What is CMP Forum?

An online community where librarians, booksellers, authors, illustrators, agents, educational consultants, publishing industry professionals, and television producers can have targeted, professional, friendly discussions of ideas, problems, and solutions for creating, packaging, and marketing children's content. It's a place where new media minds—people interested in using new technologies to spread content—can gather and discuss the issues that matter most to them.

What will I find on CMP Forum?

• A meeting place for librarians, publishing industry professionals, and educational consultants involved in children's media

• A meeting place for authors, illustrators, and producers of all children's genres

• Featured authors, illustrators, and media producers who share the stories behind their work and respond to questions about their projects

• A community where you can post questions or help answer questions

• Fresh information on new books and new media

• Frank, professional discussion on the state of the children's media market

• Discussions of new media such as ebooks, DVDs, HD Video programming, website creation

• Listings of authors, illustrators, and educational consultants who visit schools, libraries, and stores

• A marketplace subforum for job postings in the publishing industry, to list work-related items you have for sale, to post a link to your resume, to learn of editors accepting manuscripts and producers looking for television programming ideas

• Ideas for marketing, sales, and promotional events

• Links to research that can help justify funds and information to help satisfy mandates

Is this another listserve that's going to clog up my mailbox?

No. Listserves, although wonderfully friendly and helpful, are a blunt instrument. They throw lots of information at you and you have to sift through it—a process that devours time. This forum is organized into threads that act as living chapters—places for discussion about grants, books, authors, computer problems, and so on. The site also includes a marketplace where you can advertise your services, request paid services, or ask for volunteer help from other media professionals. You visit the forum which lives on a website and you read the threads you want when you want.

Does it cost to join CMP Forum?

No. It is free to join and participate in Children's Media Professionals' forum. The only paid part of the site is the marketplace section where, for an annual fee of $35, members can post as many listings as they wish. This small, annual fee helps support the cost of running the community. Of course, all members can visit and read the marketplace postings whenever they like, for no cost. The annual fee is charged only to those members who wish to post their own service, item for sale, or job announcement.

Why create CMP Forum?

Because we care about the quality of the content that reaches children. The challenges of presenting fresh, relevant content, understanding new media, finding grants, creating storytimes, marketing books, working with editors, working with authors and illustrators, teaching writing, presenting talks, setting up promotional events, and programming new media productions are complex. We wanted a forum where all the parties involved in content creation and delivery could interact. Every person in the process—from the author/illustrator/producer who originates a project, to the bookseller who markets it, to the librarian that puts a book in a child's hand—should be celebrated. We hope to create a place for synergy that makes each person's work more enjoyable and more effective.

Who is behind this forum?

In essence, the members will run the forum by bringing quality discussion to it. As the community grows, professional volunteers in each area will moderate selected subforums. Husband-and-wife team April Pulley Sayre and Jeffrey P. Sayre, authors of One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab and 50 other children's books are subsidizing and running the forum with the help of their many colleagues who care about great content for children. The forum will be hosted via April's website ( www.aprilsayre.com )

How do I reach CMP Forum?

It's easy! Just go to www.aprilsayre.com and click on the CMP Forum link. You can always read forum postings as an anonymous guest. But, we encourage you to take a few minutes and become a member. As a member, you'll have the ability to not only read postings, but join in, creating your own threads or adding to discussion in on-going threads!

 

Can I Join CMP Forum Now?

CMP Forum officially opens its community doors on Tuesday September 6, 2005. Please mark that date and plan on joining! Your initial support and postings will help our community grow and prosper. Please tell your friends and colleagues about the CMP Forum. We're excited about the opportunity to spend time with friendly, knowledgeable professionals who wish to share and learn. We hope you are too!