Got notification that hub might be featured. MANY edits and hopeful.

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   CrossCreationsposted 4 years ago

   I'm thrilled to receive notice recently that this hub may be featured. The article was originally created over a decade ago, same as most of my hubs. I've been focused on updating them all these past few months, over 60 hubs and so far a little over half of them are featured. This one is about a tough topic, one that few are aware even exists, but those who are tend to have strong feelings about it. So there are loads of comments and lately it is picking up traffic again. I've edited it SO much, not just text but also images and removed almost all outgoing links. I have read here in the forums that hubs with a lot of outgoing links might be assumed as 'spammy' so removed them. This was painful to do because the links went to psychologists and authors who directly support the topic. I kept some of the book titles and short reviews, also names of orgs, but they're no longer linked. I feel I've severely watered it down with so much editing UGH but even if there's still a lot of text, it's shorter than it was and hopefully more concise. I removed much of the content and put in a different hub, related topic, and did link to that. I tend to be a chronic editor anyway, so now am taking a break and will try to leave it alone for awhile. 
   If any of you on the forums might be willing to visit and make suggestions, I'd be forever grateful as this is a topic near and dear to my heart. Thanks so much.  Carolan
   Here is my article: What is Parental Alienation Syndrome?

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   theraggededgeposted 4 years ago

   Hi Carolan,
   
   A few suggestions:
   
   Change the article bio to reflect your expertise and/or experience on the topic. The current one is not appropriate.
   
   Cut way down on the use of the variations of the word 'parent'. Currently there are 201 instances (though some of those are probably in the comments). Far too many. For example, the first paragraph:
   
   "Parental Alienation Syndrome occurs when one parent encourages a child to unjustly reject the other parent. It involves a campaign to not just separate as parents, but to deliberately damage the child's relationship with the other parent."
   
   "Parental Alienation Syndrome occurs when one parent encourages a child to unjustly reject the other. It involves a campaign to deliberately damage the child's relationship with the ex-spouse/partner."
   
   Cut down the subtitles at the beginning - it all looks a bit in-your-face. Also remove most instances of 'parental alienation syndrome' from them.
   
   Remove the bold text.
   
   Put the paragraph about Dr Amy Baker above the list of books.
   
   Do include a list of authoritative references and studies at the end of the article.
   
   Edit the comments and remove the ones that say stuff like 'nice lens'. Only keep the valuable ones that enhance the article.
   
   And just to repeat - remove all that bold text!
   
   Good luck.

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   CrossCreationsposted 4 years ago

   Thanks a million @theraggededge for many helpful suggestions. Appreciated.
   
   Did not notice some of that, like repetition of the word parent, but right - I see that now.
   
   I did want to delete some of those nothing comments but couldn't find the place to do that, must go back and look again.
   
   About authoritative references, I do have a list, but am hesitant to list as links since it seems Hubpages frowns on that - too many outgoing links.  Do you agree?

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      theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Okay, to delete comments go to your account page and click on 'author view'. That'll take you to the old HP version where you can delete comments. I deleted hundreds from an article the other day because they were just so old.
      
      When writing on a topic such as this, you really must cite references which back up your claims. Proper academic sources. Link to studies if possible. You can refer and link throughout the article but it looks more professional if you list them at the bottom
      
      Here's the link to WeHaveKids where you should submit your article once it's been featured: https://wehavekids.com/

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   CrossCreationsposted 4 years ago

   THX so much @theraggededge - just made more edits and deleted dozens of comments, and may delete more of the very old ones. Will list studies too, appreciate your input SO much.  Carolan

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      theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      You're very welcome, Carolan xx

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   CrossCreationsposted 4 years ago

   I edited and edited this hub, finally featured then did submit it to a network site, however it was declined. The email said 'it is possible that it was not selected due to the nature of its topic.' so maybe the network simply doesn't like the topic, think @theraggededge ???  I ask you since you reviewed it before and made many great suggestions, followed up on every one of them. Surely people DO search this type of information, but some may be turned off by a topics like abuse and narcissism as negative?  Just a guess since I'm lost on further actions. Any suggestions?

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   bhattucposted 4 years ago

   Updating always helps. Keep on updating with correct and additional details.

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   CrossCreationsposted 4 years ago

   Hey maybe I found something. I just read on these forums that it is not a good idea to link to another site on hubpages if you want hub to be accepted on a network site. The comments said it will never be accepted if you do that.  I did, since I do have a related page. So I'm going to delete that part. Then can I submit again?

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      PaulGoodman67posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Back in the old days, they used to encourage us to link to other hubs. Nowadays, I wouldn't do it unless it's especially relevant and you do it sparingly. I rarely do it now, but I can vouch that it's not prohibitive to getting featured.
      
      I personally stay away from medical and legal topics, they are more challenging to get featured, as they demand a degree of expertise which can be difficult to demonstrate. It can be done, but it's tougher.
      
      Good luck!

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   CrossCreationsposted 4 years ago

   Thanks Paul.

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      CrossCreationsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah it never occurred to me that linking back to hubpages might be a problem, was shocked to read that tonight.  And yes, I suppose fact that it's both a medical and legal issue could be a roadblock, that didn't occur to me either. Maybe I'll have to publish it elsewhere. THX again Paul.

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         theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, it is a problem. Hubpages.com was penalised by Google several years ago and it's still seen as a low quality domain. That's why the network sites were created. It's okay to link between network sites. And I think it's okay to link to Disover.hubpages. But never link 'backwards' to hubpages.com
         
         The topic is fine. There are plenty of articles on that subject.

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            CrossCreationsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            That's big, glad to learn that ^^ sort of, actually a big hit that kind of blows wind out of my sails to consider that all this work to get featured actually means very little, that it is only one step of many. I am still confused about network sites VS discover pages VS hubpages. This now appears to be such a daunting process. I mean I want to be part of a quality writing community, hate spammy sites, poor writing and link farms etc too, but at the moment am feeling worn out. So hub is the starting gate to even get published, next challenge being to get featured and then in discover mode, and only then possibly be considered for the networks?  Is that close? As an article progresses through this process, does the URL change too?  Thanks again for clarifying this @theraggededge. Appreciated.  Carolan

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               theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, but you don't have to worry about it. Write your article and, as long as there are no promotional links, it will automatically be featured and be on Discovery.
               
               It will be assessed for a network site, by the editors, within about 10-14 days of publication. If it is still on Discover after that, it needs work. When you've sparkled it up a bit, you can submit it yourself to the most appropriate site.

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