Writing sites I have known and loved (and sometimes hated)

I think I have tried every writing site on the Internet at one time or another. Some have come and gone; some have gotten larger and stronger. Here are a few that I have sampled. I am still writing at most of them.

Triond
 

I have published articles and photographs here. The photographs are published on the site Picable.com and the articles are posted to variety of sites which are chosen by Triond. They also accept audio and video. You are paid by how many views your content receives. I haven't figured out yet how many views you need to earn one cent. You get paid through PayPal once the total earned adds up to 50 cents or more. I have gotten paid in the past so it is a legitimate site. Triond now allows you to earn extra money with Adsense and referrals.

Helium

 

I have posted several articles at Helium. One of my articles was sold to a publisher through their Marketplace. You can basically write about whatever you wish at Helium, they also accept fiction. They have a peer review system that helps quality articles to rise to the top. Articles are rated numerically. Helium occasionally has contests in which you can win money. You get paid through PayPal when you earn at least $25. One thing you should know is that your articles will be there forever. You can't delete them yourself.

Orble

 

I had a couple of blogs here. Anyone can set up a blog. Earniings are through AdSense. I didn't earn any money there.  Some of the blogs here are better than others. If the editors think you have some talent, they will ask if you want to take over any of their blogs with their own domain. There is a supportive community of bloggers here.

Gather

 

I occasionally post articles here. You earn points for articles, photographs, videos, commenting on content and rating content. Since I am in Canada, while I earn points, I can't cash those points in for rewards. The rewards consist of gift cards or charitable donations. I have met some very friendly people here and it is a great site discussions of all kind.

Suite101

 

I used to write here in the early 00s. I was the writer for Shakespeare on Film. I never did earn anything there then. However, I am writing there as a contributing writer now. You are paid through PayPal and get a cut of the site’s income. They have a stringent application process; you have to submit two quality articles you have written and give them a list of sites you have written for. It is a very supportive community and there is help and training for writers. You are expected to post 10 articles in 3 months. After 3 months you can apply to be a featured writer in your chosen topic. According to Suite101, they receive over 7 million visitors a month to the site.

HubPages

 

I've been writing at HubPages now for 2 years and have written over 100 hubs. I have managed to reach Adsense payout three times.  I have also earned a few dollars from Amazon or Ebay. I love playing around with the hub capsules.

Digital Journal

You post news stories to this site and get paid through paypal once you reach $10. They prefer well-researched news stories; the more local the better.

Each of these sites has their pros and cons but they do all pay. Good luck if you want to try any of them.

YouSayToo

I have discovered a new Adsense sharing site. This one is YouSayToo. You can write blog posts on the site or link to your own blog. You can earn money through AdSense and Amazon, you can also donate to charity. You can participate in discussions with other bloggers, play games, etc. I just joined yesterday so I really don't know all the ins and outs yet. I'll write another post just as soon as I know more.

Finished!

I am finished. 30 hubs in 30 days...with one day to spare. It was a great experience and really got my writing juices going. I don't think I'll start on another one right away.

#28
What is a Living Will?

#29
Scrapbooking - My Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking


#30
I Still Have It...I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It - A Review

Three more and we are in the last stretch

I think I'm actually going to make 30 hubs in 30 day. I think also that I will take a break after this and concentrate on my other sites for a bit.

#25
Marvelous Muffin Recipes

#26
To Kill A Mockingbird - Censorship rears its ugly head again

#27
5 Questions for my Cat


I don't have a clue what the last three will be about :)

Now some Triond news. They have launched a new site and are accepting articles about pets. "From now until October 31, TheRealOwner.com is offering a minimum of $3 eRPM for all new, published content." I have published a couple of articles there and they have resulted in me earning more money on the two articles than I have earned for every other submission to Triond combined. I just submitted another one. If you are interested in reading my articles you can find them here:
How to Prevent Hairballs in Cats and 10 Reasons Why Cats are Better than Dogs. Here is a rebuttal to my 10 Reasons Why Cats are Better Than Dogs article. 15 Reasons Why Dogs are Better than Cats

On a Roll

I was on a roll yesterday, I wrote 3 hubs. I'm now up to 24, so I have 6 to write in 8 days, nice to be ahead of the game for a change.

