Category Archives: business

This refers to contracts, fees, funding, data collection, data organization, forms, correspondence, expenses, travel, lodging, scheduling, correspondence with host, selling books

School Visits – Letters of Agreement

ContractWhen a school wants to hire you, the process usually begins with an email. With successive emails, you and the host iron out the terms and details of your author visit.

While some authors then send a formal contract to the host to sign, I send a Letter of Agreement. This is essentially a contract in “normal speak” rather than “legalese language.” I also include a sample schedule and an author visit checklist to assist with planning. Here are the links:

Sample Letter of Agreement

Sample Schedule

Sample Author Visit Checklist

Sample Lecture Contract

Sample SCBWI Lecture Contract (SCBWI members only)

For more examples, type “author visit school contract” into a search engine. Also, I encourage you to check with colleagues to see what kind of agreement works best for them as you create (or update) your own.

 

Author Visit Worries

School Visit - 2011 SV Stockton - Sunday Sundaes

Even seasoned school visit presenters have moments of doubt, as do authors new to the circuit. Recently, when I did a presentation on author visits at the SCBWI North-Central California Spring Spirit Conference, the participants’ three major worries had to do with the content and pacing of their presentation, what fees to charge, and getting gigs.

Since these might be some of your worries, too, here are some articles to get you started. Search for more on this blog site, and, if you are a member of SCBWI, check out my SCBWI Bulletin column, “The Truth About School Visits” for additional articles.

QUESTION: What should I do in a presentation? How do I pace my time? How do I keep from boring the kids?

ARTICLE: What Do I Do When I Get There?
ARTICLE: Plotting Your Assembly Story

QUESTION: How much should I charge?

ARTICLE: How Much Should I Charge?
ARTICLE: Fee or Free?

QUESTION: How do I get gigs?

ARTICLE: Getting Gigs
ARTICLE: Nine Business Basics for School Visits

Please share any questions you might have. I’m happy to connect you to helpful resources.

A Request to Followers of SchoolVisitExperts.com

2010 3 Cats in Window

The cats are waiting to hear from you.

Dear Followers of My SchoolVisitExperts Blog,
Have the posts on this SchoolVisitExperts have been helpful to you? If so, please take a quick second to re-subscribe at
http://www.SchoolVisitExperts.com

(Look at the column on the right. The buttons are under my photo.)

Why am I asking you to do this? Because I’ve been having endless grief with Feedburner and have to go to a new and improved sign-up system.  I’ll be switching over later next week, so please don’t delay and re-subscribe asap.

As  you you know, SchoolVisitExperts.com shares tips and advice on the business of doing school visits as well as the art of creating dynamic presentations that schools love. In addition to my posts, author and illustrators who have tons of school visit experience offer real-world solutions to sticky issues. You can also find useful forms so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

All are welcome — published authors and illustrators as well as those who are about to be published.  SchoolVisitExperts.com is for anyone in the publishing industry dedicated to delivering high-quality school visits to students of all ages.

Thanks for re-subscribing! And do drop me a note if you have any questions: info2@schoolvisitexperts.com.

Warmest best wishes,
ALEXIS O’NEILL

P.S. If you have already re-subscribed, thanks!

Way to go!

Way to go!

School Visits – Are You Easy for Hosts to Find?

Magnifying-Glass-on-KeyboardIt’s one thing to say that you want to do school visits. But are you making it difficult for potential host to find you?

Frankly, I just spent a full day clicking on over 75 author websites for a Friends of the Library project. Schools don’t have the time or tenacity to go through this volume of names just to find one person for a day of assemblies.  Here are some tips for making it easy to be discovered.

Your Number One calling card is your website. If you don’t have a real author-dedicated website – preferably in your own name – you’re not serious about being an author who does presentations. Have a friend check your links to make sure they work.

What do you need on your website? I visited many “pretty” websites. “Pretty” on its own doesn’t sell a school visit. Information in an easily accessible form does. You must have at least these two buttons: one for “Books” and another for “School Visits” or “Presentations.”

