Author Visits, Presentations and Workshops by Children's Writers - Part Three

No examination of author visits to schools and libraries would be complete without some mention of fees and honorariums. In Canada, fees naturally vary from one author to another and while writing organizations have recommended rates, usually calculated by the hour, its still wise to do your own research. Are other authors in your area charging by the hour, by the day, half-day or even per head? Prices also vary greatly from one province to another. What may be considered a fair rate for your time and services in Toronto or elsewhere in Ontario may appear expensive to a school in Alberta or British Columbia, or even in Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver. It may also be completely out of the range of a school in the Atlantic provinces, Manitoba or Saskatchewan. The same differences in pricing and affordability apply to the United States, the UK and other countries where there are always going to be significant regional variations, between both urban and rural areas or simply when comparing different areas of the same country.

Make sure you always check that the school is in agreement about all financial matters well in advance. This is particularity true of mileage, which may not be possible to calculate until you arrive at the school. Yet you should attempt to give the school at least a rough estimate, since this will be an additional charge on top of your agreed fee. Should meals and accommodation be required and the school is expected to foot the bill, make sure this is all discussed beforehand as well. Some schools require invoices before they can release a cheque for anything, while others don't. It's important to remember too that not only do provinces vary in their policies and procedures, often school boards within the same province have different regulations about paying authors. Some require forms to be filled out for the payroll department, others require social insurance information. Authors fees are most likely to be paid from casino funds, parent associations, bank accounts used for school fields trips and so on, but it's still advisable to determine exactly what information the school may require to pay you at the end of your visit. Just as you need to be fully prepared for your audiences before arriving at a school, with the financial aspects of an author visit, planning and preparation in advance is always advisable.

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Author Visits, Presentations and Workshops by Children's Writers - Part Three

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Author Visits, Presentations and Workshops by Children's Writers - Part One

Unlike those writing for an adult audience, children's authors have far more opportunities to secure speaking engagements. Many teachers and librarians at elementary, junior high and, depending on the age range of your books, senior high schools, like to host artists every school year. They know that an author visit can be inspirational, boosting student creativity and encouraging them in their own writing. And from your own point of view, meeting your readers can be one of the most enjoyable elements of a school visit. Younger students especially are almost always thrilled to meet a published author, especially if they have read your books.

I am always pleased to receive e mails from children who enjoyed my visit to their school and here are just a few examples.

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"Thank you for coming to our school. I really enjoyed your presentation and your books are FANTASTIC! You're the greatest author ever!"

"Thank you for coming to our school to share your ideas for your books. I learned that being an author is really hard work. I think you are a great author and hope you finish all your books"

"It was an honour to see you at our school. You are very nice and funny. I think I might try to become an author like you because it sounds challenging and very much fun"

"I really enjoyed your presentation. I learned a lot about how fun it can be to write a story"

"Thank you for coming to visit our school. Most authors just come in and talk about their book, but you told us how many drafts you had and we made characters together."

"I thought it was really neat to meet a real author because someday I want to be an author as well. Thank you for coming to my school. I will never forget it."

"I enjoyed your performance very much. You have a very interesting imagination. You are the best author that has come to our school."

School and library visits offer a invaluable opportunity to connect with your readers on a personal level and in some cases you can make a real difference in children's lives, stimulating their imagination or simply getting them more interested in books and reading.

Author Visits, Presentations and Workshops by Children's Writers - Part One

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Author Visits, Presentations and Workshops by Children's Writers - Part Four

Author visits can be a lucrative source of book sales, but it's wise to ask if such activity is even allowed at the school ahead of time. Most schools are delighted that you will be bringing books to sell and sign for the children while you are there. If you send order forms or other paperwork prior to your arrival, teachers often collect the money for you and everything can be extremely well organized. However, some schools do have very strict policies about selling anything to the students and prohibit promotion for commercial purposes. Make sure you always ask in advance to avoid any uncomfortable situations when you are at the school.

Once a visit is confirmed, I send out order forms for the books, which most schools send home with the students just prior to my arrival. Consequently, parents can see what sort of books are available, even visit my my website, so that those children interested in getting signed copies remember to bring the correct payment while I am at the school and so avoid disappointment. However, I make it very clear that this is entirely at the discretion of the school. I do not expect to have a firm number of orders for books before I travel and always take a good supply of each title with me.

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At the time of writing, I have five titles in print, but there are still no guarantees in terms of book sales during school visits. Sometimes your sales may be in the hundreds and on other occasions you may only sell ten copies or less. As a result, book sales during author visits should often be considered a nice bonus, rather than expecting them to be highly successful every time.

Author Visits, Presentations and Workshops by Children's Writers - Part Four

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Author Visits, Presentations and Workshops by Children's Writers - Part Five

While its very important to do your own homework in terms of discussing schedules with the teachers, organizing your presentations, planning your topics to fill a week or more as an author in residence, selecting subject matter appropriate to each audience, ensuring that all financial matters are in order and so on, before embarking on a school visit, the experience is usually very rewarding for children's authors. School visits allow you to talk about your own work, your inspiration, your future projects, answer questions, sell some autographed copies of your books, and present yourself to a entirely new audience or geographic area. Writing in any discipline can be a solitary, even lonely profession, but children's authors do have the opportunity to visit to schools and libraries, allowing you to connect with your readers on a personal level. Children are also thrilled to meet an author, especially if they are familiar with your work, and if they are not, you will most likely gain a whole new set of readers as a result of your visit to the school.

An author visit can also be very beneficial to the school, inspiring the students and encouraging them in their own writing or just getting them excited about books and reading. You may also help them to explore their own artistic creativity, whether this involves writing, illustration, painting, poetry, sculpture, photography, film or another discipline altogether and ultimately, you may even make a real difference in the lives of some of your readers.

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Author Visits, Presentations and Workshops by Children's Writers - Part Five

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