I appreciate this honest view of your first day editing for "Illumination." That was quite proactive of you to find that writers' images to improve the quality for the pub. Frankly, I felt more encouraged when I first started writing on "Illumination". I liked the community feel - the inclusiveness, collaboration, and creativity of it.

And...I think through some misunderstanding, my lack of assertiveness about it, and inadvertent human stuff, (and maybe it's the exact timing the pieces need) some of my work has been sitting in slack draft review for some time, which prompted me to want to publish elsewhere, though I still feel a positive connection to "Illumination". and know that its writers are free to publish wherever they want.

Also, I feel that "Illumination" would benefit from encouraging their writers , including me, to comment more on each other's work.

Perhaps I feel a bit left behind because I'm pretty new to "Illumination" and all of a sudden there's a new pub, the "curated" one, and I'm not sure I'll be able to be in that "club". Though I presented a writers bioto who I was, I'm not sure it was read much in "Illumination" -- but more by friends of mine outside of Medium.

Though it is a goal that takes so much skill and takes much effort, time and wisdom to make "Illumination" large, and in the top one percent, and I can see benefits for writers and readers, I'm not sure how to cultivate that feeling of community I originally was so enthusiastic about. I'm the kind of a person who enjoys a small comfy gathering rather than a ballroom full of wonderful folks.

That said, I love the team work and approach you all have as editors. I hope to continue to submit to "Illumination." I also want to thank profusely each editor who has responded and helped with my work.