Under “Books” include story summaries, reviews, awards.
Reviews that carry weight will be from any of these sources:
School Library Journal
Publishers’ Weekly
Kirkus
The Horn Book
Booklist
The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Library Media Connection

Some of the types of awards that are prestigious are:
State Awards
Best Books lists (i.e. Bank Street College)
Junior Library Guild selection
Children’s Books Notable Lists (Social Studies,  Science)
American Library Association Awards (i.e. “Oscar” status) Batchelder, Belpré, Caldecott, Carnegie, Geisel, Newbery, Odyssey, Sibert, Wilder
Young Adult Library Services Awards (YALSA) including the Alex, Morris, Edwards, Printz, and YALSA Excellence in nonfiction.
National Book Award
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

About books. If you plan to work with a bookseller at your appearance, then know that the bookseller needs you to have at least one book in print and available for students to access. If your book is digital-only, understand that many schools will not be able to provide it to share with or assign to students in preparation for your visit.

Under the “School Visits” or “Presentations” button
Describe your presentation(s) and number of sessions you can do per visit.

Tell what grades your presentations are best for: Primary (K-2); Intermediate (grades 3-5); Middle School (Grades 6-8) or High School (Grades 9-12)

Post testimonials from people who have seen you perform along with their positions (If you can’t write a specific name, put their role and school, i.e. Librarian, Buckley Elementary; 6th grader, Easton Middle School, etc.)

Outline your fees (optional). Many authors like wiggle room to negotiate, so they choose not to post set fees. Others want potential hosts to know up front what all costs will be (honorarium, travel, lodging, meals). In this area, you can breakdown options (full-day/half-day/hourly; assemblies, workshops, small group sessions; in-person/SKYPE).

For a good example of an author who includes it all, check out Lee Wardlaw’s detailed descriptions of her presentations.

Discoverability is challenging. After you spruce up your website, get on professional lists and keep them updated. If you are a member of SCBWI (and why wouldn’t you be?), be sure to update your information on the Speakers’ Bureau site. Network with authors about school visit leads. Here are some other posts I’ve done related to this topic.

SKYPE: A Great Tool for MG and YA Authors

Brochure Overhaul for School Visit Promotion

How Much Should I Charge? Three Rules of Thumb

Make it easy for hosts to find you. Your website is your first most important calling card. The next is the quality of the books you write and the presentations that you deliver. So get going!

 

 

Should Teachers Evaluate Authors’ Presentations?

EvaluationNot long ago, I received this email from a newly-published writer:

QUESTION: My first book just came out a couple of weeks ago. I’ve done a few presentations and have more lined up. I’d like to provide my hosts with some sort of evaluation form. I can make one myself, but it seemed like something I might find on your website. Any suggestions or resources would be most welcome.

ANSWER: Provide an evaluation form? It depends. A form is most useful to you
1) when you are trying out new material and want constructive feedback or
2) when you primarily want to gather testimonials to post on your website.

Once the kinks in your program are worked out, an evaluation isn’t necessary. And once you gather some juicy testimonials from teachers, librarians, administrators and parent-hosts, you may not need to keep requesting them. (You’ll get them spontaneously anyway from your host or from fan letters.)

What you ask on your form depends on what you want to know. I favor the “simpler is better” route. I have them rate my overall performance and ask two open-ended questions. You can find an example of my evaluation form here. For the best response rate, have your host collect these on the day of your visit.

Here’s what I ask on my rating scale:

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, please rate the author visit listed above.
Poor                           Excellent
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10

The author assembly / author workshop (circle one)
a) Met my expectations   b) Did not meet my expectations  c) Exceeded my expectations.

For open-ended comments, here’s how I phrase my request:

What did you like about this author and/or her presentations?  What did you gain that you think you might be able to apply in the classroom?

Other comments:

Notice that I don’t ask, “What didn’t you like?”  This can be addressed by respondents in the “other comments” section.

I also request respondent data. Some choose to be anonymous, and that’s okay. I’m most interested in their grade level or teaching assignment and what type of session they observed.

I observed the following programs:  ____ Assembly    ____ Classroom Q&A        ____ Writing Workshop   ___ Family Night
I teach grade(s) ________ City/State ______________________
Subject: ____________   Name (Optional) ________________

If you want more specifics on your performance, you might consider using this Performance Feedback Form, based on what teachers value in a presenter and their presentation.  In general, it covers your demeanor, presentation specifics and audience engagement.

As to the question I asked in the title of this post, “should teachers evaluate authors’ presentations?” my answer would be, yes. When we’re in the field, authors are educators. The only way to find out if we’re on the right track with our presentations is to get feedback. Then we have to be prepared to make necessary changes to make sure that we are delivering quality services to our audiences.

