Considering selling a story to a newspaper, magazine or TV? Have a look on this page at our recently sold real life stories – for the vast majority of interviewees their journey to sell a story began when they contacted us … and here are the results!
For free advice and to see if you have a story to sell, click here: Sell My Story to email us some details about your story – or simply fill in the form on the right. For more details on the process go to How it Works.
Read some of our recent real life stories below…
I BEAT ANOREXIA TO HAVE MY CHRISTMAS DINNER
Nicola has battled with anorexia for four years. But finally this Christmas she was well enough to tuck in to her Christmas dinner.
After her story was printed on Boxing Day in the Daily Mail newspaper, Nicola said: “The feature seems to have touched people.
Strangers on Facebook have even messaged me too saying how inspiring the article was to them, so thank you.”
CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE GENERATIONS
The Graham family enjoyed taking Bella readers through past Christmasses generation by generation. Incredibly they are five generations of ladies.
Said Lynn: “Baby Mia was the star of the show! It was great fun doing the feature and going over all the old times!”
Their personal story has now been sold on with a different non-Christmassy angle to the Daily Express newspaper.
I’LL DO ANYTHING TO LOOK LIKE JORDAN
Pauline Brown’s story of how her daughter Sophie, 15, wants a boob job as soon as she turns 16 to look like Jordan was sold to the Daily Mirror.
Pauline said: “Sophie was so proud of the story in the newspaper that she took the paper to school with her to show all her friends. We loved the photos and were delighted with the story Alison wrote.”
Connie’s horrifying true story of how dying her hair caused such a serious allergic reaction, she ended up in intensive care, was sold to the Sunday Mirror newspaper.
Interestingly, Connie had emailed a number of websites (not to be recommended if you are trying to sell an exclusive story!) asking, “Can you sell my story for me?”
As only one agent could sell her story to a national newspaper or women’s magazine, she had to choose.
She said: “Alison … I asked my mum what I should do and she said to go with my instinct and that’s with you.”
Connie put her payment she received for selling her story to the newspaper towards doing up her new house. Read Connie’s story in the paper here >
My dad faked his own death … but I still love him…
After her mercenary father was supposedly blown up in a Bosnian bomb, Claire Sessarego grieved for seven years – until one day she suddenly saw him alive and well on TV.
It was then the awful truth unfolded – Philip Sessarego had faked his own death. He had abandoned his family and set up a whole new life for himself…
Claire’s fascinating story was sold to the Daily Mail newspaper where it was printed over two pages in a top Saturday spot.
It has since been sold to Bella magazine.
Claire said on the Saturday her amazing real life story was printed: “Thank you for all your hard work. I am so pleased you wrote it for me – without your writing it would have been nothing.”
To read more of Claire’s unique true-life story click on the newspaper cutting above.
The twins who’ve had identical cosmetic surgery…
Twins Kerry and Jo Burton adore looking identical so much that they even have their plastic surgery together.
Kerry and Jo came to me six years ago to sell their story. Then, their story appeared in a UK magazine and a newspaper. But, this time round they’d had even more cosmetic surgery.
This time their incredible story was sold worldwide.
It has now appeared in the Daily Mail newspaper, Pick me Up magazine, Best magazine, magazines abroad, Sieben TV (national German TV), Croatian TV, and they have also taken part in a documentary. This story continues to sell in the UK and to other countries.
Meanwhile, their true story appeared on the front cover of Best magazine
The husband and wife who sleep in separate beds… (and say it makes their relationship even stronger)
When the real-life section of the Daily Mirror rang me asking for urgent help with a feature to go in the paper next day, I sent her request round my Casting Directory.
Recent research had suggested many couples would find their relationship more harmonious if they slept in separate beds and did I know of anyone?
Incredibly, , who are on my casting directory, said they they actually sleep in separate bedrooms.
Their story about how sleeping separately has improved their marriage, appeared in the newspaper the next day!
Tiziana and Farrid were paid a generous thank you fee for taking part – and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
It’s every parents’ nightmare – their child goes on a gap year trip and dies in a freak accident. But although this happened to Mary Glenister’s beautiful and clever daughter Alice, 18, she does not regret that her Alice went on the trip of a lifetime.
Mary’s emotional story appeared in the Daily Mail. After the story appeared Mary said: “We have seen the article – thank you, it is very good and it was a pleasure speaking to you. love Mary.”
When Louise contacted me to sell her anorexia story, the reasons why she had become ill were the most fascinating of all. Louise and twin Lisa’s story was sold to the Daily Mail where it appeared as a double page spread.
