Children's book publishing is one of the most difficult fields of publishing for new authors to get into. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books" gives potential authors tips, inside information, and detailed instructions for everything from how to prepare a proposal to how to get an agent. Detailing the differences between picture books, juvenile fiction, and the young adult novel, the book also covers branding, series, and licensing, discusses writing styles and character development, and explains forming illustrator partnerships.

Harold D. Underdown graduated from Haverford College with a Bachelor's degree in English allied with Spanish. He received a Master's degree in English secondary education from Temple University, and after several years of social work and teaching, he entered publishing in 1989. Harold changed gears in 1994 to open his own business as an editorial consultant. While consulting, he developed his Web site, The Purple Crayon, recognized today as one of the best sources of information about the children's publishing industry.

Harold joined Charlesbridge Publishing's trade division in 1997. When he left in 2000 he was editorial director of a list of 25 to 30 titles annually. He is now editorial vice president for ipicturebooks.com, a company dedicated to publishing illustrated children's books in a variety of electronic formats.

Throughout his career, Harold has worked with, and in some cases discovered, a number of distinguished authors and illustrators, among them Larry Pringle, Yumi Heo, Deborah Kogan Ray, Bob Marstall, Evelyn Coleman, Pat Mora, Barbara Esbensen, and Tony Johnston. Books he has edited have been named ALA Notable Books, and have been named to such lists as the ABA "Pick of the Lists," the CBC/NCSS "Notable Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies," and the IRA/CBC "Children's Choices." He speaks regularly at conferences across the country. For more information, visit his Web site at http://www.underdown.org.

Lynne Rominger began her career in publishing almost a decade ago as a book publicist after earning her degree from the University of California at Davis in English literature/nonfiction writing. During her time publicizing other people's books, she decided to write herself and embarked three years ago on a freelance writing career. Since then, she's written more than 100 feature articles for glossy magazines, newspapers, and Web sites. She has edited the Mind & Body channel on dontsweat.com, Richard Carlson's site based on his popular Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (Hyperion, 1997) series of books, and is a regular contributor to completeidiotsguides.com. Lynne also writes the monthly arts entries and personality Q&A for a regional magazine near her home in Roseville, California.

In addition to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Children's Books, Lynne has co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Magazine Articles (Alpha Books, 2000) with Sheree Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander, Your First Year as a High School Teacher: Making the Transition from a Total Novice to a Successful Professional (Prima, 2001) with Suzanne Laughrea and Natalie Elkin, and Your First Year as an Elementary School Teacher: Making the Transition from a Total Novice to a Successful Professional (Prima, 2001) with Karen Heisinger and Natalie Elkin. When not working on her next writing project-a children's book, of course-Lynne teaches English at Granite Bay High School, Granite Bay, California.