Understanding Schools, Avoiding Miscommunications

Noisy-and-demandingLife is busy for your school visit hosts. Miscommunications happen. The result might be a madhouse schedule, payment that doesn’t arrive on the day of your visit, a lunch that isn’t delivered. But before going all “prima donna” or “pezzonovante” on them, cut schools some slack. Consider the challenges they face and address them before they become an issue.

One of my school library friends, Holly Kunkle of Camarillo, California, shared some of the challenges schools face today when booking an author visit:

Continue reading

How Much Should I Charge? Three Rules of Thumb

MoneySign-BlackWhen you are figuring out what to charge for a school visit, here are three rules of thumb that can help:

• Be decisive about what fee works best for you.

• Don’t be defensive about your fee.

• Silence is your friend if you have to negotiate your fee.

Rule of Thumb #1: Be decisive about what fee works best for you
Authors’ and illustrators’ fees for school visits are all over the map, so you’re free to come up with your own figure.  If you’re at a loss of where to begin, check out publishers’ sites for their author and illustrator appearance pages to get some examples. The median fees (not the average) will guide you. For example, here’s what I found at the site of Little Brown Young Readers division, a publisher’s grid that includes 80 authors and illustrators from 22 states, DC and one Canadian province.

Primary grades or “All Ages” (30 author and illustrators)
FEES:
NEGOTIABLE = 2
N/A = 2
Authors/illustrators who post a local plus non-local fee = 13:30
Local fee range = $500 – $2000
Median local fee = $775
Non-local fee range = $450 – $5000
Median non-local fee = $1250

Grades 5 and up (50 authors)
FEES:
NEGOTIABLE = 5
N/A = 2
Authors who post a local plus non-local fee = 13:50
Local fee range = $250 – $1500
Median local fee =$500
Non-local fee range = $100 – $5000
Median non-local fee = $1,000

Rule of Thumb #2: Don’t be defensive about your fee.
If people question your fee, just say, “This is what I charge.” You don’t have to do a dance or explain why you’re worth it. Just know that you are worth it!

Rule of Thumb #3: Silence is your friend if you have to negotiate your fee.
I was a garage sale recently. A shopper showed interest in a table and chair set. My friend blurted, “It’s $60 or best offer.” She should’ve just said, “It’s $60” and let them make the next move. Her next action would then be determined by their actions or comments.

With school visits, don’t take a potential host’s silence as a “no.” Don’t assume they can’t afford you. They’re thinking it over. If they counter with a price or ask if you can do any better, you can either choose to negotiate or stand with your original fee.  And your silence in this exchange is just as significant. When you don’t chatter, good things can happen.

Getting Invitations to Speak at Local, State and National Conferences

ALA Collage - Cropped

There are four basic ways to get gigs and be visible at local, state and national conferences such as ALA, ILA, NCTE and those that are subject specific.

• Keynote speaker: Authors who keynote at state or national library or reading conferences are either invited directly by the organizers or promoted to organizers by publishers. A publisher may choose to promote a debut author, a front-list author or a popular backlist author. Expenses are picked up either by the publisher or the organizer, and the author may or may not receive an honorarium for this appearance.

• Book signing: Authors who sign books at a publisher’s booth at national trade shows are invited by the publisher to appear. These signings are generally reserved for front-list authors from that calendar year or who are on the publisher’s current bestseller list. A publisher may offer full or partial reimbursements for travel and/or lodging to the author along with free entry to the trade show, but all other expenses are up to the author.

• Session or workshop presenter by invitation from the organizer: This gives you a special designation in the conference program and offers an opportunity to be scheduled for a book signing.

• Session or workshop presenter by proposal sent in by you: You can submit proposals to do a session or workshop at a conference by following the organization’s submission policy and deadlines. Conference registration fees are usually waived for the session organizer, but other expenses are your responsibility. This does not guarantee you will have a special designation in the conference program or an opportunity to be scheduled for a book signing.

• Conference participant: For those who keep their ear to the ground, merely being a participant can offer information about issues that the author can address in upcoming proposal submissions. It’s also a way for you to meet potential hosts and generate contacts for future events.

TIPS
• Let your publishers know you are eager to speak or sign at conferences. If you have specific conferences in mind, tell them. Suggest they promote a panel of their authors to speak on a topic to the organizers.

• Make a grid of proposal deadlines and themes for upcoming conferences. (You might combine efforts with your writers group to generate this.)

