Shutterstock©Twitter on a Tuesday is the place to be for the #PFWritingHour!
The chat, which starts at 11 a.m., is an ideal opportunity to join the “Friend” Fiction team and lots of others to swap ideas and ask us anything about the magazine.
We’ve put together a list of the most frequently asked questions to keep you up to date with life at the magazine just now.
Who can e-mail stories?
We’re still using the system brought in at the start of the lockdown.
Writers who have had a story published in “The People’s Friend” can email us their submissions.
We would also appreciate it if those writers could initially email their own editor with a brief description of their story, including word count, genre and season.
This allows us to prioritise stories we need for the weekly and Special mix. If you’ve not previously had a story accepted by us, please post your manuscript to our office.
Do you want stories set during lockdown?
There’s no doubt that this is one of the most important and life-changing times we will ever know, and eventually it will be reflected in our fiction.
For the moment though, we would ask you to file those stories away and keep them for a later date. We’ll let you know when we want them!
I’m unsure about story lengths
When writing any story for us, please remember that you can go over or under by 200 words. For all our story lengths click here.
I’m still waiting to hear about a story I sent before lockdown
As you can imagine, things have been very different with your “Friend” team working from home.
Things are taking longer, but we’re getting there.
Our usual systems and processes are obviously a bit slower, and we would ask you to please bear with us. The teams really are doing everything they can to get the magazine to press.
I want to write a crime story
Our 9500 long reads that appear in every third Special are always a cosy crime story.
We accept them in the weekly, too, for our designated word counts.
But please keep in mind that they shouldn’t be gratuitous, and the best thing to do is to read ones that we’ve published.
Do you accept sci-fi stories?
I’m afraid we don’t. We always listen to our readers, and I’m afraid the majority simply don’t want them in the “Friend”.
If it ever changes we will of course let you know.
When will you be back in the PF office?
We’re afraid we don’t that yet, but everything else is pretty much business as usual while we all work from home.
Don’t forget the #PFWritingHour is every Tuesday at 11 a.m. over on Twitter.
Tracey Steel Having worked on a number of magazines over the years, I have found my perfect place on the “Friend” as I’m obsessed with reading and never go anywhere without a book! I read all of our stories with a mug of tea close by and usually a bit of strong cheese too!
