And now back to our originally scheduled programming…

I asked the readers of The Prosperous Writer e-zine some questions and here are some of their answers rounded up.

I originally thought I would handle these Q&As like guest posts but once I started seeing them roll in, I knew that they would be more thought-provoking as collections of ideas.

If you’ve been reading this blog since I returned from Digital Book World, you may have noticed that I’ve strayed pretty far from my usual topics of writer mamas, platform development, and how to prosper as a writer this past week. The past couple of weeks have been quite an adventure, and quite frankly they’ve taken me pretty far out of my own process. But I’ve gained a renewed passion for empowering writers to think for themselves and express the best of what they have to offer.

So, without further ado, here’s what some of the readers of The Prosperous Writer think in response to the question, “What does prosperity mean to you? (in the order they were received)…

From Carol Alexander:

According to Dictionary.com, the meaning of the word prosperity is “a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition.” When I apply that to different areas of my life, I come up with different outcomes. For instance, a prosperous gardener would spend the summer eating freely of fresh fruits and vegetables—from his own garden. In other words, his business would produce fruit. Therefore, as a writer, prosperity would mean that I am producing fruit. I am writing stories and submitting them for publication. It has nothing to do with whether the stories sell, whether anyone likes them or how much money I make.

However, if a gardener’s tomato plants turned brown, he would try to find out what was the cause and spray with the appropriate fungicide so that he got tomatoes in the end. Likewise, if a writer’s stories are not selling, a prosperous one will try to figure out why and work to remedy that situation.

From Lydia Sharp:

The word prosperity is defined as “a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition.” As a writer, I have not yet reached that goal in a financial sense (which is understandably the first thing all of us think of with regard to prosperity). However, over the course of the past year and a half, I feel I have reached a “thriving condition” in my personal writing routine and have successfully built a good foundation for my author platform.

From Julie Achterhoff:

Prosperity means a richness as a writer. It could mean making a lot of money because your writing does so well, but I think it has more to do with putting your heart and soul into your writing. I work hard at being prosperous as a writer.

From Dionne Obeso:

For me, prosperity means reaching the goals that I set for myself every day. Sometimes I might not make any money in a given day, but I know that if I am reaching my goals and working hard, the money will soon follow. It also has a lot to do with being able to accomplish everything I want to get done without sacrificing my time with my son or the basics of housekeeping.

What does prosperity mean to you? Get the Q&A and chime in, when you subscribe to The Prosperous Writer, which goes out weekly on Sundays. Just use the subscribe box in the upper-right-hand corner to subscribe.

Thanks to the folks who shared so far! I’ll share more soon.