Owning Up
It is time to come clean about the ways in which I have been deluding myself here at triond. Things are NOT getting better.
OK. I have decided that things have to change, because the rut into which I have fallen is getting deeper, and I need to get out of it. I realized, around two months ago, that the fact that we were allowed to click on our own posts once a day meant that one could artificially inflate the viewing figures, and that doing this might encourage more visits to one’s pages from other people.
So I started doing it, every post, every day getting clicked on, until the point was reached where I was getting between 850 and 1000 views a day, but at least 700 of those were me clicking on my own stuff. That means that, in reality, I average around 150 to 200 hits a day from other viewers, less than I get at environmentalgraffiti for only one third the number of posts I have on triond.
It got so ridiculous that I was spending four hours anbd more EVERY day just clicking on my own posts, to boost my views for what effectively, is the worst pay rate you can possibly imagine. At an estimated 25 cents per thousand views, we really are writing for peanut scraps, and I am just tired of triond having taken over my life so completely. This has to stop, and I intend to make dramatic changes to my writing life.
There will be, from today, NO MORE clicking on my own work and no more spending six to eight hours every day sat at my computer attempting to break into the top ten at triond by submitting oceansof stuff that simply never gets viewed in any significant way. Many people have commented, very kindly and for which I am eternally grateful, that my writing is of a quality that should command more views and higher earnings, and that I should start submitting work to higher paying sites.
I thank all who have always been so supportive of me here at triond, and wish to assure you all that I am NOT abandoning the triond fellowship at all. I have put far too much time and effort into trying to become one of the elite here to give up on it now, but I have to take a step back and reconsider my options. Continuing to contribute, on a smaller scale, while trying to get more recognition and appreciation by writing for more lucrative outlets is the way forward, and this is what I mean to do.
I feel that I have been guilty of allowing myself the self-deception that I was performing much better on the site than was actually the case, and the udicrous statistic of between one and two hindred views daily to over 800 posts speaks volumes as to how bad the situation here truly is. I simply feel that I can no longer waste so much time, and if my fans are correct, talent, on what is obviously never going to be a truly rewarding time in the bosom of triond.
I do not feel that I have made attempts to fool anyone else, except in that my views claims in previous posts were obviously well inflated by my own actions, but I just wanted to set the record straight. This situation, my writing life and attitude in general have to change, if I am ever to have a real chance of succeeding in my writing ambitions, and I felt that this could best be set in motion by admitting to my deception. Please don’t hold it against me, as many of you may be guilty of doing it yourselves, though probably not on the same scale. Four hours a day in which to do other things. What a huge relief!
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Tags: changes, deception, Self-delusion. Admission, statistics, triond, views, Writing
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June 4th, 2011 at 6:56 am
Well done you for owning up. Not many people would. I must admit I’ve done it a couple of times in the past. The only time I click on my own articles now is when I’m viewing it to make sure it’s turned out the way I wanted and to read comments. But 4hours a day, omg!!! At least now you’ll have more time to concentrate on other, more important things. Thanks for a very honest article.
June 4th, 2011 at 9:01 am
I just hope you find what you are looking for. You are a wonderful writer and you deserve so much more than what pathetic little we earn here.
June 4th, 2011 at 9:38 am
4 hours to click your own articles is a huge waste of your very valuable time! Yuo are too good a writer to have your time wasted. I can say that I have felt the same way, only averaging anywhere from 150 to 450 article views per day and even on those high viewed days I still only get about .50 or so! Huge waste of time. However I do enjoy reading and I am not sure of any other sites I can write for so I too will stay whilst I try to figure out something better. Good luck to you from one of your biggest fans!
June 4th, 2011 at 11:36 am
With the best will in the world, Tony, I can make more than that writing a letter to Tesco’s in-store magazine. I signed up with Triond and wrote one article. They slotted it under the wrong category, I asked them to change it, they refused and I told them what they do with it and their rip off system.
No one who has any talent for creative writing should be working for such a disgraceful rate. For a 1,000 word article, even web content, I want a minimum $50.
I’ve picked up some of your pieces from Twitter and they’re good, so do yourself a favour, cobble them together as an e-book and put them out on Smashwords at $2.99 a copy. You may not be the next Amanda Hocking, but if you spend 4 hours a day plugging them on the right sites, you’ll make a damn sight more than any 25 cents per 1,000 views.
June 4th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Wow that’s an insane amount of time. I shudder to think how much time that would be if I did that. Good luck in whatever you do next.
June 4th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
As a newcomer to Triond I find your thoughts very enlightening and they certainly have triggered some interesting responses here. As I look for outlets for my own writing I see a huge demand for good writers and the poor quality of many article sites and web content in general is proof that the demand is not being met. Yet the rewards offered are so low, usually less than the minimum wage when you work it out, I guess we writers settle for too little. Thanks for owning up, Tony.
June 4th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Thank you for sharing,tony.I think you’ve done a good thing by not continuing down that path.
June 5th, 2011 at 6:28 pm
I admire you for owning up.. I wish you success wherever you decide to utilize your talent..all the best.