Ten Reasons to Create the Text for Your Hub Outside of HubPages
Ten Reasons to Create the Text for Your Hub Outside of HubPages
When I create a hub, I generally like to start working on it in Microsoft Word. There are quite a few advantages to doing this – at least ten that I can think of. There are other word processing softwares that can be used, and some will not have the formatting issues that Microsoft Word does, but I am comfortable with Microsoft Word, and I have found ways to overcome these issues. I hope to address most of these issues later in this article.
Use Microsoft Word (or another word processing software) to Create Text for Hubs
There are quite a few reasons to consider the use of a word processing software before entering text into your Hubpages text capsules.
1. Able to View More Text Utilizing Word
By using Microsoft Word, I am able to view more text on my screen at a time. This makes it easy to see what I have written. Part of the reason for this is the fact that I am not limited to the text that can be found in one text capsule at a time, and the second is the fact that the width and height of the text area inside Word is more expansive than it is in HubPages.
2. Not Limited to Text in One Text Capsule
By using Microsoft Word, I can work with all of the text at once without having to navigate between text capsules. For instance, if I decided I wanted to move a paragraph or a sentence from one part of the hub to another, I can just cut and paste while in Word. However, I might have to open and close text capsules inside my hub to achieve the same thing, making it much more labor intensive.
3. Set Up Text With All Subtitles
By using Microsoft Word, I can set up my text with the subtitles and get the proper flow within my hub. I can look at my hub as a whole, placing subtitles every few paragraphs, and making sure that my paragraphs are not too long visually.
4. Easily Add Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks can be added in Word or Hubpages; the process is essentially the same. And since tool tips are no longer being inserted within HubPages, there is no advantage to doing them one place over the other. Any hyperlinks set up in Word, transfer into HubPages with a simple cut and paste operation.
5. Better Spell and Grammar Checker
Microsoft Word has a better spelling and grammar checker which is a bonus. This can especially be important for spell checking your capsule subtitles – which currently are not spell checked within HubPages.
6. Ability to Enter Symbols
Microsoft Word makes it easy to add symbols such as:
© - Copyright symbol
® - Registered symbol
™ - Trade Mark symbol
° - degree symbol
7. On-line Thesaurus
Microsoft Word also has a thesaurus that is easy to access and use. I tend to overuse some words; so sometimes I like to look at alternate words to use in order to help the words flow more smoothly, and not sound so redundant.
8. Word Count Readily Accessible
It is easy to see my word count so I can gauge if my article will be too short or too long. I usually try to have over 800 words (at least 500), but not much more than 2000. I want to make sure I have enough words to get my point across, while at the same time understanding that people have short attention spans and want to move on to the next article.
9. Easy to Use CopyScape
It is easy to run my writing through CopyScape. Sometimes when I am working on a document, I find that I use the same verbiage that someone else has used. It may because there are only so many ways to say that grass is green.
Or I may have done research, wrote my article, rewrote my article, and rewrote it yet again, only to find that I had used the same text that was in the original document. By doing this, I never have to worry again about receiving the duplicate content message on any of my hubs. The last one I got, I got because I was plagiarizing myself. I said the same thing, the same way in a couple of my hubs. (Imagine that!) I knew it was original content, because I wrote it.
To check a document in its entirety that has not been published is easily done by cutting and pasting the entire document from Word into CopyScape. This does require you to purchase the use of CopyScape (premium version - I circled where you would click to do this check), but it is only 5 cents per search, and the peace of mind that it provides is worth it for me!
Note: You can use Copyscape for free on a published hub. It is one of the methods you can use to see if someone is plagiarizing your work. All you have to do is enter the web address of the hub or article you want to check against. Make sure to include "http://"
If you want to be able to check a body of text using the cut and paste method indicated above, you will need click on the premium version whose location is circled in red (see below). This method does require a minimal fee.
10. Easy to Use Grammarly
Another software that I sometimes run my articles through is Grammarly. I have purchased a year’s worth of use of this software, so I may as well use it for my hubs as well as other writing that I do. This is easily accomplished by cutting and pasting the full document from Word into the Grammarly text entry box.
Transferring Document From Word to Hubpages
Let's look at an easy to navigate method to transfer your text from Word to HubPages.
The easiest way I have found to transfer the text from Microsoft Word to HubPages is to divide my screen so that half is devoted to HubPages and half is devoted to Microsoft Word. This can be easily accomplished by clicking the maximize/minimize button on your HubPages window and then dragging the right side to the middle of the screen.
Do the same with the Microsoft Word window. Click on the maximize/minimize button and drag the right side of the window to the middle area of the screen. They can overlap - it does not matter. You really only need enough of each window to be able to click between (toggle between) the two of them.
