I’ve been thinking about working over the Christmas/New Year period.  Every year for the past decade I’ve been busy, more or less, working on essays, editing, copyedits and so on.   It’s important and I’ve been happy to do it, but I’ve noticed this past week I’ve been getting a lot of emails telling me that people associated with the publishing business are closed from 23 December to January 5.  This sounds like an eminently sensible thing to do.  There should be a time of the year when you can sit back and relax.   What I’ve also noticed is that some of the publishers send out copyedits etc just before 23 December and then expecting back by January 5.  I can see why.  Anyhow, I’m considering following publishing’s lead and, next Christmas, closing Jonathan Strahan Publications on 23 December 2009 and not reopening till 5 January 2010.  I’d not blog, not answer emails, and not do anything to do with any kind of work.  Just spend time with the family.  If I can get columns edited by the 23rd, it should be doable, and it does sound attractive.

Anyhow, with New Year’s Eve almost upon us I’m reviewing copyedits for one book, editing columns for Locus, and I’ve just started writing my year in review essay for the magazine. It’s about half done, so I should get it in by the weekend.  A little late, but two weeks earlier than 2008, which is some kind of improvement.