Laura Backes is bringing her acclaimed Children's Author's Bootcamp to Austin, Texas and Oakland, California!

For CAB, Laura teams up with Christoper Award-winning picture book author Linda Arms White to present two action-packed days of fun and instruction — all geared toward creating children's fiction that sells. It's a small group setting, so there's plenty of room for one-on-one interaction.

The Austin Bootcamp takes place April 30-May 1.  The Oakland Bootcamp is July 9-10.

Bootcamps fill up quickly, so reserve your spot today! Visit http://wemakewriters.com for a full course outline and to save your place!

Like many people, writers are searching for ways to supplement their incomes. Some have turned to giving workshops and speaking to libraries, school classes, and other groups to earn extra money. An added plus is that speaking to such groups is a great way to promote your book. Consider having a friend or family member critique your presentation. You may even ask someone to tape you. Listen to the feedback and made any needed corrections. After all, you want to be invited back. Physical appearance

• Are your clothes appropriate for the setting? You will probably not be dressed “to the nines” for an informal chat at an elementary school or the local library. You want to look approachable and friendly.

• Could you dress in some kind of costume that relates to your book? Is your chapter book about a young girl’s journey west on a wagon train? Could you dress in pioneer garb? Have you written a “tween” novel about a Civil War era girl who befriends a slave? Could you fashion some kind of Civil War costume? (If you aren’t handy with a sewing machine, try visiting a thrift shop. I find thrift shops a great place to look for costumes or special clothing.)

Props

• Do you have props or visual aids? Children respond to things they can see and touch. A poster of your book (provided by your publisher) is always good, but can you incorporate something else? What about having something to hand out, such as bookmarks or some other token that is a reminder of your book? (There are companies who specialize in making giveaways for authors.) Younger children love to have something to take with them.

• If your book features an animal, can you make arrangements to bring one to your presentation? Use your imagination to come up with intriguing ideas.

Special considerations for speaking to a school class

• How many children are expected? You will want to know this before you show up so you can have the necessary number of bookmarks or other tokens to give out.

• What is the age of the children to whom you’ll be speaking?

• Will a microphone be available?

• How much time will you have?

• Will you be sharing the time with other speakers?

• Can you make a power point presentation on how you created your book? Children love “how-to” presentations.

• Can you find a way to involve the children in your presentation? Could you have them act out a scene from your book? Or could you read a passage from your book?

• Have you left time at the end of your talk for questions? Chances are you will be peppered with questions from your young listeners.

Miscellaneous

• Do you give your note cards an occasional glance rather than reading them?

• Have you given in to nervous gestures, such as fingering your hair, stuffing your hands in pockets, or scratching your nose? These are common behaviors, ones that you may well not be aware of.

• Do you maintain eye contact with the children?

• Do you occasionally sweep the room with a glance?

• Are you smiling?

• Are you clearly enthusiastic about the subject? Children sense when a speaker is enthusiastic about her subject.

• Do you project your voice?

• Do you vary your pitch and tone? A monotonous tone will likely lull your listeners to sleep or, at the very least, bore them.

Speaking before a group isn’t for everyone. However, even the most reclusive writer can learn a few simple techniques to improve her presentation skills and become a sought-after speaker. Jane McBride Choate is a Contributing Editor to Children's Book Insider, and an author. Her newest books include Bride Price and Eden's Garden from Avalon Romance.

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Spend an exciting  weekend learning exactly what you need to make it big as a children’s writer!

Children’s Authors’ Bootcamp is a children’s writing weekend you’ll never forget –  a step-by-step journey to children’s writing success that’s fun, fast-paced and packed with advice you’ll never hear anywhere else!

Join Laura Backes, Publisher of Children’s Book Insider, and Linda Arms White, Christopher Award-winning author of Too Many Pumpkins, Comes a Wind and many other great children’s books, for the ultimate children’s writing workshop:

April 24 and 25,  Charlotte, NC

May 1 and 2, Chicago, IL

June 26 and 27 Denver, CO

CAB features two full exciting days of world-class instruction and exercises on writing fiction for children of all ages, with emphasis on character and plot development, dialogue, descriptive writing, point of view, writing strong beginnings, editing your own work and submitting manuscripts to publishers. If your dream of writing children’s books needs a shot of adrenaline, this is the place to get it.

