One of the most stressful things about writing in newspapers and magazines is reading letters from readers about your articles. There were many occasions during my years as a reporter at the Cambridge Evening News that a reader’s letter would be published that tore apart something I’d written a day or so before. The sub-editors never bothered to tell me this was going to happen; they just published the letter and enjoyed my embarrassment on the day it appeared.

That said, not all letters from readers are negative. A few have praised what I’ve written. They are rare, but nothing beats the ego-swelling feeling of pride you get when you read one.

One such moment happened this week with the publication of a letter from one David Martin in MacUser, regarding the Streamline your Mac article I wrote for it a couple of months ago:

No article in any computer magazine has had such a significant influence on me as “Streamline your Mac” (see MacUser, 26 October 2007). Intending to simply follow a few of the suggestions to clean up my digital life, it has progressed into an entire turnaround in my work practices. What began as a small effort to declutter my Desktop has now spilled into almost every area of not only my digital life but also my personal and professional life away from the computer … I also eagerly anticipate your article about Scrivener in the upcoming issue – something I purchased in a roundabout way as a direct result of the “Streamline your Mac” article I so massively appreciated.

And thank you, Mr Martin, for taking the time to send your comments to MacUser and consequently make my day.