Praise, improvement, praise

Every writher will have different needs, of course. And not every writer will be easy to communicate with. But surely if an editor approaches an author with respect, and receives respect in turn, then the relationship can be a good one. if an editor is ready to engage with our work, to be on our side while maintaining professional distance" this, I think, can help us to calm the needy actor inside all of us and, if we're lucky, get some good work done. Perhaps this Australian author puts it best: 'To me, anticipating an editor's report is like waiting to be speared. Perhaps that's a bit extreme! But I have a sense that it's a very physical thing involving jabs of both expected and unexpected pain. All good, kind words in the report (even if true) will be instantly dismissed as irrelevant and all criticisms will be re-read and re-read and hated (the more-so if true because of the humiliation felt). But after all that re-reading, which is a process of desensitising oneself to the pain, the good and the bad comments eventually almost counterbalance into a more neutral platform one can consider more rationally and more forward from.' And don't forget, editors, teachers, reviewers: Praise, Improvement, Praise!