The Start of Something New
'kay. I've done it. I've been feeling mostly satisfied with the direction my website, LIFE-BUILT POEMS: Living Out Loud has been trending.
It's looking like it's becoming a showcase for my poetry as well as a major exercise in long-form writing, where the words pile up and build into assorted movements and crescendos, glissandos and other music-words like that to make a symphony for my users.
I've worked on developing a system for constructing posts for it that helps me find new ways to combine concepts and mash together ideas to produce new and improved ones (or explain old ones that work really well).
My posts often go way over 2,000 words and tackle several viewpoints and mindsets all at once. They are complex and many-layered and I am feeling really good about getting better at doing them well.
I'm seriously engaged in celebrating and appreciating the people who help to make the world a better place, which, frankly, helps me retain my faith in all humankind.
It's a good thing. I love it.
(I also love all of you peeps who help me with the project. You are really cool, guys. Thanks, eh!)
The thing is, I am a writer trained in short-form -- little piddly things that are 500 words or less -- suitable for newspaper columns and magazine sidebars and stuff like that.
I was a community columnist for my town paper for 14 years. I quit because I was well on my way to becoming an institution or something and I didn't want to do it for the rest of my life. (ARGH!)
I did three other columns (simultaneously) for a database used by an association of professionals to build out members' business websites. That one, too, went on long enough that I was heading into institution territory again.
I got really good at doing the short form. I can do it week after week after week without pause. Heck! I can do short-form every day -- no prob.
This month I joined the writers on the Medium.com platform.
Medium is a community of creative and content writers that has an affiliate program their own selves. It pays pennies for the time other people spend reading your words as well as referral fees and such.
Medium's been doing their thing for 10 years or so and is currently in a time of change and transition, working on getting their systems to align more synergistically or something like that. Whatever.
I've been fooling around in there and that has put a major crimp in my long-form construction efforts.
Once I've got the thing going, I'll get back to doing the long-form writing for my website and integrate the whole writing thing so I can get it all done.
That's the plan, anyhow.
Hope you guys are having fun!
Recent Comments
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Seems like you have a fantastic plan laid out in front of you Netta...
Keep on doing what you love to do my friend and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise!!
Hi, Netta
I took a quick look at medium.com . They have some interesting articles but perhaps they could use your help as a paid consultant.
I noticed that their paragraphs tend to be a bit to long for mobile devices, smartphones, in particular.
They could also use more images to break up the text a little.
How’s their SEO and Google post rankings? If they’re not making much money in affiliate marketing after ten years, chances are it’s a little shaky.
It might be a good opportunity if you’re not too overworked already.
Fun is important, too! 😎
Frank
Hey Frank:
The Medium thing is to writers what Flickr is to photographers and Wealthy Affiliates is to marketers. All three are communities and eco-systems for the various Creatives in each group.
Wealthy Affiliates is an awesome training platform and community of support for affiliate marketers and other entrepreneurs. Flicker is outstanding as a way for photographers to get their works some attention from the world. And, I suppose, Medium is a bunch of wanna-be writers supporting each other and spreading awareness for their own works.
I have no idea how the buggahs make their money or how well they are doing it. I do know that they are all very widely spread and keep on building, tweaking on and improving their vehicles and playgrounds for us Creative sorts.
They're pretty cool.
-- Netta
Sounds great, Netta.
I wonder if there’s a way for you to get some WA referrals out if that reservoir of writers?
Frank
I recognized some of the peeps on Medium who are also active in WA. Mostly, it seems, they do content posts on Medium that attract followers and get subscribers for their email newsletters which they use to present stuff about WA.
It looks like a viable strategy, that one.
-- Netta
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Sounds like a great plan Netta.
Medium is very popular and another great way to get traffic, and be part of niche-related communities you can offer help to.
Always so much to do, eh? haha
Cheers,
Suzanne
Thanks for dropping by, Suzanne!
Oy! Doing, doing, doing....always makes me wonder what I'm doing, that. Sheesh!
-- Netta