what we celebrate: why editors keep win jars
With special thanks to Tea Club members Wendee Mullikin, Allison Goldstein, Julie Willson, Betsy Judkins, and Ceylan Ozguner.
“I’m so impressed with your work.” These words greet me every time I look up from my desk at my bookshelf. There sits a glass candy jar filled with similar notes and triumphs—my win jar.
This particular “win” comes from an email I’ve printed out from an editorial director at a publishing company. It’s a reminder that I am actually good at what I do, and other people think so, too. If I ever need a little encouragement or a pep talk, I simply grab the container, turn it upside down, shake it until all the notes come out, and read them one at a time.
Early in my business, I measured wins with dollar signs. If I wasn’t bringing in the amount of money I wanted, I didn’t see myself as successful. However, success doesn’t necessarily come with a dollar sign: presenting at a conference, lining up a great speaker for an event, and even getting up the nerve to send a cold email—these things all matter. Not all business tasks lead to Scrooge McDuck amounts of cash, but completing them still takes effort, and that is absolutely worth celebrating. As a freelancer, no one is throwing me a pizza party or promoting me. It is unlikely anyone but me will stop to appreciate and notice the work I do and the results that may (or may not) come from that work. That’s why I keep a win jar.
A win jar is a fantastic way to track success and a powerful way to stave off impostor syndrome, if, like me, you occasionally have to tell it to kick rocks. In fact, many editors keep win jars, both digitally (hello “#win-jar” channel in the Tea Club Slack chat!) and physically.
Here, Tea Club members share what counts as a win, why they track their wins, and when they celebrate.
What Counts as a Win?
Wondering what to put in a win jar? Editors count everything from writing blog posts to receiving great feedback from clients.
“A win for me is something that fills me with joy—when I'm excited about an outcome,” says Wendee Mullikin of Purple Pen Wordsmithing. She notes that wins can be anything from finalizing a work contract to publishing a blog post.
For Tea Club Vice President Julie Willson of LifeEdits.me, wins are things that make her proud, like positive feedback from a client “or another editor telling me how I helped them be more effective.”
Allison Goldstein, founder of A. Gold Standard, describes a win as “something that (a) makes me feel proud of and confident in my skillset and (b) demonstrates that others value what I do.”
And Betsy Judkins, owner of Maine Woods Editing, shares that wins can include all sorts of things: “Great feedback from a client, buzz on social media, an ad that really came together, a project I'm thrilled to take on, a client referral, an amazing editing catch, a sticky Excel formula I've finally wrangled so I can measure exactly what I want, a perfect graph.”
But wins don’t have to be obvious to count. As business owners, we also do things we don’t necessarily want to do but know we need to do, like cold pitching and networking. “Forcing yourself to be a little uncomfortable and networking with other editors” is absolutely deserving of a hoorah, says Julie.
The same goes for the unglamorous back-office work that keeps a business running. “There's nothing fun or sexy about tracking expenses,” says Wendee. She adds, “Keeping up with back-office stuff in a way that makes sense to you should be celebrated.”
When thinking about what to include in your win jar, you might consider if you’ve improved a process, finished an email that was stumping you, drafted a social media post, or even attended a new meeting you were nervous to join.
Why Editors Keep Win Jars
There are many reasons editors keep win jars. As Ceylan Ozguner, owner of Oz Editorial Services, says, “You'd be surprised how much doing so will improve your outlook on work and the effect you have on the world around you. It improves your self-esteem.” And Betsy puts it this way: “It's another business metric, but it pays dividends in dopamine.”
Win jars are also valuable because they help us recognize wins that are easy to overlook. Allison notes that “process-related wins, the kind that have to do with becoming more efficient and/or effective in keeping the business going” are easy to miss.
I agree. I often get to the end of the day feeling like I haven’t accomplished anything. But when I look back, I realize I’ve done plenty. In a single day, I might have implemented new macros to speed up my everyday work process, drafted a LinkedIn post, created a flyer in Canva, offered advice to other editors in one of my editor groups, and led a meeting for the Northwest Editors Guild or worked on a few pages of a cookbook. When I don’t keep track of these things that take time and energy, it’s easy to wonder, “Where has my day gone?”
When to Celebrate
The best time to celebrate a win is whenever it works for you. Some editors celebrate their wins as they record them; others recognize their wins during an annual review; and still others stash them in treat jars, dipping into them when they need a little pick-me-up.
“I definitely look at my wins when I'm having a particularly bad day with impostor syndrome,” shares Wendee. Meanwhile, Ceylan puts her wins in a jar and takes them out to revisit as needed. “Sometimes that's on a low day, and sometimes it's just so I can review what I've achieved so that I don't forget.”
Like Ceylan and Wendee, I pull my wins out when I need some occupational sunshine. Nothing makes me feel upbeat like reading an email from a client that says, “You made this process seamless. You have truly been a joy to work with,” or a printout of a typo I rescued from meeting the eyes of a discerning reader.
I also include my win jar in my annual business review so that while I’m pulling numbers and reviewing goals, I’m seeing a more complete picture of what I’ve accomplished and what I have to be proud of. Sure, it feels good to have served more clients, but it also feels good to get those emails that say, “You have truly been a joy to work with.”
Of course, I also take time to appreciate my wins as they come in. Just now, I finished writing a blog post. One thing off the to-do list and into the candy jar above my desk. If you’ll excuse me, I have a pizza party to throw. After all, I’m the boss, and I think this is very much worth celebrating!🎉
Melissa Haskin is a freelance editor specializing in recipes, research, and resumes. Before striking out on her own, she worked at Cooking Light and Men's Health magazines. She provides editor coaching to other editors through her website and as a mentor for the Northwest Editors Guild. She’s the instructor for and founder of Recipe Editing 101.
