If something here is wrong, tell me and I will put it right. Here is how, and what happens next.
A magazine that never corrects anything is not a magazine that never gets anything wrong. It is one that hopes you will not notice.
I would rather be told.
How to tell me
Email hello@breathandwords.com with the title of the piece and what you think is wrong. A link helps. So does a source, if you have one, though you do not need one to raise something.
You do not have to be a practitioner, a scientist, or anyone in particular. If a sentence read wrongly to you, that is worth knowing on its own.
What happens
I will acknowledge it within five working days, and that will be a real reply from me rather than an automatic one.
Then I look into it. Where the piece has a named author, I talk to them, because it is their work and their name on it. That can take a little longer, particularly if they are away, and I will tell you if it is going to.
Then one of four things happens.
- It was wrong, so we correct it. The article is changed and a short note at the foot says what was corrected and when. The note stays. Quietly editing a piece and saying nothing is worse than the original mistake.
- It was unclear rather than wrong, so we clarify it. Same treatment, same note.
- It was badly wrong, or wrong in a way that could affect someone’s health. The piece comes down while we sort it out, rather than staying up while we deliberate.
- We think it is right. I will tell you why, and show you what it rests on. You are free to disagree, and to say so publicly.
Corrections are visible
Every correction appears on the piece it belongs to, at the foot, saying what changed and on what date. It is not tucked away on a separate page nobody visits, and the original piece is not silently swapped out.
Typographical fixes, broken links and formatting do not get a note. Anything that changes what a piece says does.
If your complaint is about how you were treated
Not everything is a factual error. You might have sent something and never heard back. You might have been edited in a way that did not sit right. You might feel a piece here was unfair to you or to your school.
Same address, same five working days. I would far rather hear it directly than not hear it.
If you have been named in a piece and you did not consent to that, tell me and it comes out while we talk about it, not afterwards.
If you are a contributor
You can ask me to change your profile, correct your credentials, or take the whole thing down, at any time and without a reason.
If you want your published articles removed as well, say so and we will talk about it. I would usually rather keep the piece and remove your details than lose the work, but it is your call and not mine.
If you are not satisfied
If I have not put something right to your satisfaction, tell me again and say why. Where we still disagree, you are free to say so publicly.
Complaints about how we have handled your personal information can go to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk (opens in a new tab). There is more on the privacy notice.
I would rather you told me first, and gave me the chance to fix it.