How long do you spend researching, drafting, revising, and editing a Hub?

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   melissae1963posted 10 years ago

   How long do you spend researching, drafting, revising, and editing a Hub?
   
   

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2. 67

   stvpaulsonposted 10 years ago

   As an Author of Novels and Short stories, I have had the same issues. I can tell you that it's best to not edit so much that you lose your "thoughts" in doing so. Try to stick with the base of your thoughts as originally written.  Then only edit for spelling and grammar.  You'll do fine. Don't worry about being or trying to be someone else's Style...be yourself!  That is what makes writing fun!
   
   For researching... a good writer writes what interests them and what they know about.  Don't try to research something in a field you're not interested in.  "KISS,,,Keep it simple...."  and have fun doing so
   
   Write your "blog" as with "free style," then go back after you are done, and edit only for spelling and grammar (usage).  Don't edit "you" out of your writing!
   Your Co-Author,  - Steve

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      melissae1963posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for such a great and honest answer. I agree about the editing. It just seems that I spend so much time researching and writing and revising that I never publish.

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3. 78

   alancaster149posted 10 years ago

   My research extends to a projected series of ten books in a saga. From reading an interview with the singer James Blunt the chain was begun via the Danish royal family of Svein Haraldsson, 'Forkbeard', his youngest daughter was unnamed on a family tree on Wikipedia, a ? instead of a name. James B couldn't name his ancestor so that gave me an almost open field of research on one side, the other going via Earl Godwin's Danish wife Gytha Thorkelsdatter, sister of Jarl Ulf in the first half of the 11th Century.
   Further research runs through various Anglo-Danish clans in England, the Wessex royalty (Eadward 'the Confessor etc), Norman nobility, Northumbrian nobility, thegns and 'Holds' (men of high land-holding status) in Yorkshire. Then it spreads wider to the West Country, (Eadric 'the Wild'), East Anglia, (Hereward of Bourne and his uncle, Abbot Brand of Peterborough) Wales, (princes Bleddyn and Rhiwallon),  Ireland (King Diarmuid of Leinster and his son Murchad in Dublin) and Scotland (Malcolm III, 'Canmore' enters the saga as the aetheling Eadgar's brother-in-law).
   Each book is 'paced' to take the reader from one event to another within a set period of time, to be continued in the next book with an enigmatic title, and sub-title to cover a set theme. And throughout there is an 'undertow' of the uncanny, the supernatural or the unreal maintained by the hero Ivar's woman, the russet Braenda. Your spine might tingle with the going's on in places, dark arts, dreams and so on.
   An atmosphere of period is kept in the place names taken from the Peterborough Chronicle and individual's names culled from the same source).
   Enjoy the read.

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      melissae1963posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Wow! Thanks for such a thorough and interesting answer. I'm not sure that I want to do that research for a Hub, though. Maybe for a book (or ten books in a saga), but not for a Hub.
      
      I'll look out for your books as I'm avid fan of history.

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      alancaster149posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The research for HUNDING'S SAGA was used also on the books. They are cross-referenced in places and the links will gradually strengthen as either saga goes on...

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4. 61

   FatFreddysCatposted 10 years ago

   It depends on the topic. Sometimes I take days or even weeks researching and agonizing over details, other times I bang out a Hub in a couple of hours and throw it out there.

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      melissae1963posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you. This just confirms what I was thinking. Do you see any difference in how well your Hub does in regards to the amount of time you spend on it?

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      FatFreddysCatposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Not really. Some catch on, some don't. I gave up trying to figure out what works and what doesn't a long time ago. I write stuff, and if it takes off, great. If not, I write more stuff and try again.

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5. 81

   RachaelOhalloranposted 10 years ago

   Step 1. I research, alot. For me, that is the most important part of writing any article. I need to be sure my facts are true, presented chronologically and that I have the bookmarks to back up where I found my information. So I make sure to always bookmark too. 
   
   Step 2. I write, taking care to arrange my article's facts, photos, links, and tables using the hub capsules.
   
   Usually Step 2 takes me 4 hours or so on a less intense subject. On subjects that are more involved or interesting, it can take many days until I'm happy with the wording, layout, photos and any links I want to share. (BTW, Links must be relevant to the article, and not "name dropping" to our other hubs just because we want them to get more traffic. You wouldn't believe how many people include links to their  hubs when they leave comments on similar articles they read on HP, or buried in the paragraphs of their article, in the photo capsules and in closing summaries. It's not cool to do that.)
   
   3. The longest part of creating any hub is getting just the right photos, making sure they are not copyright protected, getting permission to use if they are, and if I found them in my travels, locating that source so I can attribute them in the article.
   
   4. If I haven't lost interest by then, this process usually brings me up to about 6 hours, or up to as long as four days. If my subject matter is "timely," I move a lot faster to get it completed and published.  If the topic has been saturated on HP or in mainstream media, I may put it aside for awhile and work on something else. I do that alot - starts and stops.  I often have as many as 50 articles in my queue that are in various stages of completion. I always have something to work on - whether I publish it here or just keep it safe here to publish on my blogs.
   
   Every writer is different in how they work and the time it takes for them to complete an article; this is just my way. Some days I can bang out an article in two hours and other times it can take two weeks.
   
   Your question makes me think that you may be annoyed with  the time investment. My advice is don't worry too much about it taking you too long. In the end your work as a whole will eventually reward you with pay on HP.  Even though we don't see instant money in our pockets on HP, the articles you put the most effort into are the ones that will probably remain evergreen and may need the least updating.  Good luck to you.

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      melissae1963posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not so much annoyed as feeling like I'm researching and finding so many wonderful bits of information that I'll craft into an article only to see pennies. But I love to write so that's the opposite of the annoyance.

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      alancaster149posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Don't begrudge Hub-pages the time invested in research - it'll come in use for your own work, as I've found.

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      aesta1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      This is a very thorough explanation of what I usually do. I have to admit, there are times I am not as thorough and the hub is not very good. Unless, it is in my area of competence or have substantial knowledge in it.

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6. 73

   girlpowerposted 10 years ago

   i tend to over edit, and not just when i write it, but after i have published it and revisit it and see how i could add clarity to it, or to add pictures and links to amazon products. But like the other person said, not to over do editing, read and reread it then publish, let it stick for awhile and a week later read it again and make any more corrections.' Also from time to time i find new updated info on the topic and add another text capsule, sometimes heading off the top of the hub.

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   1. 73

      melissae1963posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I hadn't thought of revisiting a hub once it's published. Thanks for the tip.

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7. 83

   peachpurpleposted 10 years ago

   a month for new hub , a day for editing old hubs.

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8. 81

   Rachel L Albaposted 10 years ago

   It depends on what my recipe is about or my hub.  I really don't spend nearly as much time as some of the other answers.  I guess maybe I should.

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