Pen & Prosper Celebrates Year 17 on the Blog Scene!

Welcome back, valued readers! 

It's a pleasure to have you here today, as I celebrate this important milestone. Thank you for your time.

When I began my blogging journey seventeen years ago, there were so many obstacles, detours, and bumps along the way. And the landscape was different.

I knew that I loved to write and share, but the path was uncertain. I wasn't sure whether folks would dig my style, or my vibe. Or even find me relevant, given the vast competition for today's readers' time. 

It was a slow start. At first, I had a few dozen readers. Then it grew to a few hundreds. Now it has evolved to thousands of readers across the globe. Yay!

And I have you to thank for it! 

Thank you to all the loyal readers who commented on my posts; who followed me when I wasn't even sure of my own direction.

Thank you to the noted authors who shared their guest posts here, enriching my readership and my content. Thank you to the organizations and websites that chose me as "one of the best websites for writers" over the years.

I could not have done this without you. In many ways, I have gratefully beat the odds. According to Fevered Mutterings.com (citing data provided by a NY Times article) "95% of bloggers give up after initially starting their sites."

With this in mind, here are a few timely tips to optimize your efforts, if you're considering joining the ranks, based upon my experience. :-)

CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT YOU LOVE.

1. If you don't enjoy your subject matter, (trust me here) you'll bore yourself and your readers silly. I love writing and helping others. This passion has fueled my efforts amid dark times, computer glitches, writer's block, doubt, lack of comments, and bad hair days.

2. BE CONSISTENT.

Consistency helps to build your brand, establish credibility and form virtual bonds. In fact, some of my blog buddies have become my long-distance friends.

3. STRIVE TO ADD VALUE TO THE BLOGGING COMMUNITY.

By sharing quality information, resources, reviews, and solutions to your readership's common pain points. Give to receive. Don’t just add to the online noise.

4. PERSEVERE & PRAY.

It's easy to give up. Many bloggers have. "When you want to give up, remember why you started."

5. DON'T BE AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES.

It's all part of the learning process. I laugh when I look back at some of the things I published initially back in 2009. The formatting errors, the typos. Still, I'm proud.

6. FORGET ABOUT THE NUMBERS.

True success is not in having a "huge" following, but in having a major impact on those who are following you.

7. INJECT HUMOR.

The world needs it today. Humor is like seasoning to food; it makes everything a bit better.

8. TAKE BREAKS WHEN NEEDED.

Better a break than a "break down." Remember, you can't give from an empty cup.

9. STUDY OTHER SUCCESSFUL BLOGS.

Keep in mind that "knowledge is power."

10. LATHER, RINSE, REPEAT...

FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES, HERE ARE A FEW FUN FACTS ABOUT PEN & PROSPER AS OF 2026...

• It was first launched in June, 2009.
• One of my first posts was an interview conducted with noted author Wendy Burt.
• Pen & Prosper represented my 3rd approach at having a successful blog.
• To date this blog has received 1,296,304 views.
• There have been approx 948 posts.
• Comments count is 8767 (including spam).
• Last month page views totaled 29,623.
• Pen & Prosper has been consecutively chosen/ranked as a "top blog for writers" for a decade.

In closing, I would like to say what a fun, informative, challenging, enriching experience this has been over the years. Thanks so much for joining on the journey!

Wishing you a safe and super summer! I hope to rejoin you in September, 2026.

Best,

JEN

Feel free to leave a comment in the interim. :-)