Here are my latest hubs if you are interested:

I was a Trekkie

Ladies Jackets

My Top Five Favorite Authors

Memories of Being Bullied

The last one was tough to write but it's something I've been wanting to get off my chest for years.

Two More

I have written another two hubs for the 30 day hub challenge. I hope you like them:

How to Download Movies from iTunes

How to Clean Windows

I may have said it before but I am really getting into writing a hub a day, it's not that hard. And...I'm heading towards 100 hubs total.

Halfway There and Then some

I wrote 3 hubs yesterday and one today. I'm really happy to be writing every day about things that mostly interest me.

Why Should You Buy a Stainless Steel Pot

Richard Curtis - Or, The Man Whose Children I Want to Bear

How To Become a Pharmacist

That is 16 hubs and 14 to go.

Okay, I'm going to try it again. I am going to try...the operative word being try...to write 30 hubs in 30 days. I may not succeed but I am definitely going to give it the old college try. Why don't you join us at HubPages and take your own challenge?

My challenge is not to make more money (although that would be nice) but to write 30 quality articles in 30 days.

HowToDoThings.com

After more than a year I've written a new article for HowToDoThings.com. I love this site because I get lots of traffic to my articles without really having to do a lot of social networking. It is a very easy site to write for and it has earned the most for me on the sites I write for and I only have 10 articles published so far. HubPages is slowly taking over in terms of earning but I currently have 79 articles there.

So, my new article is How To Remove a Wine Stain. It's short and sweet.

Today's Featured Writer: Great Writing Advice

Occasionally, I'll be highlighting a writer who I think deserves your attention. My first choice is Athlyn Green. Her articles over on Triond are extremely helpful to writers both on Triond and elsewhere.


Her advice on how to earn more money from your articles where ever you publish is invaluable. The articles are written in a way that even the newbiest newbie can understand and follow her advice. Her articles are also invaluable to those who have been writing for years offline and are struggling online.

You can find her articles listed on her profile, but here are a few examples:

How To Write a How-To Article

10 Proofreading Tips: Polish Your Articles to Near Perfection

The 10-Minute Article: Time-Saving Tips for Fast Article Creation

Please drop by Athlyn's profile and read all her great articles. If you are a Triond writer friend her, you won't be disappointed.

Online Writing

Writing online is an interesting pastime. For most of us, it is practice and a way to make a little extra money doing something we love. Some of us long to leave our 9-5 jobs behind us and to become full-time writers. Unfortunately, for most of us, writing will remain a part-time pursuit. Not many writers can earn enough money to support themselves in the same manner as a full-time regular job does.

I write for several, what I call, quality online writing sites and blogs.

BellaOnline is an author-driven site. You don't get paid but you are given many opportunities that can earn you money; you can link to your Amazon and other affiliate accounts, and you can publish ebooks. You write a regular column, most people publish a new article every week, you send out a regular newsletter and you maintain a forum. The skills you learn from this site are invaluable. They have courses for the editors on such things as copyright and ebooks. If you would like to apply to be a BellaOnline editor, visit this page.

Another site I consider to be a quality site is HubPages. Anyone over 18 can write at HubPages and your articles are monetized with AdSense; you also have the choice of adding items from Amazon and Ebay. HubPages does get a percentage of your Adsense; you get 60% of all clicks, they get the other 40%. It is one of two sites that helped me get to the minimum payment for AdSense in just over 9 months. At HubPages articles must be a reasonable length (over 400 words) and must not be spam or overly promotional, they must also be in English. If this sounds like a place you'd like to visit you can sign up here.

How To Do Things is another excellent site that pays you via AdSense. You write how to articles in a certain prescribed format. I only have 9 articles up here currently but I have earned over $50 in 9 months. If this interests you, become a member.

Today.com is a blogging site that will give you a free blog. You have to bring traffic to your blog and you will be paid $2 for every 1,000 unique views that your blog gets. If you post every day you will definitely see your traffic and earnings rise. It is your responsibility to bring traffic to your blog. If you'd like to sign up for Today.com, visit this page.



These are just a few of the sites that can earn you money, but there are a lot more. One of my favorites is Triond. You can submit articles, poems, pictures and video to Triond where you will be paid on your page views. Their minimum payment per month is $0.50 which is a doable goal. My average lately seems to be around $0.60 a month but next month it will be over $1. Like many sites, the more you submit that is published, the more money you will earn.