This will give you a screen that looks similar to the image below. I chose to put HubPages on the left, and Word on the right.
Notice in Word I have made my intended capsule subtitles bold. This helps me to sort things out as I am preparing the content for my capsules and as I transfer the information.
Cut and paste the text from Word to the HubPages' text capsule (see below).
Obstacles to Overcome
Microsoft Word has some formatting issues that do not transfer cleanly. Let's look at some of these issues and see how to overcome them.
Notice the space (shown in red) between the capsule subtitle and the text contents of the capsule. This generally happens when I transfer (copy and paste) text from Word to HubPages.
To eliminate this extra space you can save the text capsule, edit it again, and then delete the extra space.
Or you can utilize the alternate method below.
When a text capsule is in edit mode, the text "HTML" will appear in the upper left portion of your text capsule (see right). By clicking on "HTML" you will be provided the HTML text that makes up your text capsule (see below).
Next click on the gray "clean html" button that appears on the upper right area of your text capsule (see above).
This will change your text to look like the text that appears on the right. Delete the text that appears inside the red rectangle.
Make sure that you do not edit the last "<p>" that falls below the red rectangle. See lower right for the formatting that should remain in your text box.
Then click on the green save button to the upper right. When you save your text capsule the gap will no longer be there.
Bullet Points
Bullet points and numbered lists are another problem area when transferring text from Word to HubPages.
Look at the images below. Image 1 shows what the text looked like in Microsoft Word. Notice the size of the bullets. Image 2 is what those bullets look like after pasting them into HubPages. Notice how small they are.
If after inserting the text as shown in image 2, you click on the bullet point icon as shown in image 4, you will receive image 3 - having both the large and the small dots.
To overcome this problem, I remove the bullets in Word just prior to my copy, followed by a paste into HubPages, and immediately add the bullets back in HubPages. You will once again have what you see in image 1.
Look at the images above. Image 5 shows the text as it appears in Microsoft Word. After I insert it into HubPages, it will look the same as it does in image 5, but if I try to toggle it off by clicking on it in HubPages because I no longer want them in HubPages, I will receive the double numbers as shown in image 6, much the same as I received the double bullets in image 3.
The first set that was pasted in is not a bulleted number. It is perceived the same as the rest of the text. Therefore, if you wanted to add a fifth point, it would not automatically add the number for you.
Again the best way to overcome this obstacle is to remove the numbered bullets prior to insertion into HubPages and then re-insert them after that insertion.
That about wraps this up! I am almost certain that I have forgotten some other obstacles to overcome. So if you run across any, please let me know. I think if you use a word processing software to create your text, you just might find that creating a hub got easier.
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Copyright © 2011 Cindy Murdoch (homesteadbound)
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Comments: "Ten Reasons to Create the Text for Your Hub Outside of HubPages; Also Addresses Obstacles to Overcome
Great tips. I use Word for all my articles. Not only for the many reasons you've stated but it also gives me a backup of all my writing.
This way I have all my hubs in a personal folder. After I publish the article, I'll add the link of that hub to my word document for future reference.
I can also group my hubs and refer to them when I want to get inspired.
Thanks for this great article!
Thank You homesteadbound from this ten day Hubber. I will certainly bookmark and use this wonderfully instructive info as I progress. The only thing is that I used Word with my second Hub and when I copied and tried to paste it, the screen turned a rather dark blue, and I could not navigate at all, so ended up retyping the Hub painstakingly (and still missed a typo). I am sure it was operator error though, so will try the split screen method. Am bookmarking this great Hub.
These are great tips! Thanks for sharing. :)
You have some good tips here homesteadbound,thank you for the time and effort to share this!
I like using Word to write text, too. I've tried in the text capsules, and I've tried in Notepad, but I like how software for "words" is the best. Great hub! Voted up and across and SHARED.
Thanks for the helpful hub.
10 reasons to like this hub:
You are a nice writer.
The topic is important.
The hub is well done.
The hub is easy to read quickly.
The hub covers points that we may not think through.
The hub is a thorough overview.
The hub's sections are concise.
The hub has detailed guidelines.
The hub covers some new-to-me information.
The hub has generated some interesting comments.
Voted up and bookmarked.
Hi Cindy - Yes, I sent you an email to thank you and to ask what the next step is. And as for the hub score...forget about that. You'll probably never figure it out - I haven't and neither has anyone I've talked to about it. :) Thanks again!
Excellent hub you've got here.
I've always used MS Word first, mainly for the reasons you've outlined above, but also because it's easier to come up with a suitable URL when you've got the text already written out in front of you when you get to that stage.
Voted up and useful.
P.S. Congratulations on making hubber of the year, Homesteadbound!
Cindy - Just look at the score on your hub! I can't remember seeing one this high in a very long time. Congrats!
