Do your poems and short stories on HubPages make money for you?

1. 79

   LindaJMposted 14 years ago

   Just wondering! I have a lot of old poems (I no longer write poetry often though I once did). I still write a lot of stories... especially flash fiction.
   
   I could put my poems and stories here on HubPages... but my main motivation would be to make money.
   
   So tell me... do you make money with your poetry and stories here? Or, do you mainly post them here to get feedback?

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      David 470posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      It can not hurt you. I actually recently posted a short story. I mean even if it does not help you one bit, there will be no negative impact. Know what I mean?
      
      Just don't spend 100s hours posting them, but you know that. I actually thought about writing some more short stories, not sure If I will though.

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         LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         You're so right... I will probably put some of my unpublished stories here... maybe a little poetry too, though article writing is my main gig.

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   Rochelle Frankposted 14 years ago

   I don't write them, but many people do. I don't think they are big money makers. (Product reviews do best in that area.) Nevertheless, many people do enjoy them, and you never know what might happen. Yes people do get feedback.
   
   It doesn't hurt your chances of making money if you post stories and poems and then decide to do some more commercial  or general articles.
   I'd say give it a go and see what happens. You might enjoy the experience.

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      LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You made a good point there... it wouldn't hurt to include some creative writing along with articles and more factual topics. Product reviews are good too... I've read some good ones recently.

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3. 71

   Cagsilposted 14 years ago

   I don't have a completely accurate account of my poems/poetry. However, I do know off hand that one of my poems has made $5.00 this month so far.
   
   So, that should give you an idea. I would say it would work well, if you could drive enough traffic to the page. The only problem is finding those readers.
   
   Just my experience so far. Poems/poetry, can be for occasion clicks, but not to derive revenue from consistently.

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   1. 79

      LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Getting paid $5 for a poem is wonderful! What's really cool is that you could get paid $5 every month, or even six months out of the year... and that's so much more money than most people ever get paid for their poetry. Know what I mean?
      
      So... maybe I WILL start posting my poems... seems better than leaving them wasting in a box. Who knows... maybe I'll earn some money with mine too. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
      
      About 20 years ago I sold a poem to a newsletter for $5. That meant so much to me! It was the first time I'd ever been paid for something I'd written.

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4. 69

   Pearldiverposted 14 years ago

   I write poetry around key issues and within the hub not only do I have the poetry, but also relevant or historical information about the issue.
   I have found that I retain my readers on my works for in most cases twice the average site times.. which says that my works hold interest.
   Earning on my poetry (to me) is secondary, as my primary interest is gaining high SE ranking.. which I do and which gets my reputation promoted better than most.
   As a result of good SE exposure I have received several lucrative offers and writing opportunities. I have my own site interests for earning.

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   1. 79

      LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I stay on poetry pages because I want to reflect on the meaning of the piece, or because I don't understand what it's about, or because I want to study the descriptive language.
      
      I was thinking of doing something similar to what you're doing. My plan was to post not only the poem, but also some text about the poem, why I wrote it, or something... more than just the poem... to make it more interesting as an entire and well-rounded hub experience.
      
      I'll go seek out your pages to see what they're like.

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5. 68

   Tusitala Tomposted 14 years ago

   Over the thirteen months I've been 'Hubbing' I've placed 150 Hubs. About four of these are poetry Hubs.  Another couple of dozen would be short stories.   No, I don't make a bean from any of them.  But then again, I didn't expect to.  From the Forums, Questions et cetera and the various answers, I doubt many others make money either.
   
   Looks like you'll need to go elsewhere, methinks.  Either that, or just write for the enjoyment of it and the contacts and friendships you can built up through being part of this site.  Most others are only too happy to keep you at it.  There is an awful lot of mutual support and encouragement on Hubpages...

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   1. 79

      LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, I'm not going anywhere. LOL ... I'm so happy I decided to try out HubPages! I've been writing at Squidoo for the last few years, and still make lenses... but I like what I've seen here at HubPages and will probably be around for years to come. FYI all my income is made online - so it isn't just a hobby for me anymore. I'm not rich but I'm solvent... and HubPages is a great next-step. I've made six hubs in the last week. I'm just trying to decide whether to include creative writing in what I'm doing here. I wrote two such pages at Squidoo and though people love them, they're not what I'd call popular, money-making pages.

