Why Wizzley Why?

by Telesto

Why did I start writing on Wizzley? I was looking for outlet for my writing without any financial outlay, and I didn’t want to go back to poorly paid sites.

What was it that made me start writing on Wizzley? What made me choose this over other sites? To be honest, I’m not sure why I chose Wizzley, but I liked the look and feel of the site from the start. As it happens, I think it was a good choice. The other writers are helpful and friendly, and there are some terrific writers here. The beauty of the internet is that you can interact with people from all over the world, which is exactly what happens on Wizzley. So hats off to Wizzley.

This is my 30th article.  Not my 50th or 100th or even 650th, so none of the usual Wizzley anniversaries.  Something came to me that made me want to write this now, partly from reading the forum, partly from something that NightOwl very kindly did for me.  It’s not intended to be sycophantic (if you knew me face-to-face, so to speak, you would know that is so unlike me, it would be like finding a lion living wild in the North of India) and I hope it doesn’t come across that way.  This is part of my ongoing story.

 

CAUTION!  WRITER AT WORK!

So Why Wizzley?

I’d considered writing for other what I will call, for the purpose of this exercise, similar websites.  I don’t think that’s a wholly accurate description, but it will have to do.  I wrote for Helium for a while, but found it quite constraining, for those of you that don’t know, writers had to choose from a pre-set subject area.  That didn’t really suit me, so I stopped writing there. 

I have an ezine account, and even started writing an article once.  I’m not actually sure why I’ve never gone any further with that.  I applied to, passed the test and was accepted to write for another site, I honestly can’t remember which one now, but they expected at least 5 articles a week, if memory serves me correctly.  That just wasn’t possible for me; I work full time and have other commitments, both writing and otherwise.  I like to sleep sometimes too.  I’ve never tried Hubpages or Squidoo and now I’m here, I think it’s better to concentrate my efforts in one area, at the moment anyway. 

 

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Wherefore art thou Wizzley?

I don’t remember now how I found Wizzley.  I do remember that I looked at it and walked away at first.  I’m not sure, but I think there was some fear there.  I came back to it a couple of months later.  I’d seen Jo Harrington’s book on Amazon, and another book about Wizzley on there but I didn’t buy either of them straight away, although have done since, but my ability to skim read is both a curse and a blessing, and I need to re-read both of those books, as well as other advice on the site. 

 

I do remember Jo’s advice, “Write often, write well,” and have tried to adhere to that.  It’s good advice for any kind of writing.  Actually, the write often (as often as I can) has overshadowed some of the other advice Jo gave about Wizzley, but I figure I can sort other things out later.  Making time to write is not always easy, especially when there are a number of projects on the go.

 

Frank Beswick is one of my favourite writers here, and I think I can learn from him.  I love his writing style, he’s so descriptive.  There are some other amazing writers on this site, I haven’t read all of them yet, but I’ve made myself a promise that I will read at least one article from someone new (to me) every week.  I have no idea how long it will take me to read everyone, I may need to set up a spreadsheet to monitor this...  I do love a spreadsheet. 

 

I’ve learned a lot since being here on Wizzley, which is always a good thing.  Some of the things I’ve learned are general knowledge and interesting to know, others have direct relevance to me - Paul’s article about Duolingo has been a Godsend to me, as I started learning Italian last year.  I’m also learning about things to improve my writing craft, something I’m always trying to do.  I buy a couple of books a month to help me to write better. 

 

I still feel like the new girl here and I know I still have a great deal to learn.  I’m not sure I’ve found my Wizzley voice yet.  I find it hard getting photographs to go with my articles.  I’m not a great photographer (yet, I’m trying to get better) but do take some of my own pictures, but they are not always relevant to what I’m writing about.  I’m not sure that my adverts are always very good.  I don’t really understand how the writer’s scoring works and why it varies.  I haven’t mastered the art of putting the columns (if that’s the correct terminology) in my articles – I’m not sure whether I need to, but would like to be able to do it.  As NightOwl has recently learned, I am not the best at what I call “techy things.      