I tend to write my work out by hand first...old school. Another reason to use word is that if something happens to Hubpages or whatever site you are writing on, you have a backup copy.
Hi homesteadbound
Great article. I always type my poems in word and copy and paste into hubpages.
The only thing I have to do is edit and add spaces between verses.
Voted up and awesome.
Have a great weekend.
Ahhhhhh Cindy - such an awesome and informative hub! I have learned much from you. I use Word also, but you have pointed out some things I didn't know - such as #3, 4, 6 and 7. Like the kids used to say "you're the bomb."
I am self-taught as far as Word goes and sure wish I knew more about using it. I can see that I could save some time as I write my hubs. Voted way up! Thanks.
Gosh, Cindy, you always teach me something new. I never thought to use the maximinze/minimize button to divide the screen in half. How handy! My husband has two monitors, but with all the books and research I have laying around when I write, I don't have room on my desk!
RealHousewife, another use of the HTML button is to insert code so your links open in a new window. That way you don't lose your readers off the current window. I always do that now. Sinea Pies once wrote a hub on it that I have bookmarked. I'll share it again so you can find it in the feed.
Very cool hub here Homesteadbound! I thank you for creating it! Lol. I always wondered what that HTML button was for:) lol. That makes sense:)
I often do my work on word first and I just copy and paste I to the capsules...usually. Sometimes I write them in hub but I hate when I write myself out of the original title. Then I can't change the original URL as far as I know...but yes thank you for the clean up ideas! It will save me time I'm sure!
Go Dallas!!!! oops
You two are losing me - but seriously Dave you could do dual monitors with one computer and work on like 10 hubs at once.
is that like quilting?
I have two monitors... I just use them on different computers. In fact... I have one computer just for creating video and one just for hubpages and playing yu gi oh with HSB: @HSB... how would you sit in your chair with your small zoo and two monitors??? Sometimes technology is cumbersome. What is more important to consider is that even with all of our techology... she still kicked our B***s on "the List." hahahah
Well - if you both (Dave and Homesteadbound) were using desktops you would be in heaven with two monitors, yes two monitors at once.
I think that windows 7 allows you to drag and snap windows so they take up half of the screen and then you can drag and snap so that the next window takes up the other half of the screen... I also love that the new flat screen monitors come wider then standard....I have a 24 inch monitor that I use all of. Great hub HSB: I feel like this could be on the mid-term!
Very useful information when it comes to formatting a Hub. I will be using them for my next writing venture, especially the Copyscape link.
Great hub Cindy! Important tips too.
I tend to write mine on HP first and set up all my capsules THEN I copy/paste the whole thing into Word and edit and revise - I know it's a bit backwards. :)
PS I LOVE ktrapp! She always offers such great comments. I found a great little html book at Barnes and Noble once - I'll need to find that thing and step it up!
I always use MS Word for drafting my hub prior to publishing it to HubPages. It is easier to find errors and edit it. It is also easier to spot if another sentence or paragraph is necessary.
I was not aware of CopyScape and that was sort of a bonus to me in this hub. This is a very useful hub.
Very good suggestion! I will have to implement this into how I write my hubs! Thank you for sharing!
I almost always write my hubs directly into the hub capsules, but I have been seriously considering doing them in Word first, like you and so many others do. However, my reason is a little different:
I wholeheartedly believe that getting the proper keywords in the URL is critical to SEO. When a new hub is started, one of the first things we have to do is to create the hub's URL.
The problem is that I often have the words to the body of a hub flowing in my head long before I have a chance to research keywords for the un-editable URL. By writing in Word first I will be able to get my thoughts down (while they're still there) and then start the hub when I feel I have an SEO-friendly URL.
You've got some great tips in this hub that I will be sure to follow. And let me just say that I am thrilled to see that you have ventured into the world of html. FYI - The "p" and "/p" that you are deleting represent paragraphs (starting a paragraph = p and ending a paragraph = /p). The "br" represents a line break.
It occurs to me that you are a tremendous student, learner, and teacher all rolled into one!
Very informative resourses. I better bookmark this one! Voted up and interesting...: )
Hi again, I think it just sunk into my head the wrong way.
But your hub was indeed very useful, I always use word and appreciated the extra tips that you showed here.
I would appreciate your opinion on 'Plagiarisma.Net' which is what I use to check my content before I publish an article.
Also there is a program called 'Jing'. I wrote a hub for this a while ago. It is perfect for screenshots and it is FREE to download.
I did see someone earlier mention 'underlining' problems, I too have this problem when I paste from word it will often add the underline in the module, often only part of the text will be underlined, I am thinking this is a hubpage glitch but if you have any idea how to solve this would be helpful. Thanks
Oh and congrats on winning new hubber of the year. Well done, you sure have been a great help to many of us
I love copyscape. It is very helpful but there is a limit you can freely check a page per month.