Afterwards Louise wrote: “Alison, you work so hard … I would take the week off and put the feet up! You have been great. Many thanks.”
Louise (right) and twin Lisa as youngsters
I MARRIED MY HUSBAND’S BEST MAN
“Can you sell my story again Alison?” That was the question Karen Mears, whose story I sold to the Daily Mail, Real People and Woman’s Own in 2008, recently asked me. Karen’s story was an update to her last one – she and Andrew, her former husband’s best man, had since married.
(I will respect Karen’s privacy here to the exact amount she was paid for her story, but the money Featureworld got Karen in 2008 alone paid for her beautiful white wedding on Florida’s Cocoa beach…)
However, I was delighted that Karen trusted me enough to sell her story for her again.
This time the exclusive story about her wedding was sold to the Sunday Mirror as a double page spread and then as another double page in New! Magazine.
Karen said: “This time the money will pay for my eldest daughter’s gap year trip to the States.”
MY BROTHER AND BABY DAUGHTER BOTH DROWNED
Sophie Cardwell contacted Featureworld to sell her tragic story about how her brother, 15, drowned in a quarry accident.
A year later her world was turned upside down when her toddler daughter, Lucy, died in a pool on holiday.
Sophie, whose story was sensitively written in Bella, wanted to her story printed as a warning to other parents to keep watch over their children near water.
Sophie said: “I will never get over what happened but hopefully putting my story in a magazine will stop this happening to someone else.”
MY MUM’S ADULTERY PUT ME OFF SEX
Jo’s story of how her mum’s affairs caused problems within her own marriage appeared in a double page spread in the Daily Mail. After having her children, Jo lost interest in sex with her husband and for around four years, whilst they tried to keep their relationship going, they had a sexless marriage.
Jo has since appeared on ITV’s This Morning when they ran an item on living in a sexless marriage.
Neil Strudwick, whose wife left him with his newborn baby, told his story to the Daily Mail’s Weekend supplement about his life bringing up his son by himself (pictured with son Nathan).
I then placed his story in Bella magazine. Interestingly, I sold Neil’s sister’s story to the Daily Mail last year (Sarah Strudwick; My father’s adultery ruined my life.)
It is a lovely that after I have sold their story for them, people trust me enough to recommend me to sell stories for their friends and family too.
ADOPTED SISTERS REUNITED AFTER 35 YEARS … TO FIND THEY LOATHED EACH OTHER…
When sisters Ann and Judi were reunited after 35 years apart, it should have been the beginning of a wonderful relationship.
Instead, their very first meeting was to spark a bitter feud. And in fact the pair fell out so badly that for five years they didn’t speak.
< Judi (right) and Ann
But last year Judi invited Ann to her 50th birthday party and now they are rebuilding their relationship. Ann and Judi’s rollercoaster story was printed in a double page spread in the Daily Mail. Afterwards both of them spoke about their turbulent relationship on various radio programmes.
If you have a delicate story to sell about a stormy family relationship, then do email me about it. Speak to Alison here alison@featureworld.co.uk.
THE REAL LIFE RAPUNZEL
When Lisa emailed me to say her daughter, Millie, who chewed her hair, had nearly died from a giant hairball, I thought it was a fascinating story. But when I spoke to Alder Hey hospital and her consultant told me Millie, 5, suffered from a rare illness called Rapunzel Syndrome, I knew we had a very saleable story to sell.
It finally appeared in the Daily Mail and then in Pick me Upmagazine. The hospital also supplied some photos of the hairball, which like Rapunzel’s hair, had made a rope in Millie’s tummy.
Says Lisa, “The photos were too awful to print but it was great of Alison to get us them as it made us realise why Millie (pictured above) was so ill!”
I LOST 14 STONES AFTER A BYPASS TO HAVE MY BABY
After being told she was too fat to conceive, Wendy Janes is celebrating a miracle – the birth of a beautiful baby son.
Wendy used to weigh 28 stones but has more than halved her body weight after a bypass operation and then amazed doctors by falling pregnant.
Wendy’s inspiring story was sold to the News of the World and she now has a deal with Best magazine.
Karen, a serial mistress who only dates married men, appeared in Fabulous at the beginning of the year and came back to me to see if I could sell her story again for her.
This time her story appeared in the Daily Mail.
Karen, who writes a great blog about her experiences (The Life of a Serial Mistress) also did many radio interviews and I recently gave her advice as due to all the publicity she gained, she is now writing a book.
