Writing books that help kids deal with tough issues or scary situations takes a special kind of compassion and insight. In the podcast below, Dr. Laurie Zelinger talks about writing her books The "O, MY" in TonsillectOMY & AnedoidectOMY: How to Prepare Your Child for Surgery, a Parent's Manual and Please Explain "Anxiety" to Me! Simple Biology and Solutions for Parents and Students

Both books are published by Loving Healing Press.

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Click here to listen to the podcast interview with Dr. Laurie Zelinger as she discusses special considerations authors need to have when writing self-help books for kids.

If you've been thinking about subscribing to Children's Book Insider, The Newsletter for Children's Writers, joining the Fightin' Bookworms of the CBI Clubhouse and getting your hands on all the children's writing goodies we offer, your big moment has arrived!

For one week only, we're making public  a special private offer we recently made.  It's as good a deal as we've ever offered.  How good?  How about more than half off the total value of the package!

Here it is:

• One year (12 issues) of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers (electronic edition).  This is the acclaimed newsletter we've been publishing for more than 20 years, and it's helped countless aspiring writers get contracts.  Quite frankly, if you're at all serious about getting published, you need to be reading CBI every month.

• Full access to the CBI Clubhouse (http://cbiclubhouse.com), loaded with audio, video, ebooks, articles, message boards and much more.

• Full, unlimited access to the CBI Back Issues e-Archive, featuring every issue of CBI from 2001-2009! That's 108 issues of CBI!

• Full access to the CBI Challenge – our step-by-step writing course that takes you from story conception straight through publication.

• AND, just to make it a complete no-brainer, a free download of "I Wish Someone Had Told Me That! 64 Successful Children's Authors Give You The Advice They Wish Someone Had Given Them".  This is a *great* ebook and it's yours free as part of this holiday special.

There's only one catch – this offer is *for this week only* and *only* for the nexy 75 new subscribers to reply. First come, first served.

So don't put this off. Go to http://bit.ly/cbicyberspecial now!

"This resource is incredible! What a bargain. Best use of my money this year."

Judith

"I never imagined I would find a website that contains FULL INFORMATION of how to start writing for children! It's like attending an online children's literature college. I'm having so much fun. I feel very blessed to have found the CBI Clubhouse!"

Emy

"This site is uber superb! I can barely keep up with all the stuff you give us each month. I am finding all sorts of great information to improve my writing. I can’t wait to see what you will offer next!"

Peg

If you're looking for some last-minute gifts for the writer in your life (or maybe for yourself), the reviewers for The Writer magazine have listed their favorite books on writing. I'd like to add two of my own to the list:

Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go by Les Edgerton. This book focuses exclusively on those all-important opening pages. And we all know that if an editor isn't captivated by your first scene, she'll never read beyond Chapter 1.

And an oldie but a goodie: How to Write for Children and Young Adults: A Handbook by Jane Fitz-Randolph and Barbara Steiner. It's out of print, so you'll have to search the used book sites for a copy (or you might get lucky and find it in your library). Though some of the market info is obviously out of date (it was last revised in 1980), read it for timeless advice on plotting and developing a writer's mindset.

Add your favorites below. Happy reading!

I'm not a gadget geek, but I want the Nook. Unlike many of my author colleagues, I've never had an aversion to e-books, but I've also never had a burning desire to own an e-reader. But the Nook Color looks very cool, and I want it. I'm not a big fan of Christmas lists for adults, but this year I've got one and the Nook's on it.

I am into instant gratification when it comes to books I want to read, portability, and downloading titles from the library without leaving my house. I also don't buy the argument that e-books will be the death of publishing or literature. Maybe publishing as we've known it, but certainly not literature or books in general (as long as our definition of "books" remains fluid). And I think e-books are a boon for authors. Here's why:

On November 30 I was watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Author Susan Casey was the guest, talking about her new book The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean. This is not a title I would likely ever pick up if I saw it on the shelves, but hearing the author describe the book, and hearing Stewart rave about it, made me want to read it. If I had an e-reader, I'd have purchased the e-book before the show was over. I can handle a $9.99 impulse buy, and I needed some bedtime reading.

But I didn't have an e-reader (yet!) so my options were to go to the book store (the next day–if I had time–and fork over $27.95 plus tax for the hardcover, not a viable option when I had Christmas presents to buy), or order the book online (about $20 plus shipping) and wait for it to arrive. Or (most likely) I'd talk myself out of buying it altogether and order it from the library. It's a new book, so I might not get it right away. And by the time it came in, my enthusiasm for reading it may have waned.

