2025 was a quiet year for me. I wish you all a healthy, peaceful, and fulfilling 2026!
It’s my custom to compile a freelancer’s annual report to take stock, reflect back and plan (and dream) forward. (And a question: What hobby did I pick up in 2025? Answer is on this page 🔎)
A quiet year
My motto for this year was “maintain.” And while that matched my energy levels, it may not have been best suited for a year of funding crunches in the international development sector! I appreciated having a quiet-ish year, but next year, I need to grow again.
The good.
I’m really happy with my standard operating procedures (SOPs) and checklists, which I continue to adjust. They help me treat every project consistently and keep track of progress with my editing projects.
I’m also getting somewhat better at editing to requirement, triaging when time is tight (link to my LinkedIn post) or focusing on the type of editing the client wants.
While I do not use genAI to edit client text (I do not put client text into genAI and ask it to “fix” anything), I’m exploring how the technology might help me be a better business owner and editor who can help multi-language authors to responsibly use genAI.
The “could be better.”
Finding more clients and work is a perpetual issue for independent editors but was more so this year. My so-called marketing is mainly posting on LinkedIn and blogging, but I’m not reaching potential clients. I also feel pulled in different directions, which may be diluting what I can offer. Some focus may be needed!
I also need to get some editing mojo back 😅 Perhaps I plateaued in 2025 because I wanted to only “maintain.” I had little new work, family life kept me busy, and starting crocheting and knitting may have absorbed all my creative forces! Towards the end of the year, my spouse suggested I get more versed with genAI and that’s gotten me curious again, so I’ll be pursuing that further in 2026.
Theme for next year: Explore
Perhaps it’s not unique, but my theme this year is EXPLORE. I want to explore
- what sparks my editing mojo
- ways to reach clients
- ways to present to clients what I can do to help them
- directions and focus for my services, professional development, and marketing
Thank you for letting me be a part of your 2025. Best wishes for a healthy, peaceful, and fruitful 2026!
—Ema Naito, The Clarity Editor
Editing
Thank you for entrusting me with your written words. Your confidence and our relationship mean the world to me.
I did less paid work than 2024 and my earnings went down significantly due to a major client facing a funding crunch. But I was happy to see that still nearly 60% of my work-related work was for pay. The unpaid part included volunteering, business admin, continuous professional development (CPD), marketing and finding work.
Clients
I am proud to serve my clients, whether they come to me for one time or are regulars. (Disclaimer: mentioning them here does not mean they endorse me.)
International development
UNITAR Division for Prosperity
DanChurchAid
Academia
VoxEU.org and Centre for Economic Policy Research. Seven years and counting 🙂
Private sector
A Japanese clinic. Applied plain language principles in communicating about health.
A communication specialist
Training & resources
Trainings given
UNITAR Division for Prosperity:
- an hour-long online training on clear writing, for government officials in Türkiye
- an hour-long in-person training on clear writing for the UN, for young professionals
CIEP Cloud East: a session on plain language, for fellow editors (blog post to follow…)
🔎I learned to crochet and knit in 2025! Makes me feel like Mme. Defarge 🧶
New resources offered
Freebies
Worksheet: Writing clearly for your global audience (PDF): This step-by-step worksheet helps you structure your content, choose clear words, and apply basic design—so your message is understood clearly, no matter where your readers are.
Checklist: Things to tell your (prospective) editor (Word): Use this checklist to help establish a common understanding of the work with your prospective editor/proofreader. It will help make the collaboration smoother. Also see 6 things to tell your editor before they start.
Writing circle for academics and researchers in Asia: Academic editor Kyra Freestar invited me to co-host a weekly online writing circle. I met some lovely people in the region and am happy to know that they appreciated and grew through the online meetups.
Rabbit Hole Rebellion: Writer and nonfiction strategist Christina Larocco ran the Rabbit Hole Rebellion in October. I was excited to join over 25 professionals who support writers find their way out of research rabbit holes and offer the writing worksheet, which is still available for free.
Clear writing in your inbox: Subscribers got eight issues in their inbox in 2025, with clear writing tips, free resources and other news. Sign up to get these occasional writing and accessibility tips! Or read all past issues.
Learning and professional development
Continuing professional development is essential to keep my skills and understanding up to date. (Plus, it’s fun!)
Conferences
ACES Virtual Conference 2025: This year, I “attended” a virtual conference (VCON) by ACES: The Society for Editing for the first time. The sessions were great! I was amused how the vibes differ from the UK-based CIEP conferences. I watched most session recordings but was sorry I couldn’t join live, as the time difference was brutal.
The Plain Language Experience 2025, Brussels: I couldn’t attend the in-person 3-day plain language conference but joined several hybrid sessions. So many plain language legends! I was envious of all those there. Grateful for the playlist PLAIN put together of what was recorded.
Non-formal learning
No formal editing-related training in 2025, but I continue to learn a lot from blogs, articles, social media posts, the occasional podcast, and discussions with colleagues.
A shout-out to the CIEP Cloud East group for yet another year of great camaraderie and sharing! The awesome coordinators academic editor Sarah Kitaoji and fantasy fiction editor Joanne Taylor kept the monthly sessions fun as well as useful.
Learning goals for next year: keep practicing how to edit more efficiently, learn more about ethical and effective ways to use genAI tools and how to tweak macros. If possible, practice remediating PDFs and making EPUBs, and brush up on grammar.
Best books of the year
Affiliate links: If you click on an Amazon link and buy the book, you will be contributing to my coffee fund at no extra cost to you—thank you!
It appears I didn’t read many editing- or writing-related books this year. If you’re looking for recommendations, check out my all-time favorites.
For fun, I re-read a lot of favorite comfort classics. In no order, they included works by
- Elizabeth Gaskell (Cranford, North and South, Wives and Daughters)
- Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette)
- JRR Tolkien (Lord of the Rings trilogy)
- Jane Austen (Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility; I can’t remember if I read Pride and Prejudice in 2025 🤔 but it’s likely).
If you missed it: my 2024 reading was mostly fantasy.
Hopes for 2026
The top three things I hope to do in the coming year are always the same. I’m consistent 😆
Yet again, I didn’t get to creating videos or brushing up on grammar. But it’s good to have ideas and aspirations, no?
That’s a wrap! May 2026 be a healthy, peaceful, and fulfilling one for you and yours. I look forward to being of service to you again.
If you would like to discuss whether we might be a good fit for your writing project, please send me details via the contact form or email me at info@theclarityeditor.com.
Cover image by Ema Naito.