Dear Cindy ~ I voted up, plus awesome and useful. You get a 100% in the grade book for this tutorial. I may sign up for the premium copyscape if it allows you to upload the entire text for scanning. Your other tips for transferring text from MS to HP were terrific. I really do enjoy typing directly into HP or from notepad into HP. I see the one benefit for me would be the word count option in MS. Hugs, Debby
Congratulations, Cindy, on your award...you deserved it! This is an excellent hub as usual and full of lots of good information. I'm glad you shared about Grammarly and Copyscape as those are valuable writing tools for anyone to have. Voted up.
This is such a helpful hub! I have to share it with my followers. Great work (as usual), Cindy! Keep it up!
I always write in Word first so that I can put my writing aside if I have to and go back and work on it some more. I appreciate the info on Copyscape in this very well written and laid out hub. Voted up
Hi again, I should have know about the comment not showing! Thanks for quick response. I did copy your banner, I really like that, thanks. I would never be able to do that on my own. Thanks again for all your help, it's appreciated!
I use word only for doing Hubs. I have tried WordPad and NotePad but I don't like them.
I also use a handy little program called StickyPad. It works good because it will lay on top of your Hub when your working on it. I put reminders of things I want to put in the Hub on StickyPad.
Congratulations of winning the New Hubber of the year 2011.
Good hub.
Although I’ve always started hubs off in Word, there is a lot here that will make the process much simpler for me, and hopefully cut down on time as it takes me quite a while to assemble hubs. I shall book mark this.
And congratulations on being Hubber of the Year.
What a great hub! I have been wondering how to use copyscape--so I have bookmarked this hub--happy new year to you!
Excellent advice. I routinely use Word when writing my hub text, check and edit it, then copy and paste into the hub. It works so much better than typing text directly into the hub capsule (as I did with my very first hub).
I left a comment earlier, but now it's gone! Anyway, I congratulated you for the award. I have learned a lot from this. I've always used Word, but didn't know how to utilize it the way you show. Also, I didn't know about Copyscape. I've bookmarked this. Voted it UP, etc.etc.
An absolutely amazing and useful hub with completely original idea. I loved your flow of thoughts, your explanation, and the formatting too. Great work here. The tips you shared with your unique perspective is amazing.
Congratulations of winning the New Hubber of the year 2011. You deserve that award! Thanks for all this good info. I always use Word when writing a Hub, but never thought of splitting the screen between Word and my text capsule. I just minimize Word and copy and paste from there. I didn't know about the Copyscape either. I've bookmarked this Hub. I want to know how you create the banner "I truly value your comments, etc." I like that. Thanks again.
Homesteadbound, thanks for this informative hub. Just one question. How did you put in a summary to your hub? My hubs all show that they are missing a summary.
Thanks, Homesteadbound, very helpful. How do you get all those screen shots in your hubs.
Congratulations on your award.
This is a great idea. I got into the habit of starting writing directly on HubPages. Then I transfer to Word to check it. I am trying really hard to do it the way you mentioned here, because it will save time.
Happy New Year. I appreciate all of your support you have provided this year.
Very useful - thanks for the tip on copyscape for checking on hub to check to see if someone is plagiarizing. Just pasting in the hub URL - I had not idea it was that easy.
Thanks, Homesteadbound. Very helpful and clear. I could use another hub on how you get all those screen shots into your hubs. It looks painstakingly slow and complicated.
This is very helpful--thanks for putting all this info in one convenient Hub.
Very good article. I learned several new things here!
Very helpful Hub. I do all my Hubs in a Microsoft document and the cit and paste. I don;t use all the bells and whistles that you do (I am quite impressed) but seeing all the text on a larger screen and the ease of cut and paste makes it a no-brainer. :)
Happy New Year.
A very useful hub Cindy. And of course very well set out as usual.
I think you may have given the wrong link for Copyscape as the one you link to is to check if anyone has copied your own article, which is very useful of course but not the one I think you meant to link to.
You can deny this and correct it if you wish before anyone else reads it. Cheers
I love the clarity and simplicity of this article, and the wealth of useful information provided. (Please write instructions for the use of our TV, Video and DVD player!). One more excellent reasons to use Word if you are one of the less disciplined writers like myself, is that you have a text copy on your computer.
Having said this, I do like the inspiration of my illustrations, as my Hubs are usually very visual. Also I've had problems when transferring text to HubPages, namely underling. As the spell-check on my Word AND HubPages fails to work properly, I'm on my own there either way! Voted up.
I've been looking for a hub article to give more tips using word to format my hub. Thank you for sharing.
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