The Writing Process: Publisher's Edits

Before my story can move from acceptance to published, it needs to be edited, by actual editors.
Douglas Lance and the team at Fiction Magazines were great to work with. Every step of the way I was included in the editorial process. The editing team collaborated using Google Docs and I saw all there recommendations and simple corrections. I had the final say on any changes and we had conversations about what would be best for the story. I even saw the final proof before it went out. I wasn't sure what it would be like working with editors and sort of readied myself to have my feeling hurt by harsh criticism. But in reality, it wasn't much different than work shopping a story with fellow writers. I eased in by making the quick grammatical/typographical fixes such as missed placed commas and et cetra. I saved the more subjective changes for last and gave some time to mull over their recommendations. Some changes I made, some I stuck to the way it was. The realization that helped me through this was that everyone involved was there to make the best story. Nothing was personal and there were no conflicts over "artistic control." We all are the slaves to the story. That's it.
By the end, I felt proud of what will be released. When I got the proof in the email, I grew all the more eager to see it in print.
And then the waiting begins...