Tag Archives: blogging

Enelle Lamb on Writing, Publishing, Multi-Tasking, and ADHD

Enelle Lamb is a very active Hubber and online writer.  Between her involvement with the HubNuggets program, Hubbing, blogging, book writing, it is a wonder that she has time to also be a successful mother and advocate for children with ADHD – and yet she is.

Enelle Lamb

As many in the HubPages community are also outspoken writers of printed books, bloggers, and champions of various causes, we thought it would be fun to have a short interview with Enelle Lamb to discuss her life as a writer and activist.  We hope you enjoy it – and that Enelle Lamb’s involvement inspires you to follow your own writing ambitions!

HubPages: First, could you tell us a bit about your writing on HubPages? How did you first come across the site, and why did you join?

Enelle Lamb: When I originally found HubPages, through an online search, I was looking for a site where I could build an online presence in order to promote my jewellery and my children’s adventure series. I thought HubPages would be a great place to get started and inspire me to keep up my writing, but I found so much more. I have been a member here for almost three years. I have had a lot of fun, and made some good friends.

In addition to writing on HubPages, you also have several blogs, websites, and even published books. How do you manage so many things at once?

Funny you should ask, because my last Hub, Juggling – A Lost Art? talks about how difficult it can be to budget your time. So many of us face the same challenges in our everyday lives, and sometimes we need to be very creative with time management. I think if someone had handed me this entire list of jobs and activities a few years ago and said, “Here do this,” I would have laughed at them and said, “You want this when?” When I look at that list now, I wonder how I manage to get it all done. I think the key is that I am passionate about every one of these jobs and activities.

You share on your profile that you are a major advocate for children with ADHD. What inspired your involvement with ADHD?

A lot of people have heard about ADHD but they don’t understand how it affects the child and the child’s development. My son was finally diagnosed with this disability at age seven, and through his early school years I was already advocating for him with teachers and counsellors. Then I wrote my first Hub, which was about my son’s ADHD, and when I saw how many people were commenting, sharing their struggles, and seeking information, I realized there was a need for someone to advocate for other parents as well.

You recently revised and republished a book on ADHD – could you tell us a bit about it?

Absolutely – This book is a personal account of my struggles to parent a child with ADHD/ODD, and the challenges I faced along the way, both in finding comprehensive information about my son’s disability, and in overcoming the feelings of isolation and hopelessness that I and so many parents of these special children feel. When my son and I first began our journey, I had no idea I would have to become a top notch researcher and an uncertified authority on the subject. I had no idea that I would become an advocate for ADHD children and their parents. What I did know was that critical information was fragmented and hard to find, and not being put in the hands of parents who desperately needed it. The book was my response to that need for information and support.

As someone who is both writing online and creating books for print publication, could you give any advice to other Hubbers who want to publish physical books?

Certainly! The first thing an author needs is a good editor. Then they need to decide whether to self-publish or try one of the traditional publishing houses. Both methods have their own hurdles to overcome. If you decide on a traditional publishing house, then you must do your research. Research…research… and more research! First find a publisher who accepts your style of writing.  Find out exactly what they require for a submission, and then go for it! Don’t be discouraged if your initial submission is rejected. Successful authors hear the word “No” a lot at first.

Has your experience on HubPages helped at all with writing actual books, and if it has, how so?

Oh my, yes. HubPages is a great platform – easy to use, easy to learn and produces a polished, professional looking article. Writing on HubPages helped me to hone my writing skills, and it has been a great confidence booster. From the comments I received on my Hubs, I learned that I had something of value that I could share with others. As well, I have connected with a wonderful, caring community of fellow writers.

Do you have any other advice to Hubbers out there – perhaps people who are new to the community?

HubPages is a great place to write and a great place to connect with other writers. As a new Hubber, the amount of information available can seem overwhelming, but keep at it. Writing for HubPages isn’t the same as blogging. Blogs tend to be much shorter, and more personal, like snippets of how your day is going – “Hubs” are much longer, stand alone articles. You will find everything here from “poetry”, “where to buy the best new camera” and “how to market your Hubs.” Read lots, write about what you love, and have fun!

 

[Thanks, Enelle Lamb!]

The Business End of HubPages

We spend a lot of time talking about the community aspect of HubPages – Most of our blog posts are about improving online writing skills, HubCamps, contests, special programs, social media, and other Hubber-related topics.  These are all great subjects, but there are a lot of really extraordinary things our staff is doing behind the scenes to ensure that HubPages is an amazing place to write online, and I think they deserve a bit of attention as well. 🙂

In his latest iMedia blog post, HubPages CEO Paul Edmondson shares a little peek of the business end of HubPages.  He talks about the doubt the team faced and overcame during HubPages’ first months, the amazing growth the site has experienced, and the amazing community that has developed around it.  He also talks about our hope to build direct relationships with advertisers, so that we can pass on even better rewards to you.

This blog post is the first in a series – I recommend keeping an eye out for future installments!  If HubPages has become a part of your life and you are involved in its community, it never hurts to know more about how the business works and what we’re doing to make your experience as an online writer better than ever.

An Interview with Outside.in’s Esther Brown

As Week 3 of HubPages Marks the Spot nears its end, we thought it might be fun to catch up with Esther Brown, the Community Manager at Outside.in, our contest sponsor.  Below you’ll find her thoughts on local content- as well as the HubPages contest. Enjoy!

HubPages: First, could you tell us a little about what Outside.in is all about?

Esther Brown: Outside.in is the leading provider of hyperlocal news and information. We provide local audiences with neighborhood news and information from bloggers, journalists and mainstream media on hundreds of trusted news sites. In doing so, we help these local content creators by driving traffic to their sites.

How have you seen the concept of “hyperlocal” (be it related to news, as it is with Outside.in, or reviews, as with Yelp, or location-overviews, as with HubPages Marks the Spot) evolve over the past couple of years?

The first thing that comes to mind for me is the idea of ubiquity. Especially for those interested in media, the term ‘hyperlocal,’ has come to be omnipresent. A few years ago, ‘hyperlocal,’ was on the radar of only a select few companies or individuals. Now, more and more people and businesses understand the concept and opportunity. In the next year or so, I suspect you’ll see another leap for ‘hyperlocal’ as it moves from an exciting vision to a set of profitable best practices.

What kind of location-based articles would you most like to read, personally?

I love food, culture and history, so personally I’d love to see information about food-centric events that are happening around me, or perhaps stories about the people that are making the foods that I love. I love design, too, so I’d also be interested in stories about the history of buildings and places that surround me.

If you were to write an entry for this contest, what would it be?

I’d love to do a profile piece involving a lot of the bloggers I’ve interviewed for our Bloggers We Love series. I’d call it something like ‘Bloggers We Love: Their Favorite Places,’ or “Bloggers We Love: Road Trip” and I’d visit the different cities these bloggers write about and have them take me on a tour of their favorite spots. Like an insider’s guide to the city: curated by local bloggers and aimed at both visitors and locals.

There are tons of great local bloggers out there, and I love to spotlight them and the places they love. All the credit would go to my fabulous tour guides, of course, like Tasha Ball of Tasha Does Tulsa, who knows everything there is to know about what’s good in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Thanks, Esther!

To learn more about Outside.in, visit http://Outside.in or chat with Esther on Twitter via @Outsidein and @BloggersWeLove. You can also read more about Outside.in’s ‘Bloggers We Love,’ series on their company blog: http://blog.outside.in. To connect with Esther, follow her on Twitter via @estheribrown or @YallHungary.