By Debra Ross
In addition to serving as publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com, I write fiction for 8-to-12-year-olds. So I am part of several professional organizations in the publishing world, including the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. While attending their annual conference in NYC in 2009, the most valuable insight I took away from the weekend had nothing to do with my own writing, but everything to do with my own approach to books with my kids: