Image I used for the cover.
I've had an "interesting" few days. We have been putting together the latest issue of the community magazine I edit. Doing the layout is like doing a big jigsaw puzzle, but with more than one possible end results. I always think that when I've got a good fit, the result looks the "obvious" solution, but there is often a messy stage before I get there. This time I wanted one of my fellow editors to shorten a couple of her articles to get a better fit. To my surprise she completely refused. Either they went in as written or not at all. The other editor was called in to mediate but she still didn't budge and was quite critical of the overall layout.
I went through stages of being irritated, defensive and indignant. But overnight a much neater solution came to me. I was able to break up another article into little bits, and give her the full space she wanted.
The end result? By backing down, swallowing my pride, we came up with a much better issue overall. Some of her comments had been a bit harsh, scatter gun and wide of the mark, but in essence she was right. We had both trodden on each others toes a bit but it was worth it for the end result.
Does this mean I'm getting better at handling criticism? Yes, maybe a bit.
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