I’m a………. Giant . . . WHAT?

Today, October 8, is Cephalopod Awareness Day. Really!

In honor of this auspicious occasion, I’m going public with my joy at being named a Giant Squid.

Over a year ago I started making lenses at Squidoo.Com – a web 2.0 site where people can make pages (called lenses) on any topic using convenient modules built into the pagemaker.

One of my first Squidoo lenses was Tips on Writing Middle Grade Novels. It has done quite well and brings in a lot of web traffic weekly. Some of my other writing-related Squidoo lenses are Creating and Using Your Writer’s Notebook and Books For Writers.

The site sponsors special clubs for people who work hard to excel at lensmaking, and I made it my goal to get into the Giant Squid club – for lensmasters who have made at least fifty quality lenses. As of yesterday, I’m IN!

What does this qualify me for? Well, I didn’t mention it until now, but the site does pay a bit for each lens. There’s more money involved if a lens is particularly popular. Being a Giant Squid with over fifty quality lenses qualifies me for a small boost in lensrank. This month I received the money earned in August: $61.61… not bad. But there are many other lensmasters who earn quite a bit more. Several earn over $1000 per month for the lenses they’ve made. Enough to pay rent or a house payment!

Now that I’ve made it to Giant Squid status, my plan is to promote each of my fifty lenses and optimize them for better SEO (search engine optimization). I’ll also be making fifty more lenses, and will aim for the Giant Squid 100 Club. I’m also planning to mentor a few Giant Squid hopefuls by doing critiques on their lenses.

My Squidoo lenses reflect my many interests, but of course writing and reading are major pursuits. I’ve created a lens to provide links to all my book and writing lenses: Literary Arts Lenses by LindaJM.

The advantages of Squidoo membership to authors are obvious. This is a congenial community where authors can share their insights on writing, or showcase their own books and writing life. Squidoo lenses complement blogs and can direct site visitors your way. If you’re interested in joining, please use my link. When you earn your first $15.00 (not hard to do) we’ll each get a small bonus payment.