Oh my gosh. I've started a publication and I try not to edit at all.

As for how to respond to editors who ask for a lot of changes to your story, it's tricky. I sent one story to a publication that asked for a lot of edits. I went along with it, even though there was nothing wrong with my original story.

The editor then wrote a frankly *embarassing* opening sentence which undermined the whole story, and because they published while I was asleep, I didn't see it for 9 hours. I deleted the offending line in the morning and haven't submitted to them since.

I'd suggest you avoid that pub in future.

In a different incident, soon after I joined medium, I went along with another editor and now regret it. I was new and overly compliant. This is what happened. They've actually made staff changes as a result... https://medium.com/writers-blokke/when-illumination-said-my-work-had-83-errors-e5e2d152d305