There’s no better way to enhance your writing career than with the help of a friend! Over the years, I’ve taught at many writer’s conferences around the nation—now, you can get many favorites by digital download! That means there’s no shipping charge—and you can download the teachings instantly in MP3 format to play on your PC, iPod, Zune, or even burn to a CD.

Here’s what’s available starting today:

Complete with detailed examples of every page!

Proposals with Pizzazz—This is my most requested teaching. If you’ve got a great book idea, don’t let it die in a publisher’s or agent’s slush pile! Instead, get your book noticed by adding a bit of pizzazz to your proposal. Big house editors have touted this award-winning format as their favorite proposal ever.

For years, I’ve sold this in printed book format; it frequently sells out at conferences. Now you can instantly get the ebook to view on your PC in PDF format or print on your printer. And as a bonus, I’m also including a complete audio teaching with it—where I lead you through the proposal page-by-page.

Avoid the most common blunders made by children's book writers!

Common Children’s Book Blunders—After reading more than 3000 children’s manuscripts and interviewing editors and many successful children’s writers, I’ve compiled the most common mistakes found in children’s books. Many will surprise you!

This audio workshop covers blunders in both picture books and in novels–from act one to act two and act three.

Avoid these mistakes and get ahead of 99% of the competition.

Learn the secrets behind writing and publishing today!

Secrets, Truths and Myths of the Writing Industry—In this session, I share many of the trade secrets I discovered after more than 10 years of freelance writing, working with editors, attending conferences and more.

We look at tips for the creative process of writing, the business side of publishing and everything in between.

A great compilation of tips that you’ll enjoy listening to time and again!

Learn how to reach tweens like never before!

The Tween Adventure—Writing for middle-graders is rewarding! Discover what this group is interested in, how to reach them and how to stay up-to-date on this powerful, ever-changing demographic.

Keep checking back—there are more titles to come! And if you have any questions or any requests, let me know!

–Christopher P. N. Maselli

PS Isn’t the new art cool?!

“What age are your books written for?”

I get this question quite often, and the answer is both easy and difficult.

The easy answer is “middle graders.” If you go to your local bookstore and look for my Super Sleuth Investigator mysteries, or if you see a magazine ad for the Commander Kellie and the Superkids adventures, you’ll see that both are listed as “for middle graders.” Same with the Amazing Laptop series.

“Middle grade” is generally classified as that grade between childhood and teenage years–specifically ages 8-12. (Sometimes broadened to ages 7-13.) Though the term isn’t as popular as it once was, some people call them “tweens,” which is short for “in-betweens.”

The problem with such classification is that it pigeonholes readers, and–let’s face it–we’re all different.

Over the years I’ve received emails from 17- and 18-year-olds telling me how much they love the Superkid series. I’ve also received emails from parents of 7-year-olds telling me the same. Ironically, neither are in the “middle grade” market! When it comes right down to it, books are books and even as an adult, I love a good middle-grade novel. Hey, I enjoy a good picture book. But then again, I’m a children’s writer, so maybe that doesn’t count. Sure, me and that 17-year-old are getting something completely different out of a novel than a 7-year-old might be getting, but that’s the beauty of the written word.

I’m tempted, given this divide, to just label my own books as for “ages 7 and up.” But that’s the difficult answer, because it doesn’t fly in a bookstore.

Learn how to reach tweens like never before!

Truth be told, in the end, I embrace writing specifically for the “middle grade” genre. It gives me something to shoot for as an author. I know if I write a book targeted at 8-12-year-olds, I’ll hit my mark. I write what interests them, in a language that speaks to them, but invite anyone who wants a good adventure story that packs a punch to pick up the book.

(By the way, if you want to write for middle graders, you might enjoy my audio CD workshop, The Tween Adventure, where I talk a lot about this.)

So if you’re looking for a good, action-packed middle-grade novel with a solid moral message you can trust, then you’ve come to the right place. That’s who I write books for. Well, them and anyone else who enjoys a fun read.

Photo: Teens & Tweens Party by Franklin Park Library.