Power of Words

Everyone knows that words can be powerful. They can incite strong emotions, cause a fight or sooth a hurt. They have been used for peace negotiations, company mergers and they have even changed the world.

As a writer, I am aware of the power of words but in the every day grind of writing this article or that article, I tend to lose focus on that. I sometimes forget that what I say can either make a difference, or cause a hurt. What I say can be negative or positive and it can affect the reader in both those ways. When I write fiction or creative non-fic, I rely on that to draw my readers in, take them on a scenic tour that can be a heart-pounding thrill ride or a lazy drift down a wide, slow moving river. I never imagined that a letter that I wrote would have the ability to make someone take notice.

I really shouldn't take all the credit, I mean my words are not that all inspiring that they could change everyone but this time, the fact that I stood up for myself through writing a professional letter has worked out for the best. This time, the editor on the other end was a decent person and realized her mistakes.

As you can tell, I give credit to the editor that I was having problems with earlier this week; see Editor Troubles.

On Friday night I received a letter stating that my article has been pulled and they apologized that it hadn't been when they said it would. That was it, short and sweet, no warmth, no anger, just a business feel to it. This was actually much better than the letter I had received the day before that was more negative in form and nature.

After the Friday email, I figured that was it. The battle was over and although it wasn't a spectacular victory with the injured soldiers returning home under banners and fireworks, it was still a victory. Chalk one up to the writer and add a lesson learned in there.

I was completely caught off guard when I received a second response to my email on Saturday. In it she apologized for how she acted in this. Apologized for using the article the way she had and went on to say that they are reviewing their record keeping and how they work with writers. I was flabbergasted :o), never thought I would use that word ever.

She went on to say that she thought I was a very talented writer and also that she had been an arse. That a true professional is willing to say that and I have to agree with her.

I think that the editor deserves an applause for correcting her mistake and learning from it. For admitting that she behaved badly and for making amends. I am sure it wasn't easy for her to write the letter but it proved that she is an editor that values professionalism and integrity.

I emailed her back and thanked her for her apology and complimented her on her level of professionalism. I hope that her magazine continues to grow into something that she can be proud of and I hope that after my dealings with her, all other writers will find her to be an excellent and professional editor.

Now, not that I think I should have any extra treatment but this tired soldier has turned her sights for home and that spectacular victory parade. I think we should order extra fireworks and balloons because the editor definitely deserves to walk in it too.