Because it’s a step-by-step program, CAB is great for beginners! No previous experience is needed to benefit from this workshop, and you’ll leave on Sunday with everything you need to know to write your masterpiece!

The Bootcamp changed my life. Linda and Laura are spectacular. They took me from a “wanna be…” to a bona fide children’s book illustrator and author, working under major publishers. I still use the literature and information from the Bootcamp on a weekly basis. My writer’s bookshelf would not be complete without the notes and books from their program. Laura and Linda continue to be amazingly supportive of my efforts. I count them as two of my most powerful colleagues in the business. It’s simple – Bootcamp works. I’m proud to be one of their students, and their friend.

J.H. Everett, co-author and illustrator of the upcoming series “Haunted Histories” from Henry Holt.

For a complete class outline and registration information (including information on booking hotel rooms), see WeMakeWriters.com, or contact Linda White at (303) 747-1014, or CABootcamp@msn.com.

You may have noticed that it’s been pretty quiet around here.  I haven’t been slacking off.  Actually, I’ve been putting in loooonng hours on a top secret project.

Today, the veil of secrecy gets lifted.    Announcing:

THE CBI CLUBHOUSE – THE WEB COMMUNITY FOR CHILDREN’S WRITERS!

The CBI Clubhouse is packed with audio, video, ebooks, interactive coolness and a great message board for writers to hang out and share.  It’s a bonus for subscribers to Children’s Book insider, and we are now accepting new members!

We’re really, really proud of it, and we hope you’ll take a moment to check it out.  You can also view some of the early rave reviews — folks are simply blown away!  It kinda makes all those 3 a.m. bedtimes for your humble host worth it.

Here’s the address — go and watch the video tour and see the site for yourself!

http://cbiclubhouse.com

See ya’ in the Clubhouse!

OK, I’ve finally bought into this whole Twitter thing and, I admit, it’s pretty cool. Come join me — I’ll post occasional links, news tidbits and thoughts about children’s writing. I’m not the obsessive sort, so it will be just a few each day.

My Twitter URL: http://twitter.com/jonbard

I’ll be tweeting you!

Just returned from The 2nd Annual Kidlit Bloggers’ Conference in Portland, OR and my head is swimming with great ideas and plenty of inspiration.  What a joy is was to spend a day with people who love children’s books so, and to meet some folks I’ve admired from afar.  People like Phillip Lee, the founder of Lee & Low Books and now a podcasting wizard, Alice Pope, the unstoppable force behind the essential 2009 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market , Mark Blevis, half of the team that brings the world the delightful Just One More Book podcasts,  the our old friend Anastasia Suen, one of the best and most prolific authors in all of children’s lit and… well, the list could go on and on.

I’ve barely begun to internalize all the juicy info, but a few things stand out:

* The future belongs to those who band together.  Group blogs and strategic alliances between writers, librarians, booksellers, educators, parents and publishers are the way to cut through the clutter and get the word out.

* Podcasting and video blogging will become as important as text-only blogs.  And soon.  And I intend to be all over it.

* The days of experts sitting on the mountaintop and proclaiming how things will be are over.  Everyone has a voice in what will come next.

I’ll have more to say as I settle back in.  For now, head over to http://kidlit08.blogspot.com/2008/09/posts-about-conference.html and see what other attendees are saying….

A remarkable — and free — event is coming June 6 for those in the New York area.  The New York Institute for the Humanities is holding an all-day symposium called Post Bang: Comics Ten Minutes After the Big Bang to explore the growing cultural significance of comics.  The entire day looks great but the highlight for children’s lit fans will be the COMICS AND KID’S LIT panel, set to feature Lisa von Drasek (Bank Street College), Leonard Marcus (Minders of Make Believe), Francoise Mouly (The New Yorker), Mo Willems (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!), and Sara Varon (Sweaterweather).

Check out all the details at

http://nyih.as.nyu.edu/object/nyih.postbangcomics.html