Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Apprenticeship Program at Hubpages: I'm Going To School!

I submitted my application
Well, I don't know if I mentioned it not, but I am going to school! I love it and love it and love it!  What kind of school, you ask? I am going to writing school.

It is an apprenticeship program put on through Hubpages.com. I started at the beginning of July and am happy to report that it is all that I expected and more.

Hubpages started the program a few months ago, and then issued an open invitation for applicants. I submitted an application in April, and was accepted two monthes later in June. So, it does take a while to get in, but it's worth the wait!

I like the program because it really lays out all the information in a systemic fashion. I have read a lot on my own, but it's always been ad hoc. It's just so nice to hear it in a very organized fashion, and have the opportunity to ask questions as we go. When I first started out, I had no one to ask anything, except the Hubpages forum and I have had a lot of questions about the best way to do things.

If you are a hubber who has thought about applying to the program, I would recommend it. It is challenging, though, so expect some heavy effort and a fair time commitment. I say "fair" because the time needed to do everything will really depend on your knowledge base and your speed of reading and writing.

An amazing thing about the apprenticeship is that each group gets its own private forum. This is very helpful because it's like a classroom discussion: you learn from others in the class and you never know what will come up.

 I have a very good group and some of them are very skilled in areas that are pretty new to me (i.e. SEO -- search engine optimization.) I recently asked for feedback on some potential titles and I got invaluable feedback from other group members.

The first month, I was given eight titles from my mentor and it was hard to do. I am used to choosing my own hub subjects. But the titles she gave me were good, and showed me some good subject areas that I had not thought of. Getting assigned titles is very much like working for an editor, with certain expectations and it's very good training for freelance writing.

This month, we choose our own, but with a special emphasis on good keyword statistics. Basically, we have to choose titles that people might be looking for, but the process of finding those topics is the challenge.
I give the Apprenticeship program an A!

So, I give good reviews to this program. I still don't know if I am going to be teaching again this year, but I want to keep up the apprenticeship, no matter what I else I end up doing. The lessons are invaluable and I forgot to mention that we get paid!

Yes, each member in the program receives a bonus of around $6.00 for each hub, up to a total of 24 hubs a month. This is in addition to the residual income we already receive on our hubs. Through the program, I am getting a payout from Hubpages two months in a row. It is a blessing!


Here are some of the titles I wrote recently while in the Apprenticeship, along with my thoughts about writing them. If you are not a hubber but would like to write somewhere online, I do recommend Hubpages.

Banff Springs Hotel: Castle of the Rockies: This is a research-based hub that is all about this hotel. I chose this because I am from Alberta, and have always had a soft spot for this hotel. I am impressed at all the interesting facts there were about this place. I thought it would be a fairly easy write, but it took me a long time to compile everything!


Double--M, via CC BY-2.0, via Flickr, modified
Teaching English With Songs: This hub was one given to me by my mentor. At first, I struggled with this a bit because I had used songs in my classes a little bit, but did not consider myself an expert. I put my teacher hat on, though, and thought about different approaches one could use. The result: a solid hub that has keywords that a lot of people are searching for!

How To Plan A Weight Loss Menu was another one that I wrote for my mentor that really made me think. Yes, I knew how to plan a weight loss menu; I just was lax on doing it at the moment. Writing that article, though, gave me hope that I did know how ... and that I would start again. Sometimes we can teach others things and it points back so that we re-teach ourselves.

Love Sharilee. If you like what you are reading, sign up for regular updates with Blogger or through my Facebook page.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Real Time Google Analytics Thoughts

One of the very cool things about writing online is that  you actually get to see a lot about who is reading your work. Through Google Analytics, you can see a good deal about who is reading your site, and why.

Analytics mean more to me than numbers. 
In some strange way, I find this very comforting and soothing. Why? Because I see that my writing matters to  people, real people, and it is playing an important part of their life. How do I know? Because I get searches all the time like "should I get a divorce," and "poem for losing your mom."   I have articles that talk about these kind of questions and people are reading them in order to find some answers. That brings me a sense of comfort.

Now I know Analytics were not primarily conceived as a way of comforting a writer, that Google Analytics a tool for making money online, for tracking your numbers, your traffic, and ultimately, your profits. And they are good for that, too. But to me, they mean much more.

Writing is sharing. 
They are confirmation of something deeper than monetary profits and traffic. They are confirmation that writing is something worthwhile. Writing, after all is sharing.  For this once shy, awkward girl who sat in the corner at the party, it is an amazing feeling to know that my words are reaching out across the world somewhere, to someone I don't know, with something worthwhile.

The power of words was also brought home to me this week when a good friend from Hubpages, whose Hubpages name is BillyBuc, wrote a very powerful piece about injustice happening on a reservation in the United States. The piece, written on Hubpages, has now gained national attention and important people have been paying attention. This was something Bill did by sitting down at his laptop and punching out some letter keys. But it was heart and his courage that came through, and affected change.

Yes, we all like to write for traffic. Me as much as the next person. But I think the deeper reason many of us want traffic is that we want to be able to make a difference, by using our gift, our writing. And Bill has inspired me as a writer and a human being, that we can make a difference if we try. Thank you, Bill.


Love Sharilee. If you like what you are reading, sign up for regular updates with Blogger or through my Facebook page.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Thursday Confessions: I'm Not Watching The Summer Olympics

Beautiful photo that represents introspection
Photo by Lel4nd, via Flickr

Okay, I am going to do a Thursday Confession. I haven't done one of these in, forever. This is a post where I just confess random stuff and get it off my chest, so to speak. Maybe you'll be able to relate. Or not!

I confess that I sometimes feel guilty about having three cats. I feel like it's hard to give all three the attention they deserve. I am glad we kept them, but I know an "only cat" would get more attention. But at the same time, they all know they are loved. (I hope!)

I confess that I am not watching the Summer Olympics. Yes, I know it's fascinating and all, but I just never like watching sports, no matter how international and important they are. I feel like I should be watching but I can never justify taking the time to just watch all these events. I turn the channel before they can finish a race. My husband called me down to watch Michael Phelps and I just couldn't do it! 

I confess that I should be doing housework right now. And other stuff. And that I am writing in my blog because it's the one little place that I can muck around with words and feel calm. Writing in my blog calms me down. 

I confess that I have not tracked for two months, at least. I want to start tracking but I keep getting worried about other things in my life and don't do it. I know that in order to get back on the path to losing weight, I really need to begin the tracking process again. It works for me. 

I confess that my husband went nowhere on our holiday and absolutely loved it! It was fabulous to sit around and just hang out. I love traveling but we couldn't afford it, so we just revelled in our homebound state. It was wonderful and relaxing. 

I confess that writing is my favourite thing to do, in the world. I absolutely love writing! I stay awake with dozens of ideas for e-books, articles and websites. I have the ideas in my head but I am slow at actually implementing. I really love writing all the time. I am planning on going back to work in the next couple months, though, because I can't make a living at it yet.