Which option benefits the author the most?

Considering that most publishers are giving fairer, higher royalty rates on e-books than in the past, and the e-book price point doesn't have nearly the sticker shock of the hardcover, I'd think authors would demand that all their books be available in both formats. I still love hardcover books, but if I want to try out a new author or genre, have a more portable option, or get it immediately, e-books are a must. And if you're self-publishing, it's a no-brainer. The cost for producing an e-book is minuscule compared to a hardcover. If a parent's buying books for three different kids, this is a huge consideration.

The key is in the marketing. I discover new fiction through print reviews and blogs, but I tend to find out about nonfiction via radio and television interviews. If I hear an author passionately talking about her subject, I want to read the book. And while not every author can be on The Daily Show, numerous radio and smaller television interview shows (local and national) book authors as guests. One good interview is all you need to get the ball rolling.

I'm convinced that we'll always have hardcover and paperback books, because so many readers love the weight of the book on their lap and the feel of turning the page. I do too. But I think e-books deserve as much respect and an equal place in the market. If you shun e-books, you're losing your impulse buyers, and customers who want to try you out for less money before investing in your hardcover books. I don't know any authors who would willingly give up that kind of cash.

Today, the myth that writers are a solitary breed is less popular than ever, thanks to the many forms of communication writers can use as they work with their editors, their publishers, and their readers. Being a writer nowadays doesn't mean you have to struggle in isolation as you build your career. In fact, it doesn't even mean you have to write on your own. One of the greatest ways to create new and interesting stories is to collaborate with another person on a project. So if you've hit a wall and are struggling for more ideas, here are four ways you can take advantage of connections with others in order to write new stories.

Work With Another Writer

Working on a story with another writer is a great way to get the words flowing onto the page. You can bounce ideas off of each other, or you can take turns writing the story to see where it goes. However, if you invite another writer into your creative process, be prepared to lose some control of the project. Make sure you're okay sharing with him or her. It's probably helpful if both of you have similar artistic visions.

Collaborate With An Illustrator

Many children's books are illustrated, so this tip makes perfect sense. If you know an illustrator, then consider asking him or her to collaborate with you on a new project. If you have seen illustrations out there that you like, don't be shy! Write the artist and pitch a new idea. Working with an illustrator up front can lead a project in new directions, especially if you and the illustrator go back and forth on the project and let it grow on its own. If you don't know of any artists, then pick a work of art that you love, and write a story that can take place inside of it. (Note: Use this as a creative writing exercise only unless the art is in public domain. See below for more on public domain works.) The only thing to keep in mind regarding this method of collaboration is that most publishers often do not accept manuscripts that are already illustrated, unless the author is also the illustrator. So if you do want to work with a particular illustrator, you might consider self-publishing the book to retain its artistic integrity.

Rewrite The Work Of A Famous Author

This is a less active collaboration, but it's still a great project. Think of some of your favorite classic stories, and see if you could adapt or retell it in a new way. Think also of all the new books out now that somehow retell a classic story, such as The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, which retells Homer's The Odyssey but from the point of view of Penelope, Odysseus' wife. Do you have a favorite story that you could retell for a child? How would you do it? Think of your writing of it as a sort of homage to that famous author or classic book. But first, make sure the original is in the public domain, which means its copyright has expired. This is most common with older works. You will have to make sure the work in question has an expired copyright, which occurs seventy years after the author has died. For more information, check out the U.S. Copyright Office and other sites that can help you find works that are in the public domain, such as Public Domain Works.

Write From Music

Finally, you can write from music or work with a musician to inspire you. Think of the classic children's symphony Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev, and you'll know that music can do wonders for children's storytelling. This is the kind of energy you'd like to use to inspire your own stories. (And again, heed the warning to use only music in the public domain, unless you get permission from the creator of any work under copyright.)

Next time you're looking for inspiration on a new project, consider looking beyond yourself. Consider thinking of ways that you can work with other creators and pieces of art in order to come up with something new for children to read.

This guest post is contributed by Kate Willson, who writes on the topics of top online colleges. She welcomes your comments emailed to katewillson2@gmail.com.

Most parents wonder how to get their kids to read more.

In our house, we had to have a penalty for unbridled reading! We’d send our son to his room to get dressed, and twenty minutes later we’d find him on the floor, pants half on, reading. He’d read anything he could get his hands on. He’d probably have starved if I didn’t physically take his book away at lunchtime.

