Hey Alex I was feeling really out of sorts and kind of disheartened and then came your words of advice like manna from heaven. It’s like you gave water to a drooping plant… I have totally perked up !

It matters such a lot that you took the trouble to write in this much detail. I wish I could reach out and give you a big hug! If you are ever wanting to explore the North East of England, give me a shoutout — I will be your guide, up hills and down dales.

I was thinking about writing somehting about editors of publications on medium, after someone from the Cultured publication just took a machete to th earticle I had submitted. It was on something very personal and she said she thought it was very powerful… and then, proceeded to chop up the paragraphs, to make one sentence paragraphs. The sense, meaning and rhythm I’d worked on creating , for hours, was getting erased right before my eyes… and I had not saved a copy. When I said ‘please stop’, her reply was I should not be rude! So I withdrew my article from out of her clutches, which meant withdrawing it from ‘Cultured’. This happened yesterday, and it totally spoilt my feeling of satisfaction on articulating something very challenging, in which I sought to give advice to my nephew.

I haven’t quite decided what to do, having now got the feelingn that anyone can ocupy th erole of editor, make decisions, showing a fundamental lack of understanding of what an editor’s role actually is and you have to tolerate it, or withdraw your article. By the way, I have worked as an editor of books for English language learner, where being meticulous is vital. But that does not involve a slash and burn approach! It seems anyone can jump into the role role of editor on a publication here and cause upset and mayhem for the poor writer !

Thank you again for reaching out Alex. Sending you blessings!