Your Questions Answered

How I Came to be a Writer

Hello Ma’am! I hope you’re doing well. I am re-reading your autobiography, and I noticed a typographical error on page 3. It’s this sentence:’My mother did not like the thought of my being an actress and told me I would probably faint under the bright lights.’ Anyway, I don’t really mind it that much, I just want to tell you how your book made me feel when I first read it when I was seventeen. It was like a warm hug or a warm cup of coffee; it was a cozy and wonderful read. And I can’t wait to feel that again by reading your book in the middle of my not that really serious college crisis. I wish you all the best, Ma’am!

Thank  you for your  email.  I guess it’s the word “my” that’s seems incorrect to you, and perhaps it is.  Somehow both “my” and “me” sound OK to me.  As you can tell, I’m not all that great in grammar.  Best of luck to you at college.  I hope you’re taking some courses you love.

If you couldn’t be a writer….

Here’s a question.  If you couldn’t have been a writer, what would you have wanted to be?

Besides a wife and mother?  I had begun studying to become a child psychologist; I’d wanted to work with very young children who were having problems so that they could grow up more healthy and not have even bigger problems as adults.  But I had to pay my own way through college, and so I wrote and sold short stories to help pay the tuition.  By the time I got my BA degree, however,  I realized I loved writing so much I wanted to make a career of it, so I gave up plans for graduate school and began writing full time.

Shiloh movie

Is it possible to get a Shiloh movie from you?

I had thought I had a project that would enable me to do that, as so many schools teach the movie along with the book, but it just didn’t work out.   I’m so sorry that the movie is hard to find.  I’ve suggested to teachers who write to me that they look for a used disk.  I’ve seen a number of those listed for very reasonable prices.   Look for the movie on Amazon or other sites and see if you can’t find a used one.  Then rent or loan it out to other schools.

Which book are you most proud of?

Hi! I love your books, especially the Alice series. They really helped me face a lot of problems growing up and your writing inspired me to write and now I’m on the path to making my dream in writing come true. I just wanted to know out of all the books you’ve written, which one are you most happy with and proud of how it turned out? Which one is your most favorite?

Oh, gosh, that’s like asking a mother which of her children she likes best.  I’d probably have to say Shiloh, because it all seemed to come together in a full circle and say what I wanted to say.  A book with a message as well as a plot that started because of a real-life incident involving such a dog.  But the Alice books were the most fun to write.

How to make him fall in love again

Hello, I’m a really big fan of yours! Since you know a lot about life as you present in your books, I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I’m 18 years old and recently my boyfriend of 1 year broke up with me and I’m very devastated. I want him back. He says he loves me and wants to get back together in 3 years when he turns 18, he says he’ll wait for me & I know I’ll wait for him but what if he loses his love for me? how do I make him fall in love with me again? There’s literally no guy like him & I honestly think he’s my soulmate and he was my first everything, my first love. What should I do?

It hurts.  There’s just no getting around the fact that breaking up is painful, especially if you’re the one who doesn’t want it.  And you can’t make somebody love you the way you love them. But I do have a suggestion: take all the time you need to pretend for awhile that you aren’t worried about his promise to wait for you–that you’ve crossed it off your worry list, and you are simply looking for things to try or do just for your own interest while you are apart:  a hobby, a sport, a club, a talent.  A singing group, jewelry making, dancing, pie baking, photography, hiking…. Everything you do that is fun for you will bring out a sparkle that makes you more interesting and attractive to other people. If I read your email correctly, when this boy is 18 you will be 21.   And you will find out that there is not just one person only who can qualify as a soul mate.

Publishing Process

I am a recent graduate of Skidmore College in upstate New York. Although I have a background in sociology and Spanish, with the pandemic and time on my hands post college, I decided to write a memoir. The book is situated where I found myself last summer: sitting on my mom’s couch without a job or relationship, reflecting on my life and how I got to this point. I write about my childhood, Jewish identity, early college experience, travel, and everything in between. Now that I have a completed draft, I was hoping you could offer advice on next steps. The book is suited for young adults, and I was wondering if you know of anyone I could reach out to who can help me along the editing/publishing process. The Alice series was really influential for me growing up and I hope to also inspire others with a real time story on how life is not always perfect. Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to being in touch.

I don’t know any writers who have time to take on projects beyond their own work, but I can recommend a former editor who was head of a publishing department some years back.  She now is self employed doing just the kind of thing you are asking for, but she does charge a fee if she take you on.   I don’t know how much she charges, but you are certainly welcome to write to her and make an inquiry and/or look her up on Google.  Her name is Emma Dryden, at emmaddryden@gmail.com  Best of luck!

Reading your “Boys Versus Girls” series

My 11 year old son just got into reading some of your books I had a question his favorite books so far are in a series the series is called Boy Verses girls I think it has 12 in a series do you know how much the books are in the series by any chance he has read some of your books at school

These books are very popular among 4th to 7th graders in particular.  Look up “books” on this website.  You’ll find all my books listed, their price, and where you can find them.  In paperback they sell for about $5, and there are 12 in the series.  I think the series is titled “Boys Versus Girls,” as you said.

Not this website

 

Who would be the best contact at phyllisnaylor.com to discuss your Order Fulfillment and Drop Shipping needs?

 

This blog is for readers only, not business.

writer

Hi I’m thinking about writing a book but I have hardly any ideas. How did you get your inspiration for your books.
P.S. I love your Shiloh book

Usually a story idea comes first, and then the desire to write a book.  Sort of like making a cake.  You may like the idea of baking one, but if you don’t have the ingredients you need, you won’t get very far.

I’m very shy and parinoid

How can I easily overcome fears. By the way I love your books about the Malloy girls and the Hartford boys can you please please please make more books in this series 😭😭🤓🤓😅 Why don’t they make a movie as well it would be interesting.👨🏾‍🦱😭🧇🟡

There are no quick answers as to overcoming fears or shyness.  People are just too different.  You would probably be surprised if you knew the fears of other people–people who seem happy and outgoing all the time  Next, recognize that there are fears about things you can do something about and fears of things that are beyond your control–work on the things you can do something about–like riding your bike in traffic.  Shyness is something you can do something about.  Much of it comes from worrying about what other people think about you.   Shy people often feel that other people remember every  odd little thing you do in public.  Let’s say you accidentally burp loudly.  Your face reddens and you wish you could disappear.  If instead of staring down at your lap, you make a funny face instead, so people will laugh with you, not at you.  It takes practice, but  everyone has the experience of being a dork, getting embarrassed, feeling left out.  They just learn to react differently when things happen.  I’ll pass your suggestion about turning the boys.versus.girls on to a producer.