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   BobbiRantposted 14 years ago

   In my observation it is a resounding NO they make little, if any, money.  But I love reading them and I'm an unusual sort of person anyway.  I write about a lot of subjects, I have very Few 'selling' hubs so consequently, I don't make the '$100 per day' I read about.  I still write. Meh!

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      LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not in the 100 per day category either... (darn!) ...and from my observations at Squidoo, you have to be willing to write about Lady Gaga and other superstars as those lenses get lots of traffic. I don't know enough about her to write anything. Wrong generation, I guess!
      
      Anyhow, I think I will post some of my old poetry and other things I've written in the past. I'm inspired because I've seen a lot more poetry and creative writing posted here than I've seen at Squidoo, so maybe this is a better forum for it. And though writing is one of my niches, I have several others.
      
      Hey, I like HubPages more every day!

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7. 85

   rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

   from my relatively short time here, I would say, you never know what hubs will make money. I think it's nice to have a diverse portfolio. I have included a few of my poems. One includes text about how the poem was 'born' and all the steps involved.
   
   three big keys I've learned here among many others (it's a very helpful community):
   write the best content you can about what you know/topics people search.
   never divulge which hubs make money for you.
   enjoy it!
   

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   1. 79

      LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Very cool! Okay, so maybe I asked the wrong question? LOL ...
      
      It is true I'm mainly here to make money but the opportunity to release some of my creative writing in a place where it *might* make money (or not) is priceless. I also posted a few of my flash fiction stories on my writing blog (well received) ... but I like this forum where there are other creative writers posting their work as well.
      
      Thanks for your response and 3 helpful suggestions.

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         rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         no, you didn't ask the wrong question because you wanted to know. just as pearldiver mentioned, it's great for exposure and possible offers, and you just never know what people will click. I've been surprised at the hubs that make money.
         
         there are many really talented writers here if you start reading some of the creative writing/poetry hubs. I'm sure you're going to love writing here.

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            LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks, rebekahELLE... I will definitely be posting some creative writing. So far, haven't gotten to it because I've got so many articles to write...

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   Aya Katzposted 14 years ago

   My poetry and short stories don't make money here. One of the problems is that Google has trouble identifying a topic, and even the keyword tool was unable to suggest appropriate keywords.
   
   I think this is not necessarily because it's poetry and fiction so much as because I don't write on popular or easily identifiable topics. So it doesn't surprise me that others are doing much better with their poems and stories.

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   1. 79

      LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Aya Katz, I'm planning to do keyword research before posting, and then will write an article to go with my poetry (or short story) ... maybe that will help get search engine traffic in.

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         Rochelle Frankposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         That sounds like an excellent idea. I like to read poetry-- and part of the joy is to be able to see something that it brings to your own mind, but I also like to know if there is some backstory-- or some interpretation.
         My poetry is doggerelistic .. but I did win a poetry contest that I set up for myself.

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            LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            LOL ... so you created the contest and won it? Good strategy! Is that something like making a goal and achieving it?

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   EYEAM4ANARCHYposted 14 years ago

   I've made a dime or two, here or there.

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   1. 79

      LindaJMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      A dime? Well.... I'd like to make more than that for my stories or poems, but there's the cumulative effect. It could be a dime this month, half a dollar the next, but over the course of several years it might add up to more than fifty dollars, maybe more. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

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      1. 97

         Rochelle Frankposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         The thing is-- dimes are good, but also people notice your work.
         Some people have been contacted to participate in other endeavors because of the work they have posted. others just enjoy the feedback from people who enjoy their work.
         It's your choice to drop a line or two in the water and see what happens.

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10. 74

    WryLiltposted 14 years ago

    I believe Shazwellyn has been working on ways to promote creative writing.
    
    In my experience, if you write a piece that is for a specific topic, you can get some traffic and even some clicks from it. I posted quite a few creative pieces when I joined the site, and these two have at least a few google hits a day:
    
    ►A parody of a John Keats poem - lots of searchers looking for information on original poem.
    ►A short story for kids about a sun and a cloud - seems lots of people are doing searches with the words 'childrens story, cloud, sun' in there.

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