You're supposed to start out as a journalist, write your book, and then sell out to Hollywood. I did it backwards: Started as a screenwriter (the supposed 70's classic "Mother, Jugs and Speed" has my story credit), switched to writing books for kids, and wrote about personal technology for The New York Times, Forbes, and many computer magazines. Along the way I co-wrote a biography of Bill Gates and "Encyclopedia Placematica" (perhaps the first book to be scalloped on all four edges), co-hosted the national public TV show "Digital Duo," and published a book about the workings of a ballet company under my Cadwallader & Stern imprint. I've been active on the Authors Guild Council since 1987.