible and building an audience will give publishers and employers an opportunity to gauge how well they believe your writing will do for them. In that way, it can help with that sticky place between being a published author and an unpublished author when marketing yourself and your writing.

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   Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years ago

   YES!
   
   Print media is dying, and it's over rated and has been since a certain agenda and mindset monopolized the publishing houses.
   
   The internet is free for all, and you can damn well say what you wish online
   
   That is exactly why you see fascist movements attempt to control the content on the internet - it's hard to control a population of slaves when they can communicate freely, and be free from the filth that is spewed non stop on televison and radio....or published by major publishing houses.

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   Mark Ewbieposted 13 years ago

   Yeah, I'll go along with Wesman.  It's written, it's published, it's available for anyone to read.
   
   Just because someone got lucky, or was related to someone who works in publishing - who incidentally are the biggest up themselves bunch I have ever come across - doesn't mean that much to me.
   
   Now. There is a whole load of crap on the internet, written by amateur idiots without a clue.  But even that, is STILL published, and those people are still authors.
   
   Personally I think I am in favour of anyone doing it.  Like art, music, whatever - let it belong to the people, for the people.

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5. 59

   Evylyn Roseposted 13 years ago

   Hubbers question whether or not publishing their writing online makes them published authors. Other questions come up when considering the answer. This hub provides a detailed look into the terms "publish" and "author" to provide a more concrete answer. read more

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6. 0

   paxwillposted 13 years ago

   In short, I would say no.
   
   Posting articles on HP is different from having your work published on a  site like Salon.com or Slate.com.   Anyone can sign up for an HP account and start submitting pieces without any barriers. But if you write for a more a more traditional publication, you have to submit samples, you have to have some qualifications and verifiable expertise, and you go back and forth with an editor before your work is published.  These barriers are what make Salon and Slate more prestigious.
   
   There are many excellent writers who post on HubPages, but overall, since this site requires very little of its authors, I can't say this really counts as a "real" publishing credit.

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7. 65

   avan989posted 13 years ago

   yes, if you published anything it means you are a published author.

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8. 73

   TIMETRAVELER2posted 13 years ago

   Any time you put something on paper, you have published it.  That piece of writing is yours, and how you get it to the public doesn't matter.  No book publisher will republish previously publicized work, such as on hubpages, but this does not mean you haven't been published.  You have.

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9. 61

   Stevethepainterposted 13 years ago

   "Published" may not mean the same thing to everyone. How different are Hubs from Blogs? Are Blogs published, or not?
   
   Call me old-fashioned, but the definition of 'Published' seems to infer some sort of a commercial application; you PAY (or get paid, ideally) for some one to be able to create a product (book, newspaper, magazine, e-book) that has the words you wrote in it.
   
   In short: Published means that what you wrote ended up with a Library of Congress Classification Number on it somewhere.
   
   Hubs seem like a great place to get practical writing experience and feedback, and the potential of a small stipend from the advertising that supports this site almost qualifies as reimbursement for services, but I'm not convinced that it rises to the level of a quid-pro-quo contract for Services.
   
   There may need to be a new Tier of Definition created to bridge the gap between Published and Non-Published that would accurately describe works created and available online directly to the public to see/read/enjoy.

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