We have a fantastic group of writing, publishing and marketing professionals here to help you on your journey to success. These are folks who have attained a high level of success in their fields and, now, they’re giving back by sharing their knowledge and their inspiration.

They are The CBI All-Star Team of Expert Guides.

Before we meet them, a few words about their role here on the Clubhouse.

• Our Expert Guides aren’t part of the CBI staff — they’re our team of outside “go to”  professionals who are providing their time and energy to help you succeed.  They each have thriving writing, publishing or marketing businesses of their own.

 

• For each subject we cover, Expert Guides will provide great articles, answer questions and, time permitting, spend some time on the message boards getting to know you.  They aren’t, however,  responsible for the entire content of the sections in which they are included.  In other words, they contribute material, but  they don’t select, edit or approve all the content in their related sections.  That means the opinions and advice included in the site’s content don’t necessarily reflect the personal views or opinions of our Expert Guides. All sections of the site are maintained and curated by Children’s Book Insider‘s editors.

We are so, so proud to have these amazing, accomplished men and women on board.  We know they’ll help each of you immeasurably.

And now, let’s meet our All Stars!   Just click on their names to see full bios….

Expert Guides: Craft of Writing

 Jane McBride Choate, Writing Technique

The author of 32 published novels, Jane’s work has also appeared in Better Homes & Gardens, Children’s Digest, Family Circle, Woman’s Dayand two Chicken Soup for the Soul collections.

Teresa Funke, Expert Guide At-Large

The award-winning author of six novels for adults and children based on true stories from WWII. She has had over 100 short stories, articles, and essays published in commercial and literary magazines, newspapers, and anthologies. Two of her essays were listed as Notable Essays by the prestigious Best American Essays series.

 Bryan Cohen, Writing Exercises & Prompts

Bryan is an author, blogger, director, actor and producer.  His books include 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts, 500 Writing Prompts for Kids, Writer on the Side, Sharpening the Pencil and a novella, Ted Saves the World.

 Linda Arms White, Picture Books

Linda is the author of Too Many Pumpkins, Comes a Wind, and most recently Too Many Turkeys. Her I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote won the prestigious Christopher Award for material that “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.”

  Natasha Wing, Picture Books

Natasha Wing has been writing children’s books for 20 years and has published 22 books with more on the way. She is best known for her Night Before series that puts a twist on The Night Before Christmas. The Night Before Kindergarten has sold more than 1 million copies. Her books have been featured on best-seller lists, state school reading lists, and notable books lists.

  Anastasia Suen, Easy Rdrs/Chapter Bks

The author of 135 books, Anastasia teaches writing at Southern Methodist University and online, and has written with students of all ages in workshops all over the globe. Her many honors include Association of Educational Publishers’ Award (Wild Animals series), Best Girl Reader (second grade), New York Times Best Illustrated Book (Window Music), Nick Jr. Best Book (Toddler Two Dos años), Smithsonian Notable Book (Baby Born), Time Magazine Best Book (Window Music).

  Kirby Larsen, Middle Grade

Kirby  is the acclaimed author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book, Hattie Big Sky, a young adult historical novel inspired by her great-grandmother.  Kirby’s passion for historical fiction is reflected in The Fences Between Us (Scholastic, Dear America series; September 2010) and The Friendship Doll (Delacorte; May 2011). She is currently at work on a sequel to Hattie Big Sky.

  Helen Landalf, Young Adult

Helen’s debut young adult novel, Flyaway, was released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in December, 2011. She is also author of two picture books, including The Secret Night World Of Cats, which received a 1998 Parent Publishing Association Honor Award, as well as five nonfiction books for teachers on integrating dance and drama into the curriculum.

  Kathryn Lay, Writing for Magazines

Kathryn has published more than 1600 articles, essays, and stories in a wide range of styles and subjects. A few of the many publications in which she’s appeared are Woman’s Day, Guideposts, Home Life, Woman’s World, Grit, Writer’s Digest, The Writer, Cricket, Christian Parenting Today, Discipleship Journal, Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul, Stories for the Family’s Heart, God Allows U-turns, and many more.

Expert Guides: Getting Published

 Jane McBride Choate, Traditional Publishing

The author of 32 published novels, Jane’s work has also appeared in Better Homes & Gardens, Children’s Digest, Family Circle, Woman’s Dayand two Chicken Soup for the Soul collections.

 Dan Poynter, Self-Publishing

Often described as “Mr. Publishing,” Dan wrote the book on self-publishing — literally.  His legendary guide Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book is considered the bible of the field, an essential resource that has helped thousands of authors find their way into print.

 Chris Robley, eBook Publishing

Chris is marketing coordinator for BookBaby and CD Baby, and spends his off-hours composing poems and songs. He’s been written about in The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and featured on NPR’s Second Stage.   As editor of the BookBaby Blog and CD Baby’s DIY Musician Blog, Chris shares new informational content each day on a wide range of topics, from advice on curing writer’s block to social media marketing tips. As editor of YRTEOP.COM (that’s “poetry” spelled backwards), he offers “1-Minute Poem Reports” and weekly poetry news.

Karen Robertson, App Publishing

Karen’s Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island book app launched in 2011 and has won recognition and awards including being named a Digital Storytime “Top 25 Most Essential Children’s Book App” and winning “Best in Category” for apps at the New Media Film Festival in San Francisco. As the creator of  Author’s Guide to Book Apps and the blog Digital Kid’s Author, Karen has become an international speaker on the topic of creating children’s book apps.

Expert Guides: Marketing & Promotion

 Melissa Giovagnoli, Social Media/Blogging

Whether working with such giant corporations as AT&T, Motorola and Disney or helping individual authors achieve prominence, Melissa has become one of the world’s leading experts on the developing powerful networks.  The author and/or co-author of ten top-selling books, Melissa has been a guest on The Today Show, CNN, WGN, CNBC and FOX.  Her books have been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

 Dan Janal, Book Publicity

Dan is an internationally-recognized speaker, Internet marketer and best-selling author. As president of Janal Communications, he conducts strategic planning seminars and consultations for clients ranging from start-ups to the Fortune 1000. A former public relations executive, Dan was on the PR team that launched America Online, the #1 online service and personally directed the PR launch of Grolier’s Electronic Encyclopedia, the first consumer software program ever produced on a CD-ROM. His books include Dan Janal’s Guide to Marketing on the Internet and 101 Successful Businesses You Can Start on the Internet

John Kremer, Book Marketing

John is one of publishing’s best known and most respected marketing experts. Besides being the owner of his own publishing company (Open Horizons in Taos, New Mexico), he was the editor of the Book Marketing Update newsletter for more than twenty years. John is the founder of the Institute on Book Publishing Innovations as well as The Book Marketing Network social network for book authors and publishers. He  the author of a number of books on publishing and marketing, including 1001 Ways to Market Your Books: For Authors and Publishers, Book Marketing Magic, Real Fast Book Marketing, 15,000 Eyeballs Internet Marketing Program, The Complete Direct Marketing Sourcebook, High Impact Marketing on a Low Impact Budget, and Celebrate Today.

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