Written by Lisa Vest

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I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and is having a Happy New Year! Most of us will hopefully be ignoring emails and spending awesome time with family and friends.

After the holidays my brain shifts gears as we begin the New Year. I get hyped up to get organized, to reevaluate things, to plan, to get inspired. I can’t ever remember a time when I didn’t feel this way. At one point in my life, I sat down the last week of the year with a giant box of greeting cards and filled out every birthday and anniversary card for the entire year for our immediate and extended family complete with address. I like planning ahead. Whether this is you or not, I want to help you be prepared for the upcoming year. Here is an end-of-year checklist just for editors. Take some time to reflect and prepare for new opportunities that God has for us in the coming year.

1. Celebrate Your Wins with Gratitude

• Review the manuscripts, clients, and projects you completed this year.
• Write down at least 3 ways you helped bring a book or story into the world.
• Take a moment to acknowledge the lives you impacted through words & a gracious God Who allowed you to be a part. Pray a prayer of gratitude for all He allowed you to accomplish. I like to go look at Amazon reviews of my client’s books to see how they’ve helped others and thank God that I was able to play a small part.

2. Update Your Portfolio

Add newly published books, articles, or testimonials to your website, LinkedIn, or portfolio. (this may be something you do a couple times of year depending on your workload)

3. Ask for Testimonials

Reach out to clients with a simple, gracious request for feedback. You may typically do this at the end of each project like I do, but this can be a great time to catch up with anyone who hasn’t given feedback yet. I created a survey form with Google Forms and it works well. Frame it as: “Your words can help me reach other writers who need editing support like you did.”

4. Review Your Processes

What slowed you down this year? (File organization, communication, payment systems?) Identify one or two bottlenecks and simplify them before your workload gets into full swing.

5. Refresh Your Skills

Choose one area to strengthen in the coming year—grammar updates, developmental editing, AI awareness, book marketing, or some other area your skills need to be sharpened. Maybe there is a new genre you want to learn how to edit. Even 15 minutes a week of focused learning adds up

6. Revisit Your Rates

Inflation is real, and your expertise grows every year. Are your rates still fair to you and reflective of the value you provide?

7. Reconnect With Clients

Send a warm “Happy New Year Thank You” message. If they’re working on another book, send encouragement. Celebrate their wins (book launches, progress, reviews). This keeps relationships alive and opens doors for repeat work.

8. Declutter Your Workspace

Clean out computer folders, back up files, and archive old projects. A tidy digital (and physical) workspace clears mental space for fresh creativity. Digital clean up is on my list.

9. Plan for Growth

Set 1–3 goals for the new year. Examples:

• Publish your own article or guide.
• Attend at least one writer’s or editor’s conference—PENCON is amazing! Plan now to go (online) in May!
• Take on a new type of project (memoir, devotional, YA, etc.) to expand your offerings.

10. Refuel Your Passion

Revisit why you edit: to shape stories, empower voices, and steward words that matter.

Read a book you love purely for joy—remind yourself what drew you to this work in the first place.

Write articles about editing and publish them here in our very own Pen Tips Blog! This is one I’m doing and it’s stretching me in the best ways.

By doing the things in this list, you will have a clearer portfolio and workspace, stronger client relationships, sharper skills, Fresh energy, passion, and faith to step into the new year with confidence.

Happy New Year, everyone!

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