• Propose a session.  You will end up expending money for this if accepted, but it gives you a great platform for meeting potential hosts. For best results, focus on state and local branches of the national organizations.

• Join relevant organizations. When you join a professional organization, you will have access to benefits such as listserv discussions, early announcements of upcoming events and reduced rates for events.

• Look for the state and local affiliates of national organizations for speaking opportunities.  For example, the ALA (American Library Association) has a list of state and regional chapters. They also have a spreadsheet showing which state library associations also have school library associations.

Here are a few parent organizations to check out:
ILA –   International Literacy Association
ALA –   American Library Association
NCTE – National Council of Teachers of English
NAEYC – National Association for the Education of Young Children
Also, look for subject-specific conferences (math, science, social studies, etc)

Understand that this is a “long-tail” investment: the longer you’re in the organization and the better you know the people in it, the more visibility you’ll receive over the long term.

Do you have any tips you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you.

Podcast: Evergreen School Visit Advice

Brain Burps About Books - LogoGrab your earbuds and turn up your speakers for some “evergreen” school visit advice. This is an interview that the one-and-only Katie Davis did with me on her podcast, Brain Burps About Books.  Katie is a writer, an illustrator, and a video marketing maven (her description — and it’s true!) Her podcasts include interviews with publishing industry leaders on the creation, promotion and writing of children’s books.

This interview is an hour long. In case your time is short and you want to jump to the bits that are of greatest interest to you, I’ve provided a list of topics we discussed and approximate times in the podcast they appear (minutes & seconds).
Episode #31: School Visit Questions with Expert Alexis O’Neill

00:00  General announcements
05:54 Introduction of Alexis O’Neill, SchoolVisitExperts.com
08:00 Importance of authors being compensated for work
09:01 Surprising world of school visits following publication
09:30 Selling vs giving. Expertise & intent
13:54 AUDIENCE QUESTION: What’s the best way to get school visits?
17:48 Fees & discounts
28:53 AUDIENCE QUESTION: Crowd control. How do you deal with loud, noisy assemblies? How do you get their attention and respect in a humorous way?
35:45 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How can I connect with schools? Mailings fall flat. Other suggestions?
42:18 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How can I develop a program to create an on-going relationship with a school?
46:26 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How do you get in front of the decision-makers – teachers & librarians?
52.10 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How can we promote to schools and keep “green”? Who’s the first contact at a school?
57.22 AUDIENCE QUESTION: I donated a school visit. Media will be coming. What I should I be prepared for?
01:02:05 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How do you know what to charge for the different events? Do you think it’s important to include kids in the presentation or is it okay just to do a PowerPoint to the kids?
01:09:21 END of Podcast

Tips for Hotel Stays

Whether staying in a hotel for one night or a week of nights, here are some tips for making the experience a more pleasant one.

BOOKING

• Reward Points: I make my own hotel reservation rather than leaving it up to my host. This offers me reward points as well as a bit of control over my digs.
• Proximity & Price: I do a quick search of hotels closest to where I’ll be presenting, call to check on best-price offers (i.e. AAA discount), then run the price and location by my host for approval.
• Breakfast: I need fuel for the day, so I require a hotel that includes breakfast.

EQUIPMENT

• Fan: I like arctic temperatures while sleeping, so I bring along small clip-on fan.
• Lighting: Hotels seem to have switched to LED lighting that is so dim, you have to turn on every single light in the room to actually see anything. I bring along a bright clip-on reading light.  If I’m in one location for a week and expect to write on off-hours, have been known to pack a foldable desk lamp.
• Power strip: Because many hotel room outlets are placed behind beds and heavy equipment, a power strip is a big help.
• Snacks: Trail mix. Anything chocolate. A must for those collapse-on-your-bed-before-dinner moments.
• Vase: To beautify the room on long stays, a few flowers in a collapsible, reusable plastic vase can lift spirits. They pack flat and can be found for anywhere between $1 – $10.

MAPS

• Map Between Hotel and the Presentation Site:  I’ve had my GPS be incorrect enough times that I now crosscheck multiple sources for my presentation locations before I leave home. If I’m driving, what’s most important to me are the directions and estimated travel time between the hotel and my presentation site. And since that time I was stuck in the middle of the Mojave Desert thanks to Google maps (true!), this has worked really well for me.

Do you have any hotel tips to share? I’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below.