Though voracious readers like my son aren’t the majority, there are many. Enough, in fact, that their parents find each other online to ask the same question, over and over:

What should I do? My child has run out of books!

Specifically, at two points in these readers’ young lives, there is a dearth of books aimed at high reading capacity but lower social/emotional development. I’ll use my son as an example.

Most, though not all, gifted readers start young. My son didn’t start young; he started to read at the boringly average age of 6 3/4. But unlike the other kids in his first-grade class, he didn’t slowly progress from ABC books to early readers to chapter books. In October, he was still pronouncing “the” as “tuh-HUH.” In November, he was reading anything he got his hands on.

The problem was, he was still six, and an emotionally young six at that. He blew through all the classic children’s repertoire in about a year. I remember my gratitude upon finding that there were over 30 books in the Oz series.

The advice we got from other parents, teachers, librarians, and booksellers was almost always off. Sure, Dick King-Smith books are adorable, but a kid like this can eat one up in half an hour. Harry Potter started out a boy, and the early books were just on the edge of too scary, but as Harry ages, the books get more terrifying to a young psyche and further from her experiences.

What these kids need is good, thick books with compelling storylines, rich vocabulary, and little-to-no violence. Writers could look to the past for models: White, Baum, and Wilder got these kids.

Somehow, we got our son through this period. We thought it would be smooth sailing till one day in the library he said, “I’ve read everything here.” Read more

If you're reading this blog I probably don't have to sell you on the idea of giving a child you know a book this holiday season. But how can you filter out what's good from the thousands of new titles this year? Consult the experts. Here are two useful links:

Publishers Weekly best children's books of 2010

School Library Journal's list of the best picture books, fiction and nonfiction of 2010

And thanks to reader Tina Sans for sending the link to The Top 50 Sci-Fi Novels for Kids and Young Adults on, of all things, the Best Universities blog. This list was compiled from recommendations by librarians and sci-fi fans, and is broken into Classics and Possible Future Classics for middle graders and young adults.

Happy reading!

Editor's note: Audrey is a 13-year-old student from California who is currently working on her own novel between school, sports and choir. She's also a Contributing Editor to Write4Kids, focusing on middle grade and YA literature. If you have writing-related questions for Audrey, or want to suggest a topic for a future column, please contact Laura at Laura@write4kids.com.

Hey!

This is my second column, and I’m totally like, taking on the topic of like, slang, n’ stuff.

I’ve critiqued manuscripts written for a YA audience before, and one of the major things that stand out to me about these manuscripts is dialogue. Nothing is better than reading a manuscript in which the author really knows his/her audience and the way they talk. Other times, I’m wincing while I read—the author has no clue.

One of the worst things (in my opinion) an author can do with teen language is mess up the characterization. Say you’re writing a novel about a girl named Anaìs. So, Anaìs is a child prodigy, who lives in Seattle, and is reserved and sort of icy.

How would Anaìs say hi?

If you said, “Ayy, girl, wassup?!”, it wouldn’t fit her character, right? However, some authors tend to try and oversimplify teen language, or they give every character the same way of speaking.

Anaìs would probably say something like, “Hello (insert name of other character here). How are you?” Something a bit more reticent and subdued.

Another thing I’ve seen authors do is have every character in a novel talk like this: "OMG, that’s totally, like, really cool, like, I can’t believe it, ya know?!” Sorry, but teenagers don’t really talk like that. I, for one, have overused the word ‘like’ before. But no one wants to read my tendency to stutter ‘like…like… like’ when I don’t know what to say.

An insanely annoying thing that A TON of authors do is spell things phonetically based on the way their character speaks. For example, “Ohmuhgawd, I cannawt bee-lieeve she’d do thaht.”

For some reason, that phonetic-spelling thing is probably my biggest language pet peeve. Don’t do it. Please. It feels sort of tacky and also a bit patronizing. It’s okay to say “so-and-so had very affected speech” but please don’t write her speech affectation.

Also, another thing that annoys me is when your protagonist is 17 years old and talks like she has a Ph.D. from Harvard. I know you’re trying to make her seem all sophisticated and smart, but come on. No true teenager talks like that. Unless she’s a 173 year old vampire, in which case… never mind.

Slang is hard. I strongly advise against writing a novel not set in your city (or fictional city like yours) or state. It’s really annoying when a person tries to write a novel set in your city, and they get it all wrong. Read more