Want to be a Writer

Question

I’ve been reading your “Alice” books and absolutely love them! I hope you know that they are a great insight into a teenage girl’s life. (I just started high school, so I feel like I can relate to them a little bit) I wanted to know how you got started as a writer, how did you get your first book published? I myself am aspiring to be an author someday, and I write stories constantly. Write on!

Phyllis replied:

You would enjoy my book “How I Came to be a Writer.”  It will tell you much more than I can here.  I always loved to make  little “books” as a child, and when I was 16, I had my first short story published in a church magazine.  I wrote short stories and sent them out to magazines for 15 years before I ever got up the nerve to write a novel.  If you want the details, please do read the book I mentioned.    Wishing you the best of luck!