Am I in the right place?

1. 0

   Jill Mooreposted 9 years ago

   I've just introduced myself on a separate thread and I hope it's okay to jump in with a question. I've been an at-home parent for 13 years and am just re-entering the world of paid employment. When I thought about what it is that I really, really want to do, I realised that I want to write. I won prizes at college for my essays and assignments and I know that I used to be good but, let's be honest, I'm pretty rusty. I thought HubPages would be a good place to start in order to get my writing mojo back. I want to set myself up as a freelance writer ultimately and I need to build up a portfolio.
   
   Is HubPages the best place to do that? Can I link to my hubs on my own website, once I have one or is that frowned upon / banned? Do editors and freelancer clients respect the work that goes on here?
   
   I plan to write here regardless, simply for the pleasure of being able to write again but should I be looking at alternative methods of building a portfolio? I'm suffering a fairly serious degree of overwhelm and I'm trying to work out where my time and efforts are best focussed.
   
   Thank you to anyone who can offer me a perspective on this.

   replyreport
   1. 91

      Christy Kirwanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Jill,
      
      Welcome to HubPages! It can indeed be a great place to get back in practice with the writing game. You may link to your Hubs from your website as much as you want, but there are restrictions on when and how much you can link to your blog from your Hubs.
      
      Hope that helps, and best of luck on the beginning of your writing journey!

      replyreport
   2. 88

      Cardisaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Jill, if you take care to make sure your articles are well written, grammatically correct and interesting, you can use them as references. I have done so on many occasions.
      
      Hubpages is a great place to practice your writing. The more you write the more confidence you will gain. Ask for help when you need it and a ton of people will give you advice.

      replyreport
   3. 81

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      welcome to HP! Firstly, you can link to your own website but one one link. You will get warning message if you link two articles from your same website. Secondly, if you have deleted your article at your own website, you can post it here. HP only allows original , new articles, not copy and paste.

      replyreport
   4. 60

      Pawpawwritesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Jill, If you want to write "for the pleasure of being able to write again", I would say that Hubpages is a great place to be. Once you have some followers, you will be able to get instant feedback on what you have written. I find that to be very helpful with keeping motivated. Good luck, and hope you enjoy your stay.

      replyreport
   5. 71

      sockiiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Whether HubPages is the "best" place on line to get back into writing is something only you can decide. It's just one of a number of different content platforms out there today, which may or may not be better for you than simply running your own blog or website.
      
      If you feel the design of the article layout here suits your content, and if you're able to get your hubs through the Quality Assessment on publishing, then nothing says you shouldn't give it a try. If HP doesn't seem to work out for you then there are other options available. Or, you might want to try a few articles at different sites and see which one is bringing you better traffic and results with time.
      
      You can certainly link to your Hubs from your personal sites, no problem in that. Link outs from HubPages to your sites do need to be limited and should only be as directly related to your hub topic.
      
      To be honest in today's internet world, I personally feel writers should be concentrating on their OWN sites and blogs first, and general content platforms only secondarily. Especially if you are trying to establish yourself as a serious writer looking for freelance work, and where you can have best control in the long run over what you write.

      replyreport
      1. 79

         Dale Hydeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          
         
         I do agree with all you share, however, the above is very true and to me very important.  I compared my stats today for HP and for my blog.  Both run ads, both pay.  The views today, of all days, are exactly the same at both places.   On some occasions, my blog has had triple the amount of traffic that my HP account has had.
         
         On a side note, most of what is on my blog are articles that used to be featured hubs here that suddenly became unfeatured.  Seems like Google still likes them on my own domain.

         replyreport
2. 67

   Tigrestposted 9 years ago

   Hi Jill!  So good to have you here! It's great that you decided to get back to writing after all these years. You should do that, even if it's just for yourself. Writing can help you see deeper into yourself, discover new things and get to know a lot of interesting people. Hubpages community is very friendly and supportive. I am sure people will want to read what you have to say. Good luck!

   replyreport
3. 90

   Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years ago

   Welcome to HubPages Jill. I think that this site is an excellent way to brush off the cobwebs and get back to writing.  Writing individual stand-alone articles is a lot less time-consuming, you can write about a variety of topics to see what you prefer, and you can develop your writing style.
   
   You are allowed to link to your website, but you do have to make sure that you are doing so to help the reader of your article and not just to promote your website.

   replyreport
4. 70

   Born2care2001posted 9 years ago

   Hi Jill,
   I can only relate my experience here. I have been at hubpages for over 3 years. I have found a warm, supportive environment. My counsel to you would be to ensure that the activity and skills of writing make your heart sing and that you would do it even if you didn't get paid.
   If the activity satisfies and fulfills you, hubpages may be a warm place to share your work. At the same time I would also look to other venues for a more academic environment if that better meets you learning style and needs.
   Welcome to the family! We're glad you're here.

   replyreport
5. 88

   lobobrandonposted 9 years ago

   If you're looking to build up a portfolio to get into freelance writing, Hubpages is one of the best places to be. Just going to write down a few points in no specific order:
   
   1. Yes you can link to your hubs from your website.
   
   2. You can write on varied topics here and you could offer individual hubs as references when applying for freelance writing jobs.
   
   3. The format of hubs looks good, so add a few pictures, videos, polls etc to make it look stunning and your probable clients will be taken up. The writing needs to be good, but good design would make them want to read through - so better chances of being selected on the whole.
   
   4. Once you begin getting freelance clients you will find it easier to get new clients as you'd have good feedback to show any new clients, until then hubpages is a really good option.

   replyreport
6. 0

   Jill Mooreposted 9 years ago

   Thank you so much for all the replies and the warm welcome.
   
   There's some excellent advice here which I shall take on board.

   replyreport
7. 90

   Thelma Albertsposted 9 years ago

   Welcome to HP Jill! I hope you like it here. I see you have already a lot of answers from the comments and so I wish you good luck. Enjoy!

   replyreport