The Writers-Editors War: Can We Please Stop

Here’s why I wish both writers and editors would stop bashing each other on Medium, and deal with their issues calmly and logically.

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

I have only been on Medium for a few months, but I am seeing articles from both writers and editors that I find disturbing. Writers rant at editors who meddle too much with their work. Editors rant when they put a lot of effort into their editing, and then writers withdraw their submissions. Some postings cross over into verbal abuse.

Dear writers (and dear editors):

I have had my share of tussles with editors on other content websites. Editors have changed my headlines to something that meant the opposite of my original, added elements that do not reflect my style, or added their own writing. My stand is that anything that is published under my name should represent my style and voice.

Having said that, editors do catch my mistakes and can be helpful. I also have had to accept that being a writer means getting constructive feedback to improve my work and occasional negative backlash from readers and trolls.

We writers tend to look at our stories as babies we gave birth to with a lot of love and painful labor. Criticism can send us into a spiral of rejection and defensiveness. Instead, we should be considering each…