I am preparing to say goodbye to another year. I’m sorry to say that 2024 was not kind to my business, as I hit multiple dry spells. Nor was 2024 a good year for me personally, at least beginning in the fall. The fall may constitute only the last third of the year, but this fall was particularly painful. No, nothing is wrong with my husband or marriage. We are talking close friendships going bad.

So to 2024, I say, “Good riddance.”

Now on to 2025, for which I have high hopes. In fact, in early December, I declared to a good friend, “2025 is going to be the coolest year ever.” That’s right, 2025, so don’t you let me down.

I do not make resolutions. Resolutions are rules you make for yourself in January and then forget all about them by February. Instead, for each year, I make goals. This is a much more positive way to approach a new year.

What are my goals for 2025? I’m glad you asked.

1. I wish to gain at least two more regular clients. I am already on my way to doing this. Through hundreds of cold emails, I have found two researchers who are interested in my editing services.
2. I wish to learn (much) more about AI and take a class on AI specifically for editors. I’ve heard it said that in the future, an editor will compete not with AI, but with editors who know how to use AI. I wish to be the latter. (Yes, I said in a previous post that I did not like AI and would never touch it. Sue me.)
3. I wish for my husband and me to commemorate our 20^th wedding anniversary in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. (Neither of us have ever been there, if you can believe that.)
4. Two very important but very private personal goals, the ins and outs of which I cannot go into on this blog, but which are presently causing me a boatload of stress.

How about you? Do you have goals for 2025 that you wish to share?

This is a question I often get as a freelance editor. People are curious to know what I work on, or in some cases, whether I have work to do or not. Yay for the former, boo for the latter.

I would like to take some time at this moment to share what my latest projects have been, and what I have coming up.

In November, I edited a scientific literature review. It was on treatment-resistant depression. Having struggled with mental illness myself, I took the content very seriously. Editing the literature review was highly interesting but very challenging, for there were a great deal of abbreviations in the paper; thank Heaven for the AcronymAlyse macro that I learned two years ago. Otherwise, I would not have been able to keep track of what the acronyms stood for.

I also had to use Edifix again. Edifix is a Godsend that places all the references in a paper in the same format. I used it to place all this paper’s references in APA 7 format.

After completing this edit and returning it on November 21, I had an “easy time” during which I edited a company’s retail emails. Finally, thank Heaven, last Friday a project came to me from the same company which will keep me busy until approximately early February. The company is a furniture company and right now I am editing their trade catalog. In January, I will edit the company’s retail catalog, and simultaneously, I will edit revised descriptions of its products for its website. This will keep me busy, all right, and I love being busy with my work.

After that, I am not sure what work will come my way. I am certain that some scientific research papers will be sent to me in 2025, as well as more material from the furniture company. I am hoping for more clients, and I am sure they will come.

So, what are YOU working on?

These days, it seems there are three main ways to communicate other than in-person conversations: phone calls (also known as voice calls), email, and texting.(I am not counting handwritten or paper letters because they are seemingly a lost art, although I miss them very much.)

These three main methods of communication are highly sensitive, and it is important to know when to use each one. There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

The main advantage of the phone call is that one can hear voice tone, inflexion, and volume from the other person. This makes the intentions of the other person clearer. If the other person is being sarcastic, for example, you will know. If you only see their sarcasm written out, you may misinterpret it as literal.

However, the main disadvantage of the phone call is that it is invasive. A person feels that they have to drop what they are doing to answer a ringing phone, and if they are the kind of person who does so while they are driving…ICK.

Email is much less invasive, since a person checks it when they want to, and is thus more open to receiving it than a phone call. I have heard email called “the coward’s method of communication,” since you can say what you want without saying it to the other person’s face (not always good). It is also to your advantage if you write well. However, if you are writing to someone to does not often check their email, you will wait a while for a response. Email is thus the slowest form of communication which I am discussing.

Texting, or instant messaging, is more invasive than email, in that you don’t choose when you get a text, just as you don’t choose when you get a phone call. However, they are considered less urgent than phone calls. When someone sends you a text, they don’t (usually) expect a reply immediately. Unfortunately, some people have an innate need to answer texts right away, such as when they are driving…DOUBLE ICK. Also, I have found that in a text, you don’t hear voice tone or inflexion and may misinterpret the message because of this.

Which of these three is your preferred mode of communication with someone you cannot see in person?

We all know it is frustrating when you order something important online, especially if you run a small business, and it has still not arrived after several weeks.

You track the package and cannot get any help from doing so.

Your item seems to have been lost in the cosmos—and worse yet, you have already shelled out good money for it.

What do you do?

DON’T panic. This does not help you or anyone else. It’s also unattractive and can be perceived as unprofessional. (Even if you are self-employed and work alone, you should always act like the professional you are.)

DON’T stew and call the people at the company from which you ordered or the delivery service bad names like “stupid” or “incompetent.” This will produce bitterness in your heart, and believe me, you don’t want that—no matter how powerful it might make you feel for a little while.

DON’T call the company from which you ordered and yell at them like a mad dog. See my note above about being professional. Besides, your call is most likely being recorded.

DO realize that mistakes can be made, and orders can be lost. It’s not like you have never made a mistake in your professional life.

DO take care of the problem right away. Otherwise, it may slip your mind and the issue will not be dealt with. Plus, your order will fall farther behind.

DO be courteous when you call the company. Chances are that you are not talking to the person whose fault the problem is, so if you are rude to them, that is not fair.

DO be calm. Simply answer the person’s questions, such as what the order number is and the date the product was ordered. Have your receipt in front of you on your computer screen, or printed out as a hard copy where you can see it.

What do you do when a product you ordered online won’t arrive?