10 Questions to Ask Yourself for Your Year in Review

If you're looking to reflect on 2023 and envision 2024, join me as I answer them and show some vulnerability.

Dec 28, 2023

One of the women who introduced me to the possibility of having a career as a freelance writer and editor was Amy Suto.

I’ve sung her praises before and will again.

Because she made me believe in myself.

There’s something to be said about this era of the internet. With the decline of influencers and celebrities and the popularity of TikTok, we’re introduced to people just like us doing the things we aspire to do. Which, in turn, makes those things seem more accessible to us.

Amy released a newsletter listing 10 Questions to Ask Yourself for Your Year in Review a few weeks ago—and I thought, since my Substack is literally called Diary of a Fiction Editor, I’d have at least one diary-type entry for the year.

So, without further ado let’s get a little personal…

✍🏼The 10 Questions to Ask Yourself for Your Year in Review

These questions are directly taken from Amy’s post—please feel free to answer them yourself! They’re meant to challenge you to think deeply about the year that’s passed so you can have a better New Year.

1. What were my top 3 wins this year?

Reflect on all victories, big or small. Maybe you hit a record-high month of income, or penned an article that went viral. Celebrate your wins—make sure the positive moments get their time to shine.

I tried ‘ranking’ my wins and it didn’t feel…right. They all felt big in their own way, even if they were small. So, here’s my Top 5 Wins of 2023:

💙Booking editing clients every month of 2023
👩🏼‍💻Making my website all on my own!
🤝🏼Becoming part of a super supportive all-women editing network
💊Getting an ADHD diagnosis and getting my attention and focus back on track
💔Not letting a heartbreak pull me away from my goals (which was so often the case in my 20s)

And of course, starting this Substack—Pen & Plot: Diary of a Fiction Editor. I love posting here, hearing your thoughts on the topics we cover, and growing this little community of writers and editors who just want to get 1% better every day.

Whether you’re a free or paid subscriber, I’m thrilled to have you in my circle!

2. What risks did I take, and what did they teach me?

Think about the time you stepped out of your comfort zone. Whether it was a new business venture or a bold fiction project, consider what these risks revealed about your resilience and creativity.

My biggest risk wasn’t in business this year, it was me finally letting someone in and letting them see the real me—goofy, nerdy, introverted, anxious, ambitious. And it was going well until it wasn’t.

It sucked. But I don’t regret much, except maybe communicating a bit better. I did my best. I was fully myself. And I’m thankful for that because being authentically you in all aspects of your life might be the best way to live.

But, enough with matters of the heart. 🙃❤

Freelance always feels risky. Especially since I’m only 2 years in—the feast-and-famine cycle is real, folks. Trusting the process and trusting that if I show up every day here, on social media, or with my clients, things will keep going well.

Another risk—it felt scary at the time—was joining the networking group of other editors. I was honored and excited to join them but intimidated by their years in the industry and their knowledge.

The more time around them, I learned they were just like me—celebrating small wins and big, doubting themselves at times, finding joy in the work, and hyping each other up when we needed it the most.

My editing network allowed me to finally feel comfortable asking questions. I was one of those students who feared asking questions in class—for fear of asking a dumb question.

By asking questions, even if they were obvious or easily Google-able, I learned from their answers because while each might have been similar, they offered different perspectives. Seeing all those different perspectives work together allowed me to grow as an editor and see that not everything is so black-and-white.

3. Did I fail enough this year?

If you’re not failing, you may be playing too small. Identify your failures, understand what they taught you, and make sure you’re continuing to challenge yourself.

In business, I don’t think I took enough risks to invite— is that the right word? —failure.

In my personal life, I failed at being a friend this year. It’s something that’s been weighing on my mind. I haven’t put enough love and attention into my friendships as I should have in 2023. I was there, but I wasn’t present. And there were times I wasn’t there at all.

Growing a business where I’m in charge of doing everything or risk not eating and paying bills is daunting when I boil it down. The feast-and-famine cycle of a fledgling freelancing business consumed me quite frequently and wholly this year.

