Well, it’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? 2020 is certainly going to be one we are never going to forget! What with lockdowns, home schooling, travel bans, mask wearing, tiering and social distancing, our way of life has been dramatically altered, although I’m hopeful we can return to something resembling normal soon. I’m a naturally optimistic person…it’s a curse!

Outside of all these societal changes, I’ve also made some personal ones too.  Earlier this year, I took the decision to hit pause on my “real job”, to try and discover if I could make it as a full time author.  I set myself an income goal to reach by June 2021 and then another by November 2021; if I reach it, I will extend my career break.  If not, I shall return to the aforementioned job – sigh!  After seven amazing months of living my dream, I have to admit that overall, I am really pleased with my progress to date.

On the development side, I know I must personally grow a much tougher skin, so that challenging feedback and disappointing Amazon reviews don’t impact either my confidence or creativity.  But on the positive side, I’ve achieved a great deal this year, including:

• Writing and publishing 11 more books.
• With the help of a brilliant narrator, I’ve released 2 audiobooks with a third on its way in the new year.
• I’ve also written a further 9 personal commissions.
• The number of words I’ve written and published equals 635,802.
• On each of the past three months, I’ve hit the income target I was hoping to reach by June 2021.
• In terms of stats, I’ve amassed over 1 million Kindle Unlimited page reads and sold 1,500+ books.
• In January, I started publishing a quarterly newsletter and have so far gathered over 200 subscribers.  In doing so, I’ve also got to know some of you guys better, which has been a privilege.
• And, perhaps most importantly of all, I’ve managed to STAY SANE!  Well, relatively speaking……

I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m heading into the new year feeling optimistic and happy about my progress to date.  So, here’s to an even brighter 2021, for all of us.  Merry Christmas my friends x

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FENELLA ASHWORTH

Fenella Ashworth is a British author of contemporary erotic fiction.  All of her stories are available from Amazon and free for those with Kindle Unlimited access.  Her bestselling novels are ‘To Love, Honour and Oh Pay’, ‘Three Times Moor Pleasure’, ‘One Hot Wynter’s Night’ and the Daniel Lawson series.
Fenella also releases stories on BooksieSilk, Booksie, Lush Stories and Literotica, and is often visible in the Literotica ‘Erotic Couplings’ Hall of Fame (Top Rated).
Please sign up to her newsletter for the latest news, and access to freebies, including a copy of the recently published ‘Bad girls go to Heaven’.