Publications & Editors
Medium should immediately stop using the term “Editor” the way it does, currently. It devalues the word. At least two of the fewer-than-a-dozen editors I've worked with, who are good enough I couldn't afford the rates they deserve, are on Medium. But 90% of the Medium members running around with the "Editor" title, some of whom now truly imagine they can claim that title on a resume, using it on LinkedIn without realizing how laughable that is, wouldn't know a run-on sentence if it bit them on the butt.
Now, having said that, I disagree with you, too, James - up to a point. If you submit to a publication, you accept their submissions guidelines. Their submissions guidelines should state whether they will edit your submission and to what extent. I always reserve the right to make minor edits to spelling, grammar, and punctuation without consulting the writer. But I would never unilaterally make a material change to the content. That's what the private notes are for. Private notes are clunky, here, and I refuse to do it for every misplaced comma.
I should state, for anyone else who may be reading, that I've never edited your work, James Ssekamatte.
And I'd be furious, too, if I were in your shoes.
But, I'd think twice before considering your submissions, after reading this.
Because you had a choice, too: accept the changes, withdraw the work, write a thoughtful complaint about what constitutes "editing" and the role of an "Editor" on Medium, or write a personal attack against one individual. At least on Medium, withdrawing work that's been published in a "publication" here is a "no harm, no foul" proposition. If this had happened to you with a traditional publication - newspaper, magazine, etc. - you'd have absolutely no say once you offered a thing and they published it. For better or worse, that's how the publishing world works.
Unless you have a contract that states otherwise. So now you know - always read the contract. Maybe set up your own publication. But generally speaking, a "publication" earns nothing, pays nothing, and confers no particular benefit on contributors. I'm not sure - especially with the "Related posts" type recommendations Medium now tacks onto the end of our posts - that there's really anything to be gained by submitting work to a "publication" here at all.