It’s okay to focus on things that are important to you. And my editing business is very much important to me.

But finding the balance between work-life and life-life has been difficult for me.

It’s been almost non-existent this year.

This year, I want to try to find a balance between work and life even if it’s not an even 50/50—which might need to be taken day by day.

4. What new skills or hobbies did I learn this year?

The more you learn, the more you win. What new skills did you acquire this year? What do you want to learn next year?

I dove headfirst into developmental editing this year (instead of doing line editing and finding a way to do it all). I took classes and became friends with other developmental editors. I fell in love with analyzing stories.

This year, 2023, was all about business and skill-building: developmental editing, marketing, social media management, and even learning how to input formulas in Excel.

Next year, 2024, is going to be more of that but with some balance on less work-oriented skills. Maybe I’ll get back into tennis. Maybe I’ll try my hand at pickleball. Maybe I’ll finally be consistent with training my dogs daily. Maybe I’ll pick knitting back up.

The only limit I face is time. And managing my time better is a skill I’ll be working very hard on in the new year.

5. What were my greatest fears this year? What was I worried about last year? What am I worried about in the future? Which of these worries are rational or irrational?

My favorite quote from Dune is “fear is the mind-killer.” So, examine your fears—did you take the driver’s seat too often this year? Where were you worried about last year that ended up not being real? How much time did you waste worrying this year, and how can you be more at peace with moving forward?

Full transparency, I take medicine for my anxiety. Lexapro continues to be a game-changer in that area of my life. Do I still experience anxiety every now and then? Yes, of course, but it takes up less space in my head now.

My fears don’t seem to loom as large as they once did.

Sure, social stuff still freaks me out. Which is why I don’t do client calls and prefer emails. I express myself better in the written word rather than the spoken word, and I’m sure most of you can relate.

😟In 2023, I worried about not filling my schedule with clients, not putting out good content on TikTok and Instagram, and worried about paying bills and feeding my dogs. I questioned my editing skills and fended off imposter syndrome a couple of times a week. I constantly feared I wasn’t doing enough.

But I filled my schedule, I put out good content on my social media platforms, I paid my bills, and fed my dogs. Do I still question my skills and fend off imposter syndrome? Yes, but those two things drive me to keep growing my skills.

In 2024, my fears are largely centered on failure:

Failing at my business
Failing myself
Failing my family and friends
Failing my dogs
Failing at my goals

And another fear would be staying stagnant.

Being back in my hometown makes me fear I’ll be stuck here forever. It’s not a terrible place, but I’ve never felt at home here. Of course, I feel at home in my house, but the town never felt like home. I don’t want to root down here.

My hometown is one where people don’t ever leave, and that’s one of my fears. I’ve been back home for 5 years after living away from home for a decade (Philly and Los Angeles—they also didn’t feel like home) and the fear of staying stuck here is constant.

6. Who had the biggest impact on me this year?

Reflect on your community, friend group, and relationships this year. Are you giving your best energy to the people you care most about? If not, how can you change that move forward?

💙The people that had the biggest impact on me were my editing group. The growth I’ve experienced, learning from them, and having passionate (and sometimes hilarious) discussions about editing and writing craft have strengthened not only my skills but my passion for this career.

They’ve all shown me to trust the process, trust in myself, and that I’m not alone. There’s no competition between us and I think that’s so important in having relationships with other women.

In a world that loves to pit women against each other—just look how the media pit sisters-in-law Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle against each other—we need more female connections that are about community, companionship, and supporting each other.

7. What drained my energy the most this year?

Identify the energy vampires. It could be a particular task, client, or even an entire business or industry you’re in. Recognizing these drains is the first step to eliminating them.

In my industry, I’ve seen writers and editors competing against each other for book sales and editing clients. And that’s just not the way.

Early in my career, I had an editor block me simply because I joined her TikTok live. I think I even sent some likes. My reason for joining? To learn. She said she had 13+ years in the industry, so I figured I could learn maybe one thing. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I didn’t. And continued scrolling through hundreds of TikTok videos that night.

The next morning, I woke up to a message from her saying: “Nice of you to lurk in my live event to steal content. You’re not the first tho. Bye.”

😂I laughed. The thought of stealing from her never crossed my mind.

Especially because this editor was found out to be a big-time scam. She’s hurt many authors and young writers she worked with, stealing money, not delivering on what the contract promised, threatening lawsuits, and severely wounding confidence.

So, if there’s one thing I’d like to see fall away from the writing community and editing community is for us to not compete with one another.

📖Readers will read what they want to read—review-bombing other authors won’t thrust you into the No. 1 spot on the NYT Bestseller List. Just like going on the offensive when a newer editor comes to you for advice or help…or simply watches your content.

Even though I’m only 2 years in, I love it when people want to get into editing. I love getting questions about the job, about books, about writing craft.

There’s enough room for all of us.

8. What made me feel the most alive this year?

When did you feel the most in flow with yourself and your surroundings? How can you do more of that next year?

This might be corny, but working on books gets me into a flow state. Finding solutions for my authors and helping them straighten out their book’s structure, giving the character more depth (amongst many other things), and getting lost in their story world gets me so excited to open my laptop and get to work.

Talking with authors about their books, their craft, and their reason for writing is one of the best things about this job.

9. How have my goals, identity, and values evolved this year?

Are you still on track for the life you want? Are you moving closer to the mountain of your dreams, or further away? It’s easy to get off course, so there’s no shame in recognizing if you’ve been knocked off-track. Or, if you’re still on the right path, think about how to double down.

Some goals are the same as last year:

🏫Further my developmental editing knowledge
✍🏼Work with 2 incredible authors a month

Some goals are new this year:

📈Expand my editing services to offer outline evaluations and book coaching
📚Write a couple (or more) ebooks on writing craft
✈Slowly transition into being a digital nomad and travel with my dog, Finn (picture below!)

I think I’m on track and moving closer to my goals. Sometimes the goals feel too big and too daunting—like becoming a digital nomad. But I’m going to do my best to break them into bite-sized goals.

10. What’s my vision for a perfect day in 2024?

Think about what a perfect day looks like in 2024. What gets you out of bed? Another version of this question could be: what does the happiest, wealthiest, fittest version of yourself look like? What are your daily habits? What’s your mindset? How are you perfectly in your element?

A perfect day for me…or rather how I envision myself later this year.

I’d get out of bed, in a new city, maybe near my friend who lives in Connecticut. I’ll go for a morning walk by the water with Finn🐾—and he’s not pulling on his leash. Once back from our walk, with many stops for sniffing, I’ll make breakfast and pour myself coffee. Do deep work for 3-4 hours max and have the rest of the day to create social media content, spend time with friends, explore the new place I’m visiting that month, or catch up on my never-ending TBR.

I finally have time-management skills that work for me. And don’t feel the need to sit in front of my computer for 8-12 hours a day.

I have a dog that’s not as reactive as he once was through consistent mini-training sessions each day.

I am connecting with authors, editors, and potential clients daily.

I am brushing up on my skills and discovering new hobbies.

I’m in love with lifting again🏋🏼‍♀️—a version of lifting that fits my lifestyle and keeps me healthy and happy. Walking and tennis are my main forms of cardio and I’m finally okay with that. Running just ain’t my thing.

I’m better at keeping in touch with my loved ones.

I’m writing daily, whether it be for me or for the community of writers and editors who choose to be in my circle.

It’s a good life. And it’s just getting started.

✨Now, it’s your turn!

If you have goals in 2024, take time to answer these questions. Let me know if they help you, and let me know if you share them publicly—I’d love to read about your 2023 and upcoming year!

"Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect." - Alan Cohen
"This year, be structured enough for success and achievement and flexible enough for creativity and fun." - Taylor Duvall

📸Photo of Finn

Finn, circa September 2021, when he was only 5 weeks old. (We have his mom and dad (and sister), so don’t worry, he was not separated from them too early).

Happy New Year! 🥂

-Kourtney