Alice Blog

Publish a Book?

Question:

So, I write stories. I write stories, and then I write more. I’m only 13, and it feels like, I can’t do anything at this point. But, writing is what I want to do, and I have problems sharing this. Usually when people ask, I say a cop. (That would be my 2nd choice if I cannot be an author) and, I saw that you published your first book when you were sixteen. That’s very young, but I don’t know if I can wait that long. And the other day, we had to a project about a book the class read, and one of the choices was, create the next chapter. So, that’s what I did. I got it back, and I got an A and my teacher said she felt as if she was reading an actual novel. I got so excited, and so what I’m asking is, is it a remote possibility I could publish a book of mine? And if so, what company?

Phyllis replied:

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn’t have a book published when I was sixteen. It was a short story, and it was published in a little church story paper. You’re 13 and don’t know if you can wait until you’re 16 to publish a book? I hate to tell you, but becoming an author means hours and hours and months and months and usually years before you have anything published. It’s true that a few people publish books before they are twenty, but these have to be very good books, very planned out and revised, very polished. You need patience as much as you need talent. If you enjoy writing, by all means, keep at it, and enter every writing contest you possibly can to get feedback. Concentrate on writing the very best story you can, the story that only you can write, and time and feedback will eventually tell you whether you should aim for a career in writing or enter another field.

Posted on: December 31, 2010

Cannot Wait for the Newest One

Question:

i absolutely love the Alice books. I started to read them when i was little, 1st grade(To tell the truth, my mom read them to me). The Alice books helped me get through so very hard times in my life, my parents are divorced and i often feel the same emotions that Alice does. I have made almost the same mistakes that Alice has, especially in Dangerously Alice. My mom is sick now, and the Alice books are helping me with that also. I am 13 years old, and i am so very excited for the newest book when Alice and Patric FINALLY get to go to Prom together! In one of the books when Liz started her period at one of “the group”s parties had me laughing so much! While in Intensely Alice i was bawling my eyes out when —- died. Alice and Patrick are so incredible perfect for each other, and that is why i just can not wait for the newest one to come out! Do you have a title for it yet?

This is my first time writing to a author, so i don’t really know what to expect… but if you had time to reply to this email i would be very happy!

Phyllis replied:

I’m so glad you enjoy the Alice books! The two books following “Intensely Alice” are “Alice in Charge” and “Incredibly Alice,” (which will be out next June). Right now I’m working on the summer between her senior year and college. I’m not sure of the title yet, but it will be something like “Alice Aboard” or “Alice on Board.”

Posted on: December 22, 2010

Shows of Alice?

Question:

I really loved your books. It help me throughout my teenage year (which i am still a teenager). I just want to ask if you gonna make shows of the Alice books. I know you a busy person but hope you have the time to write back.

Phyllis replied:

My job is to write the books. What happens later is largely up to my agent and my publisher. There is a movie based loosely on one of the Alice books, “The Agony of Alice,” titled “Alice Upside Down,” but as far as I know, there are no more movies planned at this time, and no shows.

Posted on: December 22, 2010

Confused and Scared

Question:

Hi PN! I love the Alice books and am so glad to have discovered them 6 years ago. They have really changed my life and my perspective on it.

i’m currently a sophomore in high school, and I know I have more time to think about this, but lately I’ve been thinking about my future career, and I’m really leaning towards being a doctor. However, my older sister is already at a well-regarded private school on a scholarship, studying to be a doctor (she’s currently a sophomore as well). I feel like…I don’t know, if I decide to pursue this career, I’ll just be copying her. I already feel like it since I’m doing all the same things she did when she was in high school (I guess I am using her hs experience as a sort of guide map for college applications). And I’m afraid I’ll end up failing at becoming one, and she will be successful and I’ll be seen as the failure child, again. My parents are already unhappy with the way my high school career is shaping up and I feel like I’d be placing an unnecessary burden on them…what with med school and stress and such. Plus, I am not that great at science (I’m more of an English-history-politics person but I don’t know if i want to pursue a career in those fields.) I could always go into law or something..I just don’t know what to do. I’m confused and scared all at once, but my parents don’t seem to understand that and I don’t think they ever will.

Phyllis replied:

Your email reminds me so much of myself when I was in high school. I had a beautiful, talented older sister, and I copied her in every way I could. She talked the school into letting her take Latin instead of home economics. So I took Latin. She took classes in oil painting, and so did I. She tried out for the operetta and senior play, and won major roles in each. I tried out for each, and got a major role in the senior play. She sang with the madrigals. I sang with the madrigals. But I always felt I was never quite as good as she was. The only thing I did on my own was write stories. I had my first one published when I was 16. But I rarely talked about it, and certainly never told my friends. Every so often I sold a story, and was thrilled, yet I kept trying to be like my sister. Then, when I desperately needed money to get through college, I found I could pay much of it myself by writing and selling stories, even though it took me ten years to get my degree. My advice to you is to clear your mind of everything else, and pretend you are starting new. Each day, ask yourself what you are enjoying the most, and what you do the best. If you could have any job you wanted ten years from now, what do you think would make you happiest? You don’t have to decide anything right now. You’re still in the exploring stage. But for now, put medicine and law on a back burner and tell yourself you can have any job you like: a veterinarian, a caterer, a chef, a costume designer, a social worker, a history teacher, a camp director, a writer….. You WILL find yourself if you concentrate on what you do best and most enjoy.

