I’m glad you’re able to distance yourself when you need to. As an editor, I try to explain to writers that my recommendations are for making the book better. I have no personal stake in the matter (other than a bruised ego if someone doesn’t take my advice, and how dare they). I do try to keep in mind the way I present the recommendations, though — I imagine what my reaction would be if my exact words were said to me by another. Even though I only write short pieces like blog posts, I listen to the critique from two trusted writer friends and work under the assumption that they want the best for me.

It’s so easy to overwrite. I hear ya. I’m half Italian, and that half of me wants to tell it all, in great detail, with lots of tangents. My friends help me to scale it back to what’s actually relevant.