A Real Friend

Just when I thought nothing much was happening as far as my writing was going, something turned up. I have quite a few submissions 'out there' to magazines, competitions and agents but nothing has come back for a while. Even a rejection would be almost welcome just to prove my entries aren't disappearing into some Royal Mail black hole.



Then Saturday morning I had a reply from People's Friend. Not an acceptance unfortunately but not an outright rejection either. The first thing that impresses me with PF is their response time. I posted my submission second class on Tuesday and received the reply just four days later. Previous recent submissions have also been acknowledged (rejected) within a week so this wasn't just a one-off.



The letter from Shirley Blair explained very clearly what they liked about the story but also why it wasn't quite suitable for PF. Some suggestions were offered for the dialogue and the ending and I have been encouraged to amend the script and resubmit. I'm not aware of any other magazines that do this.



I must admit I've found it hard to find the right balance with PF. They have a traditional readership but still deal with themes such as crime and hardship. It's not all domestic issues and romance. So I suppose I'd better get on with it. Hopefully my first story in PF isn't too far away.