As part of our 150th celebrations, we asked our writers to let us know what the “Friend” means to them. Here, Wendy Clarke shares her thoughts:
“In August 2012, I received an e-mail from one of the team at ‘The People’s Friend’. He liked a story I’d sent into the magazine but wondered if I could change it a little and re-submit. This was an exciting development as, prior to this, I’d only received standard rejections.
“In a blog post I wrote around this time, I put: ‘I have become very stubborn about this magazine and have made it my mission to have a story accepted.’
“That stubbornness paid off and the story I resubmitted became my first ever magazine sale. Not only that but the person who wrote that encouraging letter, Alan Spink, has been my editor ever since. I couldn’t have found a better home for my stories.”