The French language has a wonderful word for this time of year: la rentrée.
Re-entering, not returning, not back to. The potential of the future. The potential to change and to have changed. The potential to develop and to learn new things. To approach things, both professional and personal, in a different way. To see the future in a different way.
For many of us, September feels more like the start of a new year than does January. Some of us even prefer to start our planners in September, to review our professional lives (personal too, but let’s just stick with the professional here), and plan for going forward. It’s not just returning to our work and businesses, but also re-entering our professional lives, hopefully rejuvenated from some time off and with plans for and ideas about our work, our tools of our trade, our learning (our continuing professional development) and our communities. In effect, expanding our professional horizons, not just looking at the same old horizons.
Some folks like to do a business micro retreat at this time of year and assess their way forward. Maybe some people will decide to add editing fiction to their services and will want to read lots of craft books and take at least one course. Others may decide to drop developmental editing from their services. Some of us will be looking at ramping up our hours, now that we’re free from some other commitments (for example, caring commitments), others will be looking at cutting down on their hours, either with retirement on the horizon or moving into teaching or training, or even just because. Others may be making the jump from freelance editing to in-house editing.
Some people may even plan to get a four-footed editorial assistant to keep them company and, if that assistant is a puppy, to get them out of the house. And in that case — take it from me — uninterrupted work for a few months is unlikely.
The re-entering mentality enables us to think big, to think laterally, and not just think of going back to the same old work and same old routines and same old ways of thinking.
What’s your version of la rentrée this season?
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Janet MacMillan
Janet MacMillan (she/elle) is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and a member of Editing Globally, an international editorial collective. Her main base is in Toronto. She is a non-fiction editor, specializing in law, politics, modern history, international relations, and any topics that help make the world a better place. When not working, Janet is usually found walking or playing with her dog, cooking for family and friends, reading and visiting friends, both across Canada and further afield.