Amy King (pictured left) emailed me saying, “I’m desperate to sell my story.” An attractive mum of two, the combination of a dental phobia and difficulty finding an NHS dentist had been disastrous. Gum disease had set in and Amy had all her teeth removed.
But after I sold her story to the Daily Mail and her plight appeared on the front page, she received offers from two private dentists to put her mouth right.
Since her story appeared, she has been fitted with new teeth and had even more to smile about when I sold her story again for her to Reveal magazine.
Amy says: “I went through some very dark days but my life turned around after I emailed Alison at Featureworld.”
My TV Cosmetic Surgery nightmare…
Four years ago air hostess Nicola Stratton got what she thought was the chance of a lifetime – to have £110,000 worth of cosmetic surgery for free through a TV programme.
At the time, she was delighted with the changes, which included a boob job.
But she recently suffered a nightmare when one of her enhanced breasts burst leaving her boob like a ‘deflated balloon.’
Nicola wanted to sell her real life story to warn others of the setbacks of having such surgery and also to raise enough money to put it right.
She said: “It is very important for my career to look and feel good at all times and that’s why I appealed to the media.”
Nicola’s cautionary story appeared on the front page of the Mail on Sunday and inside in a double page spread.
I gave birth … and I didn’t even know I was pregnant!
When Claire Durick, 22, flew to her dad’s wedding she thought the reason she felt off-colour was down to jetlag and a boozy meal the night before… but the next day she discovered the real reason when she gave birth to a bonny baby boy. Unknowingly, Claire was nine months pregnant when she flew to the States!
Claire’s incredible story has been sold to Now!, a glossy women’s magazine, Weekend(Daily Mail Saturday supplement), Sky TV Magazine and also went over two pages in the Sunday Mirror. She has also appeared on ITV’s This Morning – and her story continues to sell. (Pictured with baby Carter.)
Says Claire: “I thought it would be lovely to see my story in print but I had no idea Alison would be able to sell my story to so many magazines and newspapers. I was thrilled, however, that she managed to sell it so many times.”
And here she is again in the Daily Mail’s Weekendhere >
I was Britain’s fattest teen…
Aged just 16, Malissa Jones (left) weighed an astonishing 34 stones, mostly due to her night time habit of scoffing barely defrosted frozen food. But when she began having heart and breathing problems, doctors decided to take drastic action and she became the youngest person in Britain to have a gastric bypass on the NHS.
Malissa’s inspiring story appeared in the News of the World and then in Reveal magazine. Now slim, Malissa (pictured right, after her treatment) is also in talks with TV documentary makers.
Says Malissa: “When I opened the newspaper and saw how well done the article was, I was very pleased because it was written exactly as Alison said it would be and wasn’t sensational at all.”
Read Malissa’s story in the News of the Worldhere >
The girl who got pregnant at 13 – but went on to gain ten GCSEs, three A levels and a place at university…
“So many people knock young mums but I want to be the first to prove the critics wrong,” wrote Rebecca Finnis , now 23, on her Featureworld sell your story form.
Rebecca’s inspirational story of how she has since married her childhood sweetheart, Peter, 15, when she got pregnant and they now have their own home and a daughter was picked up by the Daily Mail.
Rebecca also went onto ITV’s This Morning to discuss teenage pregnancy and her story has since been sold to women’s mag, Bella.
Rebecca says: “Before going to Alison I sent my story to a women’s magazine but it was only when I emailedFeatureworld, and she marketed my story to sell to newspapers and magazines, that I managed to get my story out there.”
The baby genetically designed to be free from eye cancer…
Little Beau Plowman won’t suffer from eye cancer as his mum Belinda and his grandmum did – because a pioneering genetic screening technique weeded out the hereditary disease before he was even conceived.
This ground-breaking story was told in the News of the World and has since appeared in Reveal magazine. Belinda and her family have also been filmed for Channel 5 and her story has been sold abroad.
Alison says: “Selling a story to magazines and newspapers is a niche business but it’s important your story is sold in the right way. That’s why, if you are considering selling your story to several newspapers or magazines or even worldwide, you need a reputable media and publicity agent. Don’t forget though I can also re-write your story and re-market it so it can be resold, sometimes several times over – you will be paid every time it appears and yet the vast majority of interviewees will only ever speak to me.”
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, who are on my casting directory, said they they actually sleep in separate bedrooms.
It’s every parents’ nightmare – their child goes on a gap year trip and dies in a freak accident. But although this happened to Mary Glenister’s beautiful and clever daughter Alice, 18, she does not regret that her Alice went on the trip of a lifetime.
