I asked a question in the previous post about Arthur S. Hoffman: Which unknown writer was initially rejected by Hoffman, but took his advice in the rejection letter; went on to contribute to Adventure, and later author many books in a famous series for boys? Put your guesses, answers in comments.
Nobody guessed the right answer, maybe y’all knew it already. Anyway, the right answer is Leslie McFarlane, and the series is the Hardy Boys, which you may have come across. From The Secret of the Hardy Boys: Leslie McFarlane and the Stratemeyer
Syndicate by Marilyn S. Greenwald:
The detailed comments from Adventure editor Arthur Sullivant Hoffman, in particular, left him so depressed that he was tempted to take a walk after reading it—”straight into the lake,” he joked in his autobiography. After the initial shock, however, Les was smart enough to reread the criticisms and profit from them: “I realized that this was advice with a value beyond rubies. Mr. Hoffman was an editor who wasn’t above taking time out to give a hand to a beginner who needed help. What he had done, simply; was to save this beginner about two years of trial and error.” Even as a young man, Les was determined and practical. He listened to criticism and took it in the spirit in which it was given—a quality that would reap benefits throughout his life.