Looking back over the past decade, I see that my material assets have always come from, in the following order, my salary/pension (I sent two sons and am sending two granddaughters to school from this fund), my antiques (I have regular clients), my paintings (sales from them made my house renovation possible), and my tenants.

Writing for publication brought me a mere pittance, perhaps because most of publication profits really go to the publishers. I cannot remember anything that I ever bought or invested in from my writing, and it was most irritating whenever publishers behaved toward me as though they "owned" me. I am now more fulfilled posting my works in cyberspace, where no one censors me and I seem to reach an even wider audience.