I don’t have a clue about Zazzle, but having read Jo Harrington’s article on the 50 Wizzley Challenge, I think I should, and have just set up an account.  I spent most of my life thinking I didn’t have a creative bone in my body, but maybe that’s incorrect?  I am not good on with online fora.  I’m not really sure that I understand them.  When I read something, if other people have answered the question, what’s the point of my input? 

Do I need to make money here?  Oh yeah, and I knew it would be a gamble right from the start.  But you have to take a punt sometimes, right?  Of course, making money is not the only reason I write, but it helps if you can make money from things you like doing.  In fact, if you don’t like doing it, all the money in the world doesn’t really help, and I’ve had that kind of job before.  I haven’t made any money on Wizzley yet, but I’m ever hopeful.  When I get to 50 articles, I will take some of Jo Harrington’s other advice, about adverts etc, and maybe that will help.    

So Why Wizzley?

To be honest, there was a lot of chance involved.  I was at the point in my writing career where I had to “up my game.”  I didn’t want any additional financial outlay.  I had a “gut feeling” about the site, and joined, and here I am.  I like Wizzley.  People say it’s a very friendly site, and it does seem that way.  Certainly, when I’ve asked for help, it’s been forthcoming very quickly, and I am grateful for that.  I like the feedback I get from other writers too. 

                                    

To the Future

I set myself a target of having published 50 articles at six months, but that isn’t going to happen now, for a whole host of reasons.  I am not going to manage 20 articles in a month, unless I break a leg walking up the stairs and am confined to barracks and computer, but I hope to do it by the end of this calendar year.  In fact, that sounds like a goal to me.  I’m very goal focussed.  And when I hit 50, I’ll be working on getting to 100.  In amongst writing my other articles and my books.  And I’ll keep learning from and about Wizzley.   

Updated: 08/23/2014, Telesto
 
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Telesto on 06/04/2015

Hi there Nanci. I hope you are right. I've been busy with other projects so haven't been on here for a while, hope to get back to it soon.

NanciArvizu on 05/23/2015

Anything worth having takes effort! I think we're all here for the same purpose, to have a solid platform for our writing where we can earn from our efforts and the combined efforts of others. If we all continue to write and promote the site, it will grow and so will the opportunities for each of us!

Telesto on 11/03/2014

Hiya, thank you! And yes I think you are probably right. The whole writing thing is a bit of a gamble thought, isn't it? I try to diversify as much as time will allow, so I suppose a bit like you. Don't you wish there were 48 hours in the day sometimes?

ologsinquito on 11/01/2014

He Telesto, I'm glad you came to Wizzley. I really enjoy reading your articles. From Jo's experience, I think you might need a large volume of articles before you start earning. That is a gamble, which I'm taking, although I'm writing on other sites as well. I also need to get busier with Zazzle.

Telesto on 10/04/2014

Thank you. Yes, I find it easy to use too.

LyraKua on 10/02/2014

It is nice reading your writing story. I love Wizzley too, especially the user-friendly modules. I find the layout of the site to be very pleasing to the eyes. I hope you reach your Wizzley goals soon!

Telesto on 09/25/2014

Hi there, thank you. I'm really enjoying it here. And really enjoying meeting all the new people.

WriterArtist on 09/25/2014

Welcome to Wizzley. I think I got drawn to Wizzley for the same reasons you quoted above ( more or less). I love the platform, it is user friendly. If you love writing, you will definitely enjoy writing here. There are many seasoned writers here and some of them are active in the forum as well.

Telesto on 09/10/2014

Yes, I like that too, and thank you. I'd say fingers crossed but I find it difficult to type like that! :-)

RuthCox on 09/10/2014

I am definitely one of the new kids on the block, having arrived at Wizzley a couple of weeks ago. I am enjoying the community so far as well and like the article presentation. Good luck with your goal of 50 by the end of the year.


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