Posted on: December 22, 2010

Keep Writing Them

Question:

I’ve never written to an author before, so I don’t know what to expect. I read ‘Reluctantly Alice’
when I was 8 years old (I’m thirteen now) and have not been able to put the Alice books down.
It is probably my favorite series of book and i never get tired of reading them. I still laugh
whenever Lester encounters yet ANOTHER problem with Marylin and Crystal and feel melancholy
whenever Alice talks about her mother. I just wanted to let you know how much I loved the books
and hope that you will still keep writing them. I know that you are probably really busy, but if you
could reply to this, I would be very happy.

Phyllis replied:

I know that readers wish I could keep on writing the Alice books forever, but once she reaches her college years, her life will speed up. The very last book will take you through the highlights of her life. But there will always be 28 books that you can read again and again.

Posted on: December 20, 2010

Should I Forget Him?

Question:

Last year I went to school abroad in Scotland. I had a magnificent time and made a bunch of friends who I think will be lifelong chums. I also met a boy I came to like. It turned out that he was a bit interested in me too and would offer to walk me home from meetings (he was in a club at the school. Well now that time is over and I haven’t really been in contact with him (his name is danny). Should I contact danny via facebook and tell him how i feel? Or should I forget him? I like him alot, but i don’t want to be rejected even overseas. He has the resources to come visit me and i would like to see him again.

Phyllis replied:

Can’t you just contact him on Facebook without mooning all over him and forcing him to say whether he likes you or not? The fact that you contacted him will tell him you like him, and you don’t have to say anything else. Are you afraid he won’t reply at all? So…..? If that’s the worst that can happen, and you are afraid to even risk that much, you are making it very hard for yourself. Be brave. Contact him. You might start a correspondence that you both will enjoy.

Posted on: December 15, 2010

Birthday Present

Question:

I just received the best present for my birthday from my friends ever!!!! They had kept this as a surprise to me for a few months.
When I opened the box it was the first Alice book with your autograph!!!! I not only have a message from my favorite author who writes my favorite series but the most amazing friends too! I will treasure this forever! My friends and your autograph! It was just not the gift that made it special to me but it was the thought, and the idea too! They had known that these have been my favorite books since I was a little girl!
Thank you, thank you so much!!!!!
Have a great holiday and new year!!!

Phyllis replied:

And a Happy Birthday from me too! What great friends you have!

Posted on: December 15, 2010

Entire Series of Alice?

Question:

Could you tell me where u could buy the whole series of Alice Like the entire series put together I've tried almost EVERYWHERE, and no one has it, they only have each book separate. So if you could, hook me up?

Phyllis replied:

There is no whole set of Alice at the moment, though there are several Alice collections of three or four books each: "The Wonderful World of Alice," "I Like Him, He Likes Her," and "It's not Like I Planned it this Way." Look these up on Amazon.

Posted on: December 15, 2010

Hard to Get a Job

Question:

I just returned home for 5 weeks from my first semester of college. My parents
give me a weekly allowance and said they would continue as long as I was home.
Suddenly my mother has changed her mind and says that I will get no money and
that I have to get a job for as long as I’m home. I’ve called and applied but no
place that I know is hiring. I pay for my own gas so receiving money from my
parents is a big deal. I worked every day for the past 2 summers but that job
isn’t available in the winter. I feel like they don’t understand how hard it is
to get a job and that this is unfair. Any advice?

Phyllis replied:

Obviously, I don’t know the whole situation, so there are many factors that might be at play here. Jobs are certainly hard to get, but perhaps there is something in this holiday season you are overlooking–some store that would like extra help. I don’t know how hard you’ve looked. And I don’t know what prompted your mother’s change of heart. Is she herself overworked, perhaps, and your sleeping late and lounging about the house annoys her? If neither of these are true, and if you have honestly tried store after store for a job with no success, I suggest you make a list of all the places you have tried, show it to your mother, and ask for her suggestions. It’s possible that just showing a little regard for her own obligations might be all that she really wants. After you’ve shown her your list, ask her if there’s anything you might do while you’re home that would help her. Clean out closets? Paint a room? Sort through old magazines? Vacuum out her car? You also are entitled to a little R&R, but it may be that your personal help around the house would mean more to her than anything else.

Posted on: December 15, 2010

Books They Can Relate To

Question:

I met Alice when we were both in the sixth grade. Like Alice, I was starting a new school. Unlike Alice, I went to three different middle schools in three years and found it difficult to make new friends, knowing that I would not be in one place for long. Alice became my best friend. As strange as it may seem, even when I was able to put down roots and make good friends in high school, I loved sharing my experiences with Alice. From my first love and first heart break to worrying about friends to learning to see the world in new and more grown-up ways, Alice was always there, experiencing those things with me. I appreciated, and still appreciate, the grace, humor, and honesty that you used in creating those characters and in moving them through every situation that they faced, whether trivial or deeply challenging.

As so often happens with book series, I have grown up faster than Alice has, so I no longer turn to her to share experiences, but rather to check up on an old friend. At 23, I now work with teenage girls, and they often ask me the question, “What should I read?” I always point them to you. In a world where TV, movies, and books for and about teen girls either over-emphasize or completely dismiss sexuality, fail to honestly and compassionately deal with issues that teenagers really do face, and most often underestimate the intelligence of the audience, Alice is a girl that they can relate to, just like I did. I am so thankful for you, and for Alice.

Phyllis replied:

Thank you so much. I really appreciated your email.

